Curtin Business SChool

connecting with industry

it is no wonder that Curtin Business School is regarded by industry as a strong and trusted partner.

CBS is one of the largest business schools in Australia and a major multinational player: more than 15,000 students from 70 countries study our comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate business courses both at our Curtin campuses and at partner locations overseas and we have more than 400 academic and professional staff.

however, size is not our only advantage. the strong international profile of our students and staff and our extensive multinational reach ensures that we are a business school that is continuously looking beyond domestic issues to the greater global picture. it is important to us that our graduates fully appreciate the complex nature of the international business world and are comfortable working across and within cultures.

While our traditional international markets are in Asia – where we have been offering courses offshore for the past 25 years – we are now expanding our teaching and research presence into new destinations such as north America and Europe. this expansion offers us not only new student markets, but the opportunity to deepen our international perspective and partnerships.

one of CBS’ other great strengths is our ability to produce graduates who are industry-ready and therefore attractive to businesses across the board – from small-to-medium enterprises to multinational companies.

We also offer customised short courses and executive education programs to industry to help a wide range of organisations improve their performance and our ‘Growth’ programs are helping many small businesses across Western Australia to move to the next level of operation.

CBS has immense experience and influence in providing high quality and transformative education and research across Australia and the Asian region. it makes us a favoured partner for those hiring people, doing business or making law and policy.

i hope you will take the opportunity to learn more about our activities and the ways in which you can partner with us to help shape the business workforce and our future.

Duncan Bentley Pro Vice-Chancellor Curtin Business School

Curtin Business School has more than

15,000 students, from 70 countries... however, size is not

our only advantage...

A matter of trustINTRODUCTION TO CURTIN BUSINESS SCHOOL

business.curtin.edu.au

Curtin university of technology is Western Australia’s largest and most multicultural university, recognised for the practical and applied nature of its courses. More than 41,000 students study courses across its five teaching areas: the Centre for Aboriginal Studies; Curtin Business

School; humanities; health Sciences; and Science and Engineering. Curtin Business School is the largest of these faculties.

research activities at Curtin are focused on solving real-world problems. the four broad themes that have been identified as areas of focus are: resources and energy; iCt and emerging technologies; health; and sustainable development.

the university has a strong commitment to international engagement, indigenous education and culture and regional education and promotes an ethic of community service.

in addition to its main Bentley campus in Perth, Western Australia, Curtin offers teaching programs in rural and remote locations around the State, offers offshore programs in eight locations and has campuses in Sydney, Sarawak and Singapore.

Meet the parentABOUT CURTIN

1

curtin.edu.au

Producing business graduates that industry wants does not happen by chance.

CBS is committed to being the preferred provider of highly-trained graduates and leaders in the region and therefore involves business organisations to help shape its courses and the way they are taught. Business in turn knows how important it is to influence their future workforces.

Close to 70 external industry representatives sit on our School advisory boards, providing regular industry input into course direction and helping to ensure that our graduates are prepared for the realities of the workplace. these highly-valued contributors include company CEos, senior government officers, company directors and representatives from relevant professional bodies. Collectively, they represent one of the most extensive advisory groups of any Australian business school.

naturally, CBS regularly reviews its courses to ensure that they meet the educational standards required by a wide range of professional industry bodies. Beyond this, a dynamic relationship with industry ensures that business education remains as exciting and innovative as its application.

Bringing the workplace to campus

For example, we are working in close partnership with industry to recreate business environments on campus that will push the learning boundaries for our students and make them even more industry-ready. these include involving industry in initiatives such as the proposed trading room within the School of Economics and Finance that will provide hands-on experience for students using real-time information and trading software. A fully-fledged information systems environment is also planned for the School of information Systems that will expose students to the very latest in applied information technologies.

Keeping it realOUR IMPORTANT INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS

2

With close to 70 external industry representatives,

our School advisory boards collectively form one of the

most extensive advisory groups of any Australian

business school.

“Both Curtin Business School and the wider University have a heritage built around relevance to community and industry. As Chair of the CBS Advisory Council, it’s my honour to help continue this tradition. The Council acts as a bridge between business practice and business education, helping CBS to respond in a timely way to the changing needs and priorities of the business community. I am looking forward to playing a strategic role in the future of CBS.”

Terry Agnew, CEO, Royal Automotive Club (RAC) Chair of CBS Advisory Council

AccountingCPA Australia

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA)

National Institute of Accountants (NIA)

Business Law and TaxationAssociation of Taxation and Management Accountants

Taxation Institute of Australia

The Australia New Zealand Sports Law Association

Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand

Institute of Sport Management

Tax Agents Board

CPA Australia

Economics and FinanceFinancial Planning Association of Australia

Australian Property Institute

Information SystemsAustralian Computer Society

ManagementAustralian Human Resource Institute

MarketingPublic Relations Institute of Australia

International Advertising Association

Graduate School of BusinessAssociation of MBAs

Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Australia and New Zealand

Professional Accreditations

industry representatives advise on the sorts of spaces, equipment and skill sets needed to simulate real-world environments, with the view to use these dynamic learning spaces to share with students the lessons of their own business experiences.

An External relations unit has been set up within CBS specifically to facilitate these and other collaborative opportunities between business and education.

Taking students to the workplace

our strong industry links have created the Curtin Business School industry Scholarships, providing four first year students with the opportunity to gain paid work experience with the well-established companies: Australia Post, Bankwest, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the royal Automotive Club (rAC). Scholarship recipients will work within each of the organisations, learning from a key mentor and experiencing a real working environment.

Serving the community

CBS strongly supports Curtin’s ethic of community service. As well as conducting research on behalf of a range of not-for profit organisations, we have established a partnership with the oaktree Foundation which runs projects to improve access to quality education in the developing world. through volunteering and internships, CBS students and staff are able to lend their various business skills to projects being run in countries such as South Africa, Ghana and East timor. As well as assisting oaktree in its important work, this partnership enables CBS students to extend their global outlook and explore first-hand the ethical and social responsibilities of business.

Also assisting CBS students to apply their business skills in a social capacity is the extracurricular cbsplus program. the program, which develops professional skills, encourages students to get involved in the running of business and community events.

Funds raised from these events have been donated to a range of not-for-profit organisations, such as the Starlight Foundation, FoodBank and YouthFocus.

CBS also offers indigenous scholarships to support Aboriginal people in pursuing an undergraduate business degree.

3

New tools for the jobENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS

At CBS, not all business learning comes in the form of a university degree.

Supporting business growth

For the past 15 years, the Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) has been helping WA business owners and managers, from a wide

range of industries, trades and professions, to run their business to the best of its potential. the Curtin Growth Programs provide the practical know-how for small-to-medium businesses to improve their financial return, move their operations to the next level and, in many instances, bring better balance to their working lives. in doing so, they recognise the significant contribution that small business operators make to the country’s economy.

the learning process in these programs is enjoyable, practical and hands-on: group workshops run by expert industry practitioners provide a toolkit of new skills and ideas and allow participants to share the lessons of their own business experiences with their peers. this is combined with a personal business mentor, who guides the individual as they convert this new learning into action.

this unique combination of workshops and business mentoring has provided inspiration and practical knowledge to many hundreds of business people over the last 15 years.

4

The Curtin Growth Programs provide the

practical know-how for small-to-medium

businesses to improve their financial return and

move their operations to the next level.

“It is exciting when you see so many new and diverse businesses emerging to take advantage of this global marketplace. I know from the benefits I gained by attending the Growth Owner Program that every business owner has something they can learn and every business deserves the opportunity to grow.”

Patria Jafferies, co-founder and former managing director of Dome Coffee Australia

Patria was a graduate of the first Growth program and now shares her business learning with other Growth students as the Centre for Entrepreneurship’s first patron.

curtingrowth.edu.au

Leading change

in times of turbulence, even the most successful individuals and organisations recognise the need for change, new ways of thinking and increased resilience.

Curtin executive education programs offer a variety of customisable learning options. We can tailor programs to the needs of organisations in a number of professional development areas, from enhancing leadership skills to developing strategic thinking.

For example, the ‘navigating the Maze’ program, unique to Curtin, helps executives to creatively explore the complex strategic issues affecting the future of their organisation so they can be more responsive and adaptive.

Curtin’s Centre for innovation in Decision Quality (CiDQ) has also assembled a portfolio of techniques to help clients generate innovative thinking and decision-making.

At a more industry-specific level, the Western Australian government has re-selected Curtin to deliver the Public Sector Management Program, which helps middle to senior managers deal

with increasing demands from the public for accountability and service provision. And for several years, CBS’ participation in the Australian Centre for natural Gas Management has been helping managers from mainland China to develop a strong understanding of the increasingly competitive downstream gas industry.

Runs on the board

CBS has successfully completed a number of executive education and consulting assignments in local, state and federal government, large corporates, professional service companies and not-for-profit bodies. in recent times, clients have included the Water Corporation, City of Stirling and Woodside.

in 2008, CBS won a national $10 million AusAiD tender to provide leadership training to 130 would-be leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region, drawing on the content of our well-established Master of leadership and Management degree.

5

business.curtin.edu.au/consultancy

“…a fantastic and invigorating experience. They challenged me and my management team each step of the way to really think about our objectives…and how best to achieve those objectives…and the feedback from our staff on the retreat was overwhelmingly positive.”

John Poulsen, Managing Partner of Minter Ellison

John worked with the CIDQ team, who facilitated a staff retreat entitled ‘Thinking Differently – Our Journey Continues’.

CBS’ strong international focus underpins our research as well as our teaching. Even when seeking solutions to local

business issues, we look at what other countries have done to solve similar problems and what is happening in the greater regional and global context. ultimately, we want our research to have the broadest relevance possible. one of the overarching themes of our current research activity is broader sustainable development.

Beyond the global financial crisis and local busts and booms, we are seeking to provide new insights into the way businesses and economies can achieve long-term growth without compromising social well-being or the interests of the environment.

For example, we have been looking at how service organisations in countries across the Asia Pacific region can be better managed to promote sustainable economic and social wealth and deliver greater lifestyle options.

this research is developing greater understanding of how economic and social wealth is maintained in countries transforming themselves in a globalised world, recognising the limitations of Western-based management practices in these environments.

Saving your energy

Curtin’s wide-ranging research capabilities in the area of energy resources are also making their contribution to sustainability. We have a team undertaking extensive research into world energy markets, cost-benefit analyses of renewable energy technologies and environmental factors that influence the energy sector to assist energy planners and politicians to find the best mix of resources, costs and environmental impacts.

Tapping into our strengths

our work in this evolving area of sustainable development draws on existing research strengths in areas such as corporate governance and social responsibility, labour market trends, logistics and strategic procurement, small business development, applied economics, sustainable tourism, the evolution of electronic markets, and the use of information and communication technologies (iCt) in business.

A strong team within CBS excels in innovative theoretical and applied research in the areas of Digital Business, health and Education Ecosystems. the group is currently involved in flagship research into the social, cultural and economic impact of these digital ecosystems. Working in collaboration with businesses and industry their work is widely applicable in problem solving and advancement of business, industry and other human endeavours. An important feature is regional modelling sustainability and risks arising from climate change.

Sustainable solutionsRESEARCH AT CBS

6

business.curtin.edu.au/research

CBS’ strong international focus underpins our research as well as our teaching. Ultimately we want our research to have the broadest relevance possible.

Areas of research

Oil And Gas Management

Business Intelligence

Information Systems

E-Commerce & Internet Market Analysis

Regional Tourism Planning for Sustainability

Corporate Governance

Environmental & Social Accounting

Environmental Law

Health Law

Gender Issues in Economics

Labour Market Economics for Well Beingand Indigenous Groups

Pricing, Risk and Risk Management in Financial Markets

Corporate Sustainability and Competitive Advantage

Decision Analysis / Decision Quality

Corporate Sustainability

Technology Transfer

Brand Management

Social Marketing

Advertising and Public Relations

NB Not all areas of research have been included in the list above. A comprehensive list is available from our website.

Because CBS wants to prepare its graduates to be commercially aware from their first working day, it places great

emphasis on real-world understanding of global business environments. Students gain practical experience of workplace scenarios through placements in industry settings, while the extensive use of local and international case studies in the classroom teaches students to understand how business principles are applied in a wide range of business and cultural contexts.

We also value staff who bring to their teaching not only high-calibre academic qualifications (close to 60 per cent of CBS teaching staff have PhDs) but national and international industry experience. Close to 40 per cent of our teachers come from overseas countries and most of our Australian staff have worked overseas.

the strong international profile of our student body adds enormously to the student experience. international students share their cultural perspectives in the classroom setting, add greater depth to discussion of international business issues, and help us to appreciate

the realities of communicating across cultures as they work to solve complex problems in multinational teams. this is business education at its best, addressing head-on the challenges of operating in a global context.

Moving with the times

As business environments constantly change to reflect broader economic, technological and socio-cultural developments, our teaching curriculum, too, is constantly evolving. At CBS we have been on the front foot in developing programs in growth areas such as e-commerce, internet marketing, small business education, international business and entrepreneurship and our teaching responds to market changes within existing disciplines.

our courses also develop the generic professional skills demanded by employers in a rapidly changing world: the ability to work independently and in teams; leadership; information and communication skills; problem-solving; and the ability to appreciate cultural diversity.

underpinning all of our teaching is a strong emphasis on ethical business practices.

Building strong foundations

CBS’ current focus on better engaging and integrating students during the critical first year of their study is aimed at ensuring that, right from the very start, all of our students are given the support they need to fully explore their potential. Whether this is providing support to help them improve their communication skills or simply to navigate the university system, this focus on the transformative first year experience – which will see the setting up of a dedicated first year precinct – will help ensure that they are able to take full advantage of their learning.

Ready for anythingTHE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION

7

Teaching areas

School of Accounting

School of Business Law and Taxation

School of Economics and Finance

School of Information Systems

School of Management

School of Marketing

Graduate School of Business (city campus)

Because CBS wants to prepare its graduates to be commercially aware from their first working day, it places great emphasis on real-world understanding of global business.

Have degree, will travelOUR INTERNATIONAL PROFILE

8

The global spread of our students makes Curtin Business School truly international

CBS was one of the first business schools in Australia to deliver offshore courses, setting up several business programs

in South East Asia during the mid-1980s. today, we are regarded as a major international player in business education, with more than 60,000 alumni spread throughout 110 countries. their employers range from multinational companies to regional organisations.

the international spread of our graduates is no surprise: our students are trained to appreciate cultural differences in business practices so that they are comfortable with moving across borders in their work.

Local and global

however, our international credentials are not just based on our geographical reach. A vibrant multicultural atmosphere is maintained on our main Bentley campus where the population is made up of students from more than 100 nationalities – the third largest international population of any Australian university.

We make the most of this strong international profile at home, supporting local and international

students to share cultural perspectives and work on complex cross-border case studies. our international curriculum is reinforced by the international profile of many of our teaching staff, who are able to bring the lessons of their overseas experiences into the classroom setting.

Students can also supplement their international perspective through study abroad and student exchange arrangements that Curtin maintains with leading universities throughout the world.

The right partners

CBS maintains unrivalled partnerships with high-quality education providers in Singapore, Malaysia, hong Kong, Mauritius and China, enabling students in those locations to obtain a fully-accredited Australian qualification identical in standard to that offered at Curtin’s Bentley campus.

A portable degree

Business courses have a significant presence at Curtin’s campuses in Malaysia and Singapore and at the university’s east coast campus in Sydney, with students able to transfer their studies seamlessly between these different locations.

Our students are trained to appreciate cultural differences in business practices so that they are comfortable with moving across borders in their work.

Disclaimer and Copyright InformationInformation in this publication is correct at the time of printing and valid for 2009/2010, but may change from time to time. Curtin will not be liable to you or to any other person for any loss or damage (including direct, consequential or economic loss or damage) however caused and whether by negligence or otherwise which may result directly or indirectly from the use of this publication.

Copyright Curtin University of Technology 2009This publication is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Curtin University of Technology CRICOS Provider code Bentley Campus 00301J Sydney Campus 02637B.

Curtin Business School

Kent Street Bentley Western Australia 6102 GPo Box u1987 Perth Western Australia 6845

t +61 8 9266 4256 F +61 8 9266 4027 e business@cbs.curtin.edu.au