UQ Business School Offers New Courses

New courses in Project Management and Property Studies will now be offered as part of UQ Business School's comprehensive range of degree programs. Students studying a Bachelor of Business Management can now choose from twelve Real Estate and Development courses, including Building Construction Management and Economics, Real Estate Development Planning, and Valuation Principles. Postgraduate students can also choose to study a Master of Project Management in which they are introduced to industry practices and are given the opportunity to undertake a mentored research project. Acting Head of School and Associate Professor Fiona Rohde said the integration of project, property, and business disciplines was a welcome development for UQBS. "It brings people with a similar focus under one roof and allows students a broader choice of electives from within the school," she said. Associate Professor Clive Warren has moved to UQBS from the Geography, Planning and Architecture School and said the structure would better prepare students for today's multifaceted corporate environments. "The nature of property and business has changed over the past ten years and we now put property into bigger investment vehicles then ever before. "We need to give property students a business understanding and also prepare business students to work closely with planners and architects," he said. Property Valuers Simon Husten and Peter Elliot have also joined UQBS and will bring their extensive industry experience to broaden students' understanding of the international property arena. Despite business and finance industries bearing the brunt of the recent economic downturn, Associate Professor Warren credits healthy enrolment numbers to the diversity of the programs. "The skills and knowledge learnt, particularly in Project Management, can be applied to a range of industries such as IT, architecture, construction, and health". "For Property Studies students, development is still happening. Despite the economic situation, the Government is putting a lot of money into infrastructure and while we aren't doing the building we are advising the developers and the lenders," he said. UQBS Masters graduate Simon Beesley said Property Studies offered a broad spectrum of employment opportunities. "People graduating when I did were going off to valuation firms and to the government and doing market research, property development, portfolio management, and working for property trusts," he said. UQ Business School offers Bachelors degrees in Business, Business Management, and Commerce, and Masters degrees in Business and Commerce alongside the unique Master of Technology and Innovation Management and the highly regarded UQBS MBA.