Andrew Griffiths, academic dean and head of the University of Queensland Business School, says the number of undergraduate students has been “really quite stable” over the last few years.
“That’s less connected to maybe us specifically, and more connected to the university and the increased inflow of undergraduate student numbers [generally],” Griffiths says.
“If you look at undergraduate numbers, it’s… around about 5,000. That was the 2011 intake for our business school programs.”
“At the postgraduate level, it’s about 2,000, so we sit at around the 7,000 mark.”
“We mainly have domestic undergraduate students and mainly international postgraduate students.”
“Domestic students get their primary degree at an institution where they live [whereas] postgraduate students are looking for universities with good reputations.”
Dr Richard Seymour, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, is the program director of the university’s Innovation & Enterprise Program.
Seymour, who is also co-director of the university’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Research Group, is currently in India where he is teaching a start-up unit.
“In the teaching program, there are hundreds of students enrolled, mainly at the postgraduate level, though there are about 60 undergrads doing an entrepreneurship unit,” Seymour says.
“Rough numbers would be around 400 students each semester doing these units. There are smaller numbers doing the majors.”
“We offer a Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship – rebranded for 2013 to include ‘entrepreneurship’ – specialisation as part of the MCom as well as the Graduate Certificate in Innovation & Enterprise… We’re continually thinking through the teaching philosophy.”
Seymour also makes special mention of Sydney Genesis, a start-up competition for students, helping them understand university is “more than just going to lectures”.
Similarly, Griffins says there has to be a balance between theory and practice.
“To have students engaged in a project which may have a social or economic impact [is crucial]. We’re getting them to apply the learnings from the course into a live project,” he says.
“We’re setting them up to understand how they might be entrepreneurial.”
In September, the University of Melbourne partnered with US company Coursera to offer free online courses as a way of responding to the “explosion” in interest in online opportunities.
The university expects to have about 10 courses available through Coursera by the end of 2013.
Less than a week later, the University of Queensland announced it will also offer massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the next two years.
According to Professor Long, director of UQ’s Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology, the centre is “exploring opportunities” to work with other institutions.
This could include the Office of Educational Innovation & Technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Between one and two courses from each of UQ’s six faculties will be made accessible online in a MOOC format over the coming two years.
Melbourne and Queensland are in good company – joining the likes of Harvard, Stanford and Princeton – suggesting other Australian universities will follow suit.
