When Yu Watanabe signed up for his first NUS-ISS Online Blended Learning course, he didn’t step onto a plane or even leave his Tokyo apartment. But what he did cross, were “borders” and a personal threshold of growth he hadn’t anticipated.
A seasoned project lead working in the field of data analytics, Yu found himself at a career crossroads. “I was having trouble managing my team,” he recalls. “I knew I lacked certain skills, and I needed something practical and relevant.”
Despite a wide range of options, he struggled to find one that truly aligned with his goals from Tokyo local universities. Yu decided to look beyond Japan and that’s when he found NUS-ISS Blended Learning (BL) programmes where the courses are offered online.
Over the span of a year from 2023 to 2024, Yu enrolled in three Blended Learning courses: Managing Business Analytics Projects (MBAP-BL), Product Thinking for Organisations (PTO-BL), and Managing Digital Products (MDP-BL).
His first experience with MBAP-BL laid the foundation for his continued learning journey. The key takeaways from MBAP-BL were exactly what I needed," Yu shared. "I was leading my project based on personal experience, not a structured approach. The course gave me practical tools to create value for the customer. One idea that stood out was Enterprise Aligning, which helped unite the team even when everyone was moving in different directions.”
The combination of relevant content, flexibility, and the way it fit into his schedule and lifestyle made it a natural decision for Yu to continue his learning journey through additional courses in the series.
“The flexibility was a big factor. I could learn at my own pace and still meet other commitments,” he says. With only a one-hour time difference between Tokyo and Singapore, scheduling never felt like a hurdle. But even more compelling was the human connection. “The lecturers were not just experts, they were passionate, accessible, and deeply insightful,” Yu says.
Now on a career break, Yu is not slowing down. Instead, he is using the time to recalibrate and explore what’s next. But if there’s one thing he knows for sure, it’s that the world of learning has expanded and there’s no turning back.
Yu Wantabe's recent visit to Singapore included a meet-up with his lecturers, Ms Amy Huang, Chief, Digital Products & Platforms Practice and Scott Si, Principal Lecturer & Consultant, Digital Products & Platforms Practice
What would he say to someone hesitant about taking the leap into Blended Learning?
“The open-ended exercises, the structured reviews, they’re all designed to sharpen your thinking and decision-making. It’s absolutely worth the investment.” shared Yu.
Visit https://www.iss.nus.edu.sg/blended-learning-programmes for more information on NUS-ISS Online Blended Learning programmes.