Buea: Pioneer Batch of MBA Students Defend Dissertations at HIBMAT

The Higher Institute of Business Management and Technology (HIBMAT) Buea has witnessed the academic defense of its pioneer batch of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) students.

The maiden exercise took place at HIBMAT Campus B in Buea on Saturday 12, March 2022, and saw a total of 12 students – 6 from Human Resource Management, 3 from Management, 2 from Marketing, and 1 from Accounting & Finance. After two years of rigorous study and skill refinement, these students have been found worthy to venture into both the national and international markets.

Carried out under the mentorship of the University of Bamenda (UBa) and with close supervision from Prof. Victor Cheo and Mr. Silas Sinyuy, MBA Coordinator and Assistant MBA Coordinator, HIBMAT, respectively, the defense took place in four separate panels consisting of presidents, examiners, supervisors, and rapporteurs and saw all 12 students score Excellence (A-Grade) in their dissertations.

The euphoria the students exhibited upon acceptance of their theses by the Jury was very telling of their hard work and commitment during the two-year rigorous study program.

Speaking at the ceremony, Emeritus Prof. Talla Kashim, Rector of HIBMAT Buea, expressed his firm satisfaction with the performances of the students.

“When you deliver a baby, you want to see the baby grow and mature and we’re very happy that this first batch has matured and they’ve not let us down.”

The Emeritus Professor also challenged the students to be ambassadors of the institution as he advised them to effect corrections made by the different panelists in a bid to perfect their academic findings.

“They have stayed with us for 2 years, they have worked very hard, and they have received the best that we can offer. We now hope that they should go out and apply that knowledge in the field and to be our ambassadors.”

For one thing, most of the institution’s lecturers are seasoned professors from the University of Bamenda, a state-owned university that mentors HIBMAT. According to the Rector, as HIBMAT’s mentor university, the MBA certificates will be issued by the same institution, UBa upon fulfillment of the necessary requirements. 

While these students have successfully defended their dissertations, they are, however, required to effect the final corrections made by the jury to qualify for an MBA and fulfill the requirements for graduation.

Speaking to the press, Prof. Vukengkeng Andrew, Deputy Director of the Higher Institute of Commerce and Management (HICM) at the University of Bamenda (the mentor university of HIBMAT) applauded the diversity and contemporary nature of the candidates’ research topics.

He also encouraged the students to effect the corrections the jury identified:

“When we went through the dissertations, we discovered there were errors of form and content and we indicated to the candidates to take care of them before they finally submit the work to the senate.”

Commenting on her first-ever MBA defense at HIBMAT, Julie-Brat Enongene whose dissertation focused on the effects of e-banking on customer satisfaction in the Buea banking sector said she wanted to find out why customers prefer queueing at banks despite the proliferation of electronic banking services.

“We have discovered that in spite of all the measures put in place for e-banking like the ATM, online banking, and mobile banking, customers still queue up in the banks, so we were struggling to find out why this queue after putting all these services in place so that customers should not be coming to the banking hall to do banking.”

The just-defended MBA student hopes that her research will help not just Ecobank but all other banks to understand why customers still prefer queueing up at the banks despite digitalizing banking services.

For most of the students, juggling work and school has not been a walk in the park. Yet, the flexibility of HIBMAT’s MBA program offered them the capacity to work and study simultaneously.

Julie-Brat, therefore, called on other workers to invest in self-development by returning to school.

“There are some opportunities in banking or your institution where you need a level of education before you can harness. Don’t shy away. It’s possible. If I can make it, it means all of you can make it out there,” she said.

As studies roll on at HIBMAT for the 2021/2022 academic year, the business community has been encouraged to explore the findings of these projects.

For inquiries about HIBMAT’s MBA programs, Call/WhatsApp our Admissions Officer, Mr Leonard Fanka via +237 676 61 95 72

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