MONASH OVERHAULS MBA PROGRAMME
SCHOOL: Monash Business School, Monash University COUNTRY: Australia
Monash Business School has revamped its master’s programme portfolio, including the MBA, in a bid to keep pace with the evolving needs of students and the demands of business. Postgraduate single degrees have been streamlined to enable students to complete their studies in a shorter timeframe of between one and two years. Also on offer is a new range of double degrees that can be completed in two years. The school’s full-time MBA forms part of the changes, transitioning to new offerings under the global executive MBA (GEMBA) programme launched in 2018. From 2024, enrolees can study the GEMBA as a standalone degree over 18 months or as a two‑year double degree together with a master’s of business. Both options are said to offer a global orientation and invaluable networking opportunities, with students continuing to enjoy the usual MBA cohort benefits of peer-to-peer learning among experienced international classmates. A minimum of five years’ prior management experience is an admissions requirement. Aside from the MBA, the emphasis is on pre-experience possibilities, though those meeting certain prior study and experience requirements can shave six months off the degree period. This will be a single year in the case of seven new postgraduate programmes, including a master’s of management and a master’s of advanced finance. Existing postgraduate programmes at Monash, such as the master’s of business, can now be completed in 1.5 years. The new master’s of management or master’s of global business programmes can also be packaged into one of 12 double degree options undertaken over two years. The redesigned portfolio aims to offer students greater flexibility, in terms of study time and choice of study path, with a view to unlocking a broader range of employment opportunities. TBD
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA & AI CAN PREDICT INFLATION
SCHOOL: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management COUNTRY: Germany
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management has developed a way to produce real-time, short-term inflation expectations for Germany using the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) at its new Centre for European Transformation. The AI-infused index downloads all German-language tweets that include words related to inflation and prices. First, the raw data is cleaned to remove any potential bias and clear it of any bots. Tweets are then classified as ‘up’, ‘down’, or ‘neutral’ using a neural network language model that was trained with the help of ChatGPT. A daily inflation index is subsequently created from these labelled tweets. The index has analysed tweets going back to 2011 and has already produced findings that match up to inflation rates over that period. “Our Inflation Expectations Index is strong proof of how Frankfurt School and our Centre for European Transformation combine excellent research with a high level of practical relevance on challenges affecting the economy, politics and society. We plan to extend our index analyses, for example, by exploring the link between inflation and private consumption. In addition, we can develop indices for other countries,” said Frankfurt School professor and director of the Centre for European Transformation Sascha Steffen. Inflation expectations are important because of their influence on consumption, saving and investment decisions. Forecasting future inflation is, of course, also essential to the work of central banks and the adoption of related policy measures. To date, accurate inflation measurements come with a considerable time lag, so a real-time index could prove popular. Investment management firm DWS supports the work of the Centre for European Transformation and its global head of research, Johannes Müller, called the index “a great example of how academia can add real value and practical relevance not only for financial institutions but also the economy as a whole.” EB
12 | Ambition | NOVEMBER 2023
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online