National education partnership announced

The Mt Eliza Business School based in Victoria and The University of Queensland today announced a partnership to offer joint executive education programs and an innovative MBA degree.

Chairman of the Board at Mt Eliza Mr David Karpin and University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay said the new partnership drew on the resources of both institutions to create truly national business programs.

Mr Karpin said the alliance created an exciting "first" for Australia.

"The move will make Mt Eliza the only independent business school and full-spectrum provider of management development education in the country," he said.

Professor Hay said the partnership was a boost to the national profile of the UQ Business School.

"One of the major initiatives of the alliance is an arrangement whereby Victorian based students can complete a University of Queensland Master of Business Administration (MBA) through the Mt Eliza Business School," Professor Hay said.

"The partnership shows that state boundaries are becoming increasingly irrelevant as business and university seek international best practice."

The alliance, which begins on January 1 next year, follows Mt Eliza's separation from Monash University.

The CEO of Mt Eliza Professor Bruce McKern said both organisations brought a wealth of experience to the new partnership.

"Mt Eliza's solid reputation is based on the close ties it has developed with the business community over the past 42 years," Professor McKern said.

"The University of Queensland is recognised as an innovative and entrepreneurial organisation, keen to forge new pathways in management development in Australia."

Under the new direction, Mt Eliza will continue to offer its current wide-ranging portfolio of management development programs for business and government.

These include intensive short residential executive development programs, and customised, business-specific programs, as well as a suite of graduate management education courses including the Executive MBA.

UQ Business School Executive Dean Professor Ian Zimmer said the Mt Eliza-UQ MBA was a four-quarter, one-year intensive full-time program, or up to three years part-time, modelled on proven formats taught at leading institutions such as INSEAD and IMD in Europe.

"We have set out to provide a world-class MBA program in an intensive format that makes better use of managers' time," Professor Zimmer said.

The MBA program will be run at Mt Eliza's new purpose-designed campus at 380 St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

Enquiries can be directed to communications@mailbox.uq.edu.au