Perceptions of RMIT's MBA classroom from an industry expert

Perceptions of RMIT's MBA classroom from an industry expert

Recently Dr. Rajeev Chib, COO of Client and Business Development at Citi Bank Asia came and taught at RMIT’s SGS campus. Check out this article for his unique perspective on RMIT Vietnam and its students!

RMIT Vietnam not only curates strong ties with industry through in-class workshops and guest speakers; the postgraduate programs also bring in a number of guest lecturers who are champions within their given fields, and who can offer deep insights through their working experience and knowledge. 

Recently, RMIT Vietnam’s MBA program was visited by Dr. Rajeev Chib, where he taught the four-day intensive course on Personal Branding and Authentic Leadership. 

For the last 10 years Dr. Chib has been the COO of Client and Business Development at Citi Bank Asia in Hong Kong. He has also held other high-level positions, including Vice President & Director at TD Securities and Director for CIBC, both of which are top 5 banks in Canada. Overall, he is approaching 29 years working in the banking industry. 

As this was Dr. Chib’s first experience visiting an RMIT campus, he provided some valuable insights about RMIT and its students.  

“As far as the classroom is concerned, I found them to be well-designed, allowing for good interaction between the instructor and students,” Dr. Chib notes, “and I particularly liked the concept of having glass sliding doors. Students were broadly very engaged. It was noticeably clear to me that they were all there to improve their authentic leadership skills and personal branding. This became evident through the experiences they shared in the discussions and in their assignment submissions.”

Dr. Rajeev Chib, COO of Client and Business Development at Citi Bank Asia Dr. Rajeev Chib, COO of Client and Business Development at Citi Bank Asia

From his interactions, Dr. Chib states that RMIT is one of the places where leaders, and those who wish to become leaders, can gain the necessary skills to create change at the organisational level. “To make lasting impact, change must come from C-suite positions.  I see that RMIT takes a leadership role in running workshops and teaching executive-level acumen and I am impressed with the fact that Vietnamese students are keen to contribute back to Vietnam’s society.  That’s a bit different from some other countries, where students want to graduate and head overseas immediately. This shows gratitude, and this positive attitude will help build self-efficacy”

Thanks to his wealth of experience, Dr. Chib brings a unique teaching methodology in order for students to explore their own strengths and develop an honest and consistent leadership brand. He states that “I’m a big believer in showing vulnerability.  I can share vulnerable examples of myself and of my past managers or subordinates (keeping their identities undisclosed of course). During the course at RMIT, I spoke about an ex-boss who I felt came to every meeting with preconceived notions and used hand-picked data points to back his own notions up. He would ask others what they thought, but regardless of the answer, he would steer the conversation back to what he believed. The class discussed how this type of leadership can affect a team and an organisation.”

To read more about how Dr. Chib conducted the Personal Branding and Authentic Leadership course, and why it’s important to create and maintain a personal brand in today’s working environment, stay tuned for our next In the Classroom article. 

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