Deakin Business School
Faculty of Business and Law
In these pages, you will find past stories of importance relating to the Deakin Business School, its postgraduate courses and its staff. Current news can be found under the heading Current news. We hope you find this section interesting and informative.
Deakin University in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, launched their new collaborative MBA on 20 February 2006. Vice Chancellor, Professor Sally Walker, welcomed the guests. Victorian Treasurer, the Honourable Mr John Brumby MP launched the program. Robert Jelly, Director of Education, CIMA, came from London to participate in the launch. A 10 country phone link up from CIMA offices around the world was successfully conducted.
The program provides students who have completed the CIMA Professional Qualification (post 1985) with six units of advanced standing - therefore requiring the completion of only six more units to graduate with an MBA degree.
More information on the program can be obtained in course information.
A twentieth anniversary is always a cause for celebration and the Deakin MBA’s anniversary was no exception. The first MBA students graduated from Deakin in 1985 and two of that group, Garry Oliver and Philip Hunt, were on hand to attend a celebratory alumni breakfast in the Melbourne CBD to mark this significant occasion. The breakfast was sponsored by the Deakin Business School for MBA alumni and was attended by alumni from various years as well as Deakin staff.
John McWilliams, Senior Lecturer in the DBS and MC for the morning and Tanya Castleman, Head of the DBS, welcomed the participants.
Garry Oliver, chairman of the MBA Society, spoke about his experience as a student and alumnus. The MBA Society was established by Garry and other original MBA graduates. The University had no alumni framework in place at that time so the students organised the Society themselves, demonstrating their highly developed management skills. Some of the events they held were bi-annual information update weekends; strategy workshops where an alumni presented a business problem and groups provided answers; talks by alumni on their areas of expertise and many informal gatherings. Garry spoke about the wonderful networks he had maintained during this time and what a powerful force they were.
The keynote speaker for the breakfast was Graeme Simsion, who graduated with his MBA in 1986. Graeme, regaled the audience with amusing stories of his own MBA experience. He also outlined why the MBA is such a useful qualification. It provides a foundation of business knowledge that is not achievable simply from experience. Common sense isn’t all that common and ‘gut instinct’ can’t replace systematic knowledge. The framework acquired through MBA study provides a far more productive outcome.
John McWilliams then introduced Michael King (class of 2003), sponsor of the Michael King prize for entrepreneurship. This year’s prize of $500 was presented to Ann Tiso and Karen Nagel on behalf of their syndicate to assist them in their preparations for The John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge (previously MOOT CORP® Australia) held at QUT, Brisbane in December. This competition encourages innovation, entrepreneurship and the development of new businesses in Australia .
This anniversary provided an opportunity for MBA graduates to meet with fellow alumni. Many are involved in the Deakin MBA Alumni Chapter which helps graduates maintain their networks. Keeping in touch with former classmates, perhaps supporting current students, and up-dating one’s knowledge are ways of realising and extending the value of the qualification.
Graduates can join the Deakin MBA Alumni Chapter via the website http://www.deakin.edu.au/buslaw/dbs/alumni.
