Business Schools that lead students to the frontiers of innovation

09 Apr 2019

Staying ahead in the business scene is harder than ever. With the threat of sharing a workforce with AI-enabled employees, business practitioners have had to re-coordinate curricula for their skills to remain relevant.

On the edge of a ‘hybrid’ workforce, employers are looking for potential workers from global business schools that are leading learners to the frontiers of innovation.

Thinking outside-the-box and embracing technological transitions is where prosperity lies. By taking the “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach, employees and graduates are enrolling onto Master’s programmes that heighten their innovative potential.

Recently reported, As Executive Officer at Capita People Solutions, Erika Bannerman recently explained, it’s vital that business leaders take this transition seriously.

Source: Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong

“Investing in AI and automation is not enough to build a sustainable or productive hybrid workforce; organisations also need to ensure they have the skills, cultures and processes in place to work alongside this technology.

“It has to be a people-first approach, where innovative technology is used to support, enable and empower a highly-skilled, motivated and agile human workforce to deliver higher value work,” Bannerman explains.

Not only that, but the organisations that will thrive in the future will be “those that can identify, recruit and retain the skills they need to compete, and develop learning cultures which ensure they have the agility and speed to adapt to changing market conditions and opportunities,” she adds.

This means today’s business schools must stay in tune with the needs of both future and current employees. They must encourage them to upskill their knowledge and take another course in business that intertwines tech and innovation.

Source: UC Business School

By being open and transparent about their business vision and mission, the workforce of tomorrow will be motivated to take them up on their offer and rapidly surge into automated fields of production.

And as German entrepreneur, Levis Strauss recently expressed, “A lot of people said aren’t you guys just riding the denim wave? We’re creating the denim wave. We’ve been driving the category with innovation across our men’s business and our women’s business. We even have an innovation centre a couple of blocks from our office. We brought our suppliers, the mills that make denim for us, into that innovation centre.”

It’s easy to see that innovation is the solution to a business that stays at the forefront, instead of falling behind.

Here are four innovative international business schools to watch out for…

SYDNEY BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG – AUSTRALIA

With postgraduate programmes that maximize your potential, as well as the choice to study at the Sydney CBD campus on Sydney Harbour or the main campus in the heart of Wollongong on NSW’s South Coast, Sydney Business School at the University of Wollongong (UOW) is where business meets innovation.

Source: Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong

Connected to a Faculty of Business that consistently tops global rankings, the school’s strong links with global companies and government ensure their programmes reflect both industry and student needs.

Through career-focused courses that include internships, work integrated learning projects, industry visits, guest lectures, career networking events and one-on-one career consultant sessions; here, your future is the focus.

Known for producing globally-competitive graduates, postgraduate programmes at Sydney Business School, UOW are designed for individuals seeking to deepen expertise, build professional excellence and enhance leadership skills.

The School’s latest specialisation: Innovation & Entrepreneurship, equips students with the creative tools and techniques to create an appropriate business model, along with the knowledge needed to establish a financial basis for a start-up. This specialisation is available in a Graduate Certificate, a Master of Business, or within the Master of Business Administration Advanced.

Preventing financial constraints from hindering your success, the 2019 UOW Sydney Business School Bursary Scheme offers a guaranteed 20 percent scholarship to students from specific nationalities, while International & Domestic Partial Tuition Scholarships are also available to students each trimester, providing a 25 percent reduction of the tuition fee for the standard duration of the course.

So, if you want to bring your business skills to the forefront and study at an internationally-linked academic hub of innovation, enquire at the UOW Sydney Business School today.

UC BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY – NEW ZEALAND

Ready to switch up the business world with your dynamic work ethic and your adaptability to tech-based business tools?

Source: UC Business School

If so, UC Business School at the University of Canterbury has strong connections with the corporate world that you can make good use of.

Through postgraduate business programmes that include the Master of Business Management, the Master of Business Information Systems, the Master of Financial Management, the Master of Professional Accounting, the Master of Applied Finance and Economics and the Master of Business Administration – Executive, there are a plethora of academic pathways to choose from.

For Sanjaya Kuruppu, the scale of choice at UC Business School led to many professional benefits: “Having studied and worked at UC and taken on a PhD full-time, I have a wide range of experience and an extensive network. The skills and experience I have built up through my postgraduate study lend themselves to working in a number of different environments, such as is in the private and public sector on issues of accountability and sustainability.”

Driven to become agile employees with a commitment to knowing current business trends, UC students are known to evolve into successful entrepreneurs.

Acting as a springboard for your business career, you could land your dream role after graduating from the UC Business school!

CURTIN BUSINESS SCHOOL, CURTIN UNIVERSITY – AUSTRALIA

At Curtin University, the culturally diverse business school has a Future of Work Institute (FOWI) to promote career development in the digital age, supporting Curtin’s courses and getting students from all backgrounds to upskill their expertise.

Source: Curtin Business School

Clamping down on their business curricula, the school pledges to provide course content that prepares learners for changing workplaces. That’s why courses aim to instil an ambitious work ethic coupled with practical experience, helping you understand new workplace practices.

Knowing the importance of career development with direction, postgraduates who opt for Master’s programmes at the Curtin Business School are taught how to strategise their professional portfolios, taking ownership of their work and life decisions.

With assistance from the Faculty of Business and Law advisory network, more than 80 Australian and international business leaders contribute insight and expertise to inform the school’s strategic direction, so you’ll have plenty of networking opportunities to look forward to.

Curtin Business School values industry partnerships and takes the individual needs of each business applicant into account, committed to translating research into practice, and collaborating with organisations to provide solutions to challenges. Here, a bright future is certain.

LA TROBE BUSINESS SCHOOL, LA TROBE UNIVERSITY – AUSTRALIA

A new addition for 2019 at La Trobe Business School, the Master of Digital Marketing Communications develops specific skills in Digital Marketing and Communication Strategy.

Source: La Trobe Business School

What makes this such a great business course? Well, if you’re already working in a marketing company or you’ve just undertaken an undergraduate marketing degree, a course like this will increase your know-how of technical terminology and pin it to a relevant career path.

By infusing postgraduate programmes with digital elements, La Trobe has tapped into its students’ potential and reworked it to fit the expectations of today’s tricky employers.

Situated in Melbourne, APAC’s most sustainable city, La Trobe Business School is the perfect place to improve your business acumen and attain new-found experiences in a multicultural city of connections and long-lasting company partnerships.

Plus, with its strategic alliance with Optus Business, the school builds on the strengths of both organisations to address significant global challenges such as smart cities, cybersecurity and the application of big data analytics.

An alliance like this will also provide research leadership in these areas, and prove to future employers that you’re an academic thinker racing towards the businesses of tomorrow.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International