The school plans to offer its part-time Executive MBA programme in Hong Kong in the next two years. Available in every major city in Australia, the programme was ranked number one of its type in Australia/Asia in last year's Financial Times survey of MBA courses.

Mark Hirst, director of the Australian school's Hong Kong MBA programme, is optimistic about future enrolment.

After three years of falling enrolments due to economic and demographic factors, applications to the AGSM's courses rose 47 per cent in the first six months of this year over the same period of last year.

To attract more top students to its MBA programme, AGSM would endeavour to provide cutting-edge programme content that reflected the latest local and international developments in management thought and practice, Professor Hirst said. The programme offers a choice of 15 electives, unparalleled among other MBA courses.

Among the options are managerial skills, integrated marketing communications, and advanced corporate finance, in addition to core courses such as managing people and organisations, and corporate finance.

Changes in the course content and materials, as well as new courses, are in the pipeline.

'Recent student feedback shows a strong demand for a course that focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship,' Professor Hirst said.

'Of particular interest is how firms develop new revenue growth platforms. We expect to introduce this course in 2006. By listening to our customers and leveraging our deep understanding of developments in management practice, we ensure that we are offering our students courses that are relevant for their career development.'

Also under consideration is a course on managing convergence, which may cover knowledge about various industries such as land, sea and air transport, or computer technology, media and telecommunications.

'The new course can help students be sensitive to, and have management skills in, those areas,' Professor Hirst said.

'You can imagine materials taken out of courses in finance, mergers and acquisition, strategy execution; a mix of elements out of those courses would make a good course around managing convergence.'

In the meantime, modifications are being made to courses on marketing and product management, and accounting and financial management, in response to developments in texts and changes in practice.

All subjects offered under the programme are taught by AGSM faculty members, who come over to Hong Kong at different times of the year to deliver their specific courses.

Classes are held in the evenings and at weekends during an eight-day block period, rather than being stretched out over a much longer period.

Students were expected to benefit by developing an ability to set a future vision for their company's business, Professor Hirst said.

'Our course was designed to help them create the environment in which that vision can actually be achieved and also to have an understanding of oneself, in particular knowing the difference between the intended impact of their behaviour and the actual impact,' he said.

'High-performing general managers will exhibit all these abilities, including a passion for their job.'