Curtin Sarawak helps professionals stay ahead with postgraduate business qualifications

Miri – 13 November, 2009 – With the world becoming progressively advanced and technology-savvy, a degree is just the starting point in one’s quest for lifelong learning.

Whether one has just completed undergraduate studies or has been employed for some time, a postgraduate qualification will definitely give one the edge in advancing one’s career or increasing his potential in the job market.

Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus (Curtin Sarawak) in Miri, Sarawak, can help new graduates and professionals stay ahead with a number of postgraduate business programmes offered at its School of Business, including courses for Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Business, Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Accounting degrees.

The Graduate Certificate in Business (GCB) is a four-unit, 100 credit point degree course designed as an entry point to Curtin’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) or as a challenging stand-alone course through which individuals may tailor their own personal development programme.

Organisational Behaviour is the only compulsory unit in the GCB as it provides a foundation upon which other units can build. With more than eight different subjects to select from, students can tailor their GCB to suit their development needs and future study aspirations.

A Bachelor degree and a minimum of one year work experience are required for entry to the GCB. Applications may be considered from those who do not have Bachelor degrees provided they have at least eight years’ work experience at a recognisable level of responsibility.

The course is offered on a trimester basis, which is nine months of part-time study, and applications may be lodged at any time throughout the year.

The Curtin Graduate Diploma in Business (GDB), meanwhile, is tailored to students from technical backgrounds that have recently made, or wish to make, the move into leadership and management roles. It provides students with an array of generic business skills vital to success in management.

The GDB, which fully articulates into the Curtin Master in Business Administration (MBA), consists of 4 compulsory units to ensure a solid grounding in the business disciplines of organisational behaviour, marketing, finance and economics. Students may then select an additional 4 optional units. Those wishing to articulate to an MBA are required to select appropriate units.

To enter the GDB, a Bachelor degree in a field other than business, commerce or economics, or a graduate certificate or equivalent plus a minimum of two years relevant work experience, is required.

A limited number of applicants without a recognised degree or equivalent, but whose post-secondary education or experience indicate they would benefit and be able to contribute effectively in the course, may be admitted.

The GDB is an 8-unit, 200 credit point study course. Offered on a trimester basis, it can be completed in 1½ years of part-time study.

Those who have Bachelor degrees, excluding accounting majors, from recognised tertiary institutions (or equivalent academic qualification) may also want to consider Curtin’s Master of Accounting accredited by CPA Australia.

A specialised advanced course aimed at providing graduates from disciplines other than accounting with knowledge and analytical skills in accounting and related financial management and the legal aspects of business, it equips them for professional accounting practice in Malaysia and internationally and also gives special focus to the international dimensions of accounting and business law.

The course also enhances students’ capabilities in conceptual thinking in interpersonal and communication skills, as well as in the use of analytical methods required for effective diagnosis of accounting and financial management theories, concepts and techniques.

Consisting of 12 units, it can be completed in 18 months full-time or equivalent part-time. Most units are available in the evening and applications are open throughout the year.

By far the most popular of Curtin Sarawak’s postgraduate business programmes is the world-class Master of Business Administration (MBA) which has been offered at Curtin Sarawak since 2000.

Developed by Curtin’s world-renowned Graduate School of Business (GSB) in Perth, the course is ranked within the top 100 MBA programmes in the world and is currently ranked as the best online MBA in Australia and fourth globally by the Economist Intelligence Unit, publishers of The Economist magazine.

Managers and professionals operating in both domestic and international environments will find the MBA an essential learning package that can help them develop skills in identifying, analysing and developing strategies for management opportunities and problems.

It provides a broad coverage of the key functional disciplines of business and management and is ideally suited to those who find that their organisational roles increasingly demand managerial skills in addition to technical expertise.

The programme, which is structured into 12 units to be completed over approximately two years of part-time study, is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of those who possess professional qualifications as well as those who were initially trained in fields other than business.

Applications are open all year round and candidates with a Bachelors degree from a recognised tertiary institution or a final qualification from a professional body approved by the GSB as equivalent to a degree, and at least three years’ relevant work experience are encouraged to apply. Selection is be based on a range of information including grades achieved in previous study, referee reports and relevance of work experience, career aspirations and test results.

Curtin Sarawak’s School of Business is increasingly being recognised as a leading provider of business education in the region. While its forte is in the fields of accounting and finance, it is clearly gaining strength in management education as well.

According to Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor John Evans, the key factor attracting students worldwide to the school is its internationally recognised qualifications, which are accredited by numerous national and international professional associations and governmental agencies.

Furthermore, every aspect of academic programmes at Curtin Sarawak are identical to those offered at Curtin’s main campus in Perth, which means students get a quality Australian education at only a fraction of the cost of pursuing the same studies in Australia.

“The quality of the teaching and the learning environment, the reputation of our academics and the application of up-to-date teaching and learning methodologies and technologies allow students to gain an exceptional learning experience. This prepares them for immediate employment upon graduation. The school’s strong affiliation to business organisations, including multinational corporations in and around the region, is testimony of our graduates’ immediate employability, as well as the significant role it plays in the industries,” says Professor Evans.

He adds that new knowledge generated through research and development in the school is increasingly shaping business practices in the region through consultancy activities conducted by its academics.

In addition, new knowledge generated through research and development in the school is increasingly shaping business practices in the region through consultancy activities conducted by academics of the school.

Curtin Sarawak was established in 1999 as the first offshore campus of Western Australia’s Curtin University of Technology at the invitation of the Sarawak State Government, which recognised the need for a tertiary institution of international calibre to match Miri’s tremendous growth.

In a matter of ten years hence, Curtin Sarawak has become one of the leading international universities in Malaysia, attracting students from all over the world to its state-of-the-art campus amidst a beautiful garden setting in Miri. Currently, there are some 2,800 students from throughout Malaysia and over 40 other countries studying at Curtin Sarawak.

For more information of Curtin Sarawak, visit its website at www.curtin.edu.my. To enquire specifically about its postgraduate business programmes, e-mail PG.enquiry@curtin.edu.my or contact its Student Recruitment Department at +60 85 443939.

Business programmes ideal for making the move into leadership and management roles.