EMBAs Down under – Top Business Schools in Australia

Australia – the land down under – is known for its golden beaches, barbecues and laidback lifestyle. But that’s not all this dynamic nation has to offer and to this list one can also add high-quality business education. A combination of a growing number of reputable MBA and EMBA programs, easily navigable immigration policies, good employment prospects and natural links with a rapidly emerging market in the Asia-Pacific region, are attracting more and more business and management students to Australia.

At present, top business schools down under are somewhat underrepresented in popular MBA and EMBA rankings, but that’s not to say they aren’t competing on the world stage. In fact, graduates from Australia’s top business schools can expect to earn among the highest salaries after graduation.

According to the 2014/15 QS TopMBA.com Jobs and Salary Trend Report, average MBA compensation in Australia was US$115,600, second only to Switzerland, US$122,000 and well ahead of the US at US$93,200.

Top business schools with a link to Asia-Pacific region

Substantial compensation packages upon graduation, strong economic growth, low inflation and high standards of living certainly create an attractive package for prospective EMBA candidates, yet Australia has one more trick up its sleeve to offer the ambitious executive – its geographic proximity to the Asia-Pacific region’s increasingly strident emerging market.

As you’d expect from leading institutions, Australia’s top business schools are capitalizing on this and have ensured their programs have a strong international focus, catering for both business professionals from Southeast Asia and those with an interest in the region.

Queensland University of Technology, for example, offers a five-star (Awarded by the Graduate Management Association of Australia)  EMBA program which takes students on a study tour to China, giving real-world relevance to the modules studied during the program. The tour allows students to experience differences and similarities in negotiation styles, business practices and in the application of expertise. With its rigorous academic schedule and a strong international practical focus, the program has been ranked among the top four programs in the Australian Financial Review BOSS MBA Ranking in 2013 (the course is only open to Australians and Kiwi residents/citizens).

Another five-star Executive MBA program, offered by RMIT, builds on natural Southeast Asian ties and provides students with a program that can be completed flexibly, online or on-campus in either Australia or Vietnam. Catering to busy but ambitious business leaders in the wider Asia-Pacific region, the program places emphasis on design thinking and leadership and includes international study tours to Vietnam and France.

A global outlook down under

Australia is a significant economic and educational player in the Asia-Pacific region but this doesn’t mean its top business schools aren’t international in their outlook. Just as North American and European business schools offer Global Executive MBAs, so too does the University of Sydney, down under. Its EMBA is offered across four continents and five countries, with learning modules delivered through online primers and in residential blocks that take students to Bangalore, Silicon Valley, London and Languedoc, France as well as Sydney. These modules aim to broaden a student’s ability to adjust to different cultures and practices across the globe, while educating a new and different type of business leader for the fast-paced globalized world in which leaders face new and complex challenges.

Other top programs for executives in the Asia-Pacific region are offered by the University of Western Australia Business School, which has created a Flexible MBA for middle and senior managers, allowing them to fly in and out as they need for the different module requirements, and the top-ranked Melbourne Business School.

The latter draws on its already strong reputation to provide cutting edge Executive MBA education that meets the dynamic demands of a globally emerging market. The course comprises 18 subjects and a series of skills development workshops specifically tailored to the needs and strengths of each cohort.

A viable business education option in an emerging market

North America and Europe may be the natural home of business education, and will continue to offer ambitious Executive MBA professionals high quality and well-established programs, but for those candidates who want a point of difference, Australia’s top business schools provide a more than viable alternative.

As business education markets in the northern hemisphere become saturated, while those in the southern hemisphere continue to gain in economic relevance, Australia is well placed to establish itself as a business education force to be reckoned with. Added to that a growing number of flexible programs on offer and executives interested in the Southeast Asia region may well find an ideal fit down under in an emerging market.

And those golden beaches and barbecues? Well, there can be little denying they make for great added benefits…