UTS teaches cloud to business students

The University of Technology, Sydney, is taking MBA students to the cloud using software from NetSuite.

The UTS Business School plans to include NetSuite cloud ERP in postgraduate degree curricula in 2013 for students pursuing MBA and Master of Business in Operations and Supply Chain Management degrees. NetSuite said it will help design the program over the next four months.

“UTS is in the process of reinventing business education,” said UTS Business School dean, Roy Green. “We’re shifting away from the traditional approach of pushing students down specialist career paths, to creating graduates capable of boundary-crossing beyond specialisations – which is what’s required of today’s business leaders.”

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Green said the goal is to provide business students with practical IT skills.

“Our partnership with NetSuite is about producing work-ready graduates for a market rapidly embracing cloud computing,” he said.

“Given cloud software automates many traditional professional functions, our graduates need to be lateral thinkers capable of adding value to organisations in new ways.”

NetSuite has similar programs at more than 100 tertiary institutions around the world, but UTS Business School will be first in Australia. The company plans to involve other Australian and New Zealand universities this year, but selected UTS “on the strength of its application of theoretical concepts to real-world cases and situations,” NetSuite said.

“As the demand for cloud-based business management solutions has rapidly accelerated, business students must be ready to hit the ground running with a practical understanding of cloud computing and how it is increasingly becoming an integral component of everyday business practices,” said Mark Troselj, NetSuite managing director for APAC.

Deakin University recently announced a postgraduate program focused on big data. Meanwhile, the Australian Computer Society has announced a partnership with university deans to enhance ICT education.

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