INTERVIEW
E arlier in 2021, Macquarie accredited by AMBA. The School, which was established in 2019 and is the single point of delivery for all business, management and economics teaching and research activities at Macquarie University. Its Global MBA programme was launched in response to the changing demands of the global MBA market and draws upon new learning Business School at Macquarie University in Sydney, became one of four Schools in Australia technology. As such, the School is known among employers and students as the place to be for real-world application and employer-relevant skills. Ambition was keen to meet Macquarie Business School’s Executive Dean, Eric Knight, to discuss the innovation and achievements of the School, its plans for the future, as well as his own thoughts on the economic climate and opportunities for business education. What are the biggest challenges facing Business Schools? Business Schools will be impacted by the changes in the global economy and global/ local jobs markets. In that respect, the kinds of challenges facing businesses map against those of international Business Schools as they tailor their offerings to where students need skills. It is important that Business Schools can respond to the challenges to ensure the next generation of business leaders can manage through these changing times. The employment skills required for professional success are changing:
relevance in the world and to industry and government, for whom we prepare the future workforce. Our MBA provides a transformative learning experience, building strategic business acumen and leadership capability to accelerate career progress within or across industry. It is tailored to student learning, work and career needs by addressing: • essential and contemporary business discipline knowledge and skills. • the integrated application of business disciplines in key units, culminating in the MBA capstone unit. • business disciplines in practice via the Industry and Alumni Partnership Program integrated in the curriculum; • business disciplines applied to student work and career needs through the Career and Coaching Program; • environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles integrated in the curriculum. Our Global MBA is built around six future-focused capabilities: adapting, analysing, influencing, leading, problem solving, and strategising. It is designed to meet the changing needs of the labour market, where increasing tech-driven disruptions redefine and create new opportunities for work. It is modelled on a stackable concept where you determine what you’ll learn, how much you’ll learn, and when you’ll learn. For both, we work in collaboration with our alumni and corporate partners to provide a world-class education that
effective communication, data analytics, critical thinking, and problem solving are all now valued. That is why we devised our Global MBA, in partnership with Coursera, around a set of skills rather than traditional disciplinary domains. That programme has proved very popular and has just been ranked second in Australia and 19th globally by QS in the 2021 Global Online MBA Rankings, after launching in 2019. It is also ranked first in the world for ‘class experience’. The nature of learning is also changing, and it is now essential that Business Schools provide a quality online experience for all students. Students are also looking for shorter learning experiences and life-long learning opportunities that allow them to build successful careers. Macquarie Business School is responding to the challenges with courses that are co-designed with industry to help students get the very best education they can. For example, our partnership with the Australian Financial Markets Association offers micro-credentials that feed into our master’s of applied finance programme. With workplaces and the future of work evolving so rapidly, careers options for our students are very different to just five or 10 years ago. This is our great responsibility and privilege – to help students find their way into the world. What do you think differentiates the MBA at Macquarie Business School? Quality. We have a solid foundation of high-quality teaching and research and our long-term vision is to focus on
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