UQ toasts business school growth

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Tags: anniversaries, business, winter-2012

A concept image of a new Business School Project

The UQ Business School continues to enhance its national and international reputation in the lead up to its 10-year anniversary.

Last year the school was ranked in the world’s top 50 business schools providing executive education programs by the Financial Times, and was also awarded a five-star rating by the Graduate Management Association of Australia for the seventh year in a row.

These achievements are made even more remarkable given it has only been a decade since the school established itself as a separate entity.

To celebrate 10 years of success in 2012, the school is undertaking a re-branding process, and has planned a series of events culminating in November with an acclaimed business guru joining in the festivities.

The school’s origins date back to 1926 when The University of Queensland offered its first accounting degrees. The Department of Accountancy was set up in 1961, and later became the School of Commerce. Management education began in 1972, when the first MBA students enrolled. Today the program is ranked among the top two in the country by the Australian Financial Review’s BOSS magazine.

UQ Business School was formed in 2002 with the merger of the Schools of Commerce and Management, and two years later, it merged with the Technology and Innovation Management Centre (TIMC).

It became the first business school in Australia to meet the standards of the world’s two most influential accrediting bodies – the US-based AACSB International and Europe’s EQUIS.

Today the school offers a wide range of degree programs to more than 7500 students. They include undergraduate, postgraduate coursework, and postgraduate research programs in addition to popular executive education programs.

While most of the staff are located at the St Lucia campus, the school’s Queen Street facility in Brisbane’s CBD has made the school an integral part of the business community. Opened in 2004, this award-winning learning and conference centre is home to the executive education and MBA programs.

An internal view of UQ Business School's Downtown campus in the Brisbane CBD

Executive Dean for the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law Professor Iain Watson said a combination of teaching, research and consulting was key to the school’s success.

“At UQ Business School, we believe that teaching, research and consulting are all crucial to create the kind of learning environment that most benefits our students,” he said.

“Knowledge discovered through research is tested in the high-pressure world of consulting. The insights gained can then be shared through teaching.”

Academic Dean and Head of School Professor Andrew Griffiths said the separate elements had come together successfully in a relatively short period of time.

“We aim to create an environment where the disciplines of research give students the skills to find the knowledge they need; where good ideas are tested and polished to become great ideas; and where rigorous analysis is celebrated and collaboration valued,” he said.

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