Thinking and Acting Transnationally
GCA has ironically always been a transnational thinker in that students come from all around the world to study with us. On the last count (T1, 2024) students hailed from some 30 countries.
To be truly international – an institution should have international students; have international staff; and - deliver internationally. COVID-19 actually assisted UBSS to meet the three criteria in that ‘stranded’ international students were taught online in their home countries during 2020-2023 and a beta trial was established in Bangkok (with local facilitators) that tested the viability of the MBA online once COVID restrictions ended.
UBSS now has in place a range of transnational projects and has recently employed a senior staffer to oversee further developments and expansions.
A joint Initiative with Chiang Rai Rajabhat University (Thailand)
A pilot project has been designed, and is about to be launched, providing a joint teaching and learning initiative around a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). The pilot will provide staff from UBSS - seeking a doctorate qualification - to study in hybrid mode from across our three Australian campuses under the direct supervision of senior GCA/UBSS staff approved by the CRRU authority. The program is a 6-semester project that involves both coursework and thesis.
The partnership with CRRU to date has had a number of iterations including a CRRU staff group (14) attending three weeks of professional development at the Melbourne Campus in 2022; 25 CRRU senior executives attending seminars on transformational leadership and hybrid learning in Sydney in 2023; and now a joint initiative to be attended by staff from both organisations.
For more about CRRU see – https://crru.ac.th/
The project is spearheaded by Emeritus Professor Greg Whateley - https://www.ubss.edu.au/our-people/emeritus-professor-greg-whateley/
Masters’ Preparation Program with Hebei University of Technology
UBSS has endorsed (and co-operating with) a project to deliver an MBA Preparation Course in association with the Hebei University of Technology (International Study Centre Langfang City, China) AIDE and Evotree (Melbourne).
This is an innovative transnational project that will provide UBSS staff with an interesting opportunity to expand their scholarship profile and at the same time develop expertise in mentoring offshore staff. Further, it is hoped that this will drive additional MBA students towards UBSS campuses in Australia.
Mentors are required to work with Chinese lecturers in the following disciplines - Management Principles; Human Resource Management; Principles of Accounting; Advanced Business Communication; Cross-Cultural Management; Quantitative Methods; and Business Economics.
For more about HUT see - https://www.hebut.edu.cn/
The project is spearheaded by Associate Professor Tom O’Connor - https://www.ubss.edu.au/our-people/associate-professor-tom-o-connor/
MBA Online
Throughout the COVID -19 period UBSS gained a high level of expertise in delivering online to students in Australia and across the world. Our investment in technology from the outset provided us with a new potential as we emerged from the shadows.
Approved by the National Regulator, UBSS has in place a fully online MBA that currently attracts students from around Australia (five States) and is to be launched worldwide in T2, 2024. 16 subjects are available online for anyone to access – time zones have been acknowledged – as have regional pricing allowances.
The potential for this initiative is unlimited in that there is no cap on enrolments for either domestic or non-CRICOS international students.
For more about the MBA online see - https://online.ubss.edu.au/
The project is spearheaded by Professor Ashok Chanda - https://www.ubss.edu.au/our-people/professor-ashok-chanda/
Appointment of a Transnational Director
To further our efforts in the transnational space (and provide support to our current initiatives) we are delighted that Emeritus Professor Jim Mienczakowski has agreed to join GCA as Director, Transnational Initiatives – commencing March 2024.
Jim has enjoyed a highly successful international/national career as a Professor (London, West Indies, Australia), Dean (Queensland), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Queensland and Victoria), Director of Higher Education (Abu Dhabi, UAE), Vice Chancellor (UAE), President and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Malaysia) – Jim is an Emeritus Professor of Curtin University.
This is a direct report to the Office of the DVC and CEO.
For more about Emeritus Professor Jim Mienczakowski see - https://www.ubss.edu.au/our-people/emeritus-professor-jim-mienczakowski/
Transnational activities and initiatives are not new to GCA/UBSS. The intention is to explore a range of new opportunities with a special emphasis in England, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
Emeritus Professor Greg Whateley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (UBSS) and Chief Executive Officer (GCA)
