Tailor-made to suit distance learning
Of the very long list of master of business administration (MBA) courses available to would-be local students attempting to obtain a distance-learning qualification, the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) appears to offer depth and a manageable timeframe. It also carries a weighty reputation.
Since it launched in 1977, at The Australian School of Business in Sydney, New South Wales, the MBA programme has consistently placed at the top of the national rankings and is among one of the top MBA programmes in the world. Of particular note, the AGSM MBA has been ranked by the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings as Australia's No1 for the past five years.
In Australia, the programme provides a full-time MBA, a part-time executive MBA, a graduate certificate in change management and delivers executive education to major corporations and organisations Australia-wide, including Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
In Hong Kong, the MBA course is undertaken part-time. There are 16 subjects that can be completed in 18 months or students can take up to seven years to complete the programme.
Additional readings, preparations and assessments take place for four weeks prior to teaching and for four weeks after. This mode of delivery enables students to gain the full body of knowledge in a condensed period and immediately apply their knowledge in the workplace, accelerating the return on their MBA studies.
AGSM's Hong Kong MBA programme is designed for practising managers who are keen to develop and apply new skills to the business world in which they operate - but its lessons are also intended to develop general global business capabilities and management ability. The curriculum has been moulded by the business challenges, the institution perceives, today's managers will face. Course teaching, content and delivery is methodically reviewed and evaluated - including by students themselves, in order to maintain the standing of the institution and qualification.
The learning environment places emphasis on clarifying and debating issues, transferring learning and sharing experiences between class peers, where professional relationships can sometimes form through teamwork. Alumni events also perpetuate networking opportunities.
As Hong Kong attracts an international workforce, the programme has a multinational intake, so networking and business theory break wider than national or regional boundaries. AGSM Hong Kong MBA takes place at its campus at 9 Queen's Road, Central.
