How sustainable business tools will impact the next generation

24 Jul 2018

If you want to make it in the business world, you must be adaptable. Things are advancing faster than the average person can keep up, so it’s no wonder business is one of the world’s most fast-paced and exciting industries.

But how can universities ready students for the realities of the business world?

As society develops, it becomes crucial that business people are there ready to adapt and react to the changes, as well as foresee any potential future hardships. Universities must ensure their graduates possess the sustainable skills needed to do exactly that.

Source: Flinders University

While studying a business degree at any level, students gain the ability to communicate and collaborate, to innovate and inspire, and to understand the people and wider world around them. Those who don’t will not succeed.

Graduates who go on to thrive in business are those who truly understand the value of people in their company, who are quick thinkers, self-assured decision makers, convincing talkers and are backed up with a wealth of knowledge about how the world goes around.

Business schools must ensure students have the tools to survive within this often cut-throat field, empowering them to meet their goals and to enabling them to set up businesses that flourish while throughout their studies and onwards into their careers.

It’s all very well giving students the knowledge in theory, but what they really need is to have it working in practice, too. Understanding that you need to be able to communicate is all well and good but what students really need is to be able to do it; to get out into the real world and practice their skills.

Source: UC Business School, University of Canterbury

It’s crucial that students are given the opportunity to mingle with industry professionals while they study, giving them a chance to apply their knowledge and get a taste of what it’s really like working in business. Alongside this, students will grow their professional network while studying, something crucial to your success after studying.

The modern business school must prepare students for a world beyond the now, equipping them with skills that don’t just allow them to excel, but also futureproofs their career.

These three business schools offer all this and more…

UC BUSINESS SCHOOL – UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY (UC)

UC certainly understands the need for sustainability within business. The school helps students develop flexible and enduring skills that last a lifetime and prepares them for the realities of the business world.

And with international accreditation placing UC in the top five percent of Business schools worldwide, it certainly shows.

UC prepares students for their careers from day one. The school doesn’t just hand them knowledge and send learners on their way – UC also helps students with practical skills such as setting up their budding businesses and encouraging study abroad.

Source: UC Business School, University of Canterbury

With strong connections in the corporate world, students here gain real experience and contacts in the industry they’re passionate about before they reach graduation.

The school promotes global awareness, ensuring students don’t just have a degree that’s relevant in New Zealand but is universally recognised and applicable in business sectors worldwide.

The school’s postgraduate courses are especially esteemed, placing a big focus on applied learning from industry experts. Alongside revered research, inspiring faculty and the hands-on and direct learning approach UC fosters, students leave the school with working knowledge they can apply within the real world.

Originally from China, UC Master of Applied Finance and Economics student Beini Guo says her masters degree helped boost her CV and “gain more technical skills before entering into professional work.”

Her course, “unlike other postgraduate programmes, focuses on building up practical skills” that have allowed her to easily adapt to the working environment.

And with a range of global opportunities on offer, you really can’t pass up the chance to pursue a UC business degree.

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – MONASH MALAYSIA

The School of Business is Monash University Malaysia’s largest division with over 2,000 students. The institution is divided into six specialist departments: Accounting & Finance, Business Law and Taxation, Economics, Econometrics & Business Statistics, Management and Marketing, so no matter what your interest, you’re bound to find a course that’s suited to you.

Source: School of Business, Monash Malaysia

The large number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are both research-focused and industry-driven, on top of being recognised internationally. Students even have the chance to major in exciting, unique courses in subjects like e-business.

If you have a particular interest in Asian business strategy, capital market behaviour or Islamic economic development then Monash is perfect for you. Here, a focus on thinking to the future, a globally-facing curriculum, and a varied, vibrant student lifestyle make for a forward-thinking learning environment.

With strong industry links to both local and international companies, students have the chance to rub shoulders with those already working in the industry they desire to work in. These connections and the ability to gain constructive feedback from them throughout their degree give Monash students the edge come graduation.

The school has three impressive labs within it; the Focus Group Room, the MUSST Lab and the NeuroBusiness Behavioural Lab. The MUSST lab is particularly helpful, letting students further their knowledge of trading behaviours through an experiential learning environment. In MUSST, Students observe interactions and decision-making processes within a simulated investment trading activity.

FLINDERS BUSINESS – FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Flinders Business school is all about raising students up through its supportive network. With small class sizes and a learning environment that encourages all to share and grow, Flinders ensures every learner feels welcome and at home.

Source: Flinders University

The university has a mentoring programme and resident tutors available to help first years settle, ensuring they remain on-track in terms of academic achievement.

Students here are trained to think like entrepreneurs and focus on the future, developing an understanding of new technologies and business models as well as the forces of disruption that are so key to survival in today’s business world.

The ultimate aim at Flinders is to ensure students leave career-ready, gifting them with the professional real-world experience so invaluable to kickstarting their careers.

The Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programme is key to many students’ success, allowing them to undertake an industry placement or project related to their studies, while gifting them real-world experience and an understanding of where they might want to take their career after graduation.

Students can test their knowledge and ensure they are ready for the working world on top of gaining invaluable connections to help them in their working lives.

Flinders encourages students to become their own boss by turning their business ideas into reality – promising you can do so in under 12 weeks with grit and determination. The ‘Venture Dorm’ programme is a 12-week intense course available for Flinders Business students who are full of entrepreneurial spirit.

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