A major Australian university — Adelaide University – has launched, with a transformative approach to business and management that will take it to the top of global options for the popular disciplines.

Combining contemporary teaching with a curriculum that’s deeply linked to industry, course designers say that Adelaide University’s business and management degrees will cultivate leaders who are uniquely equipped to navigate the modern world.

Adelaide University has been created through the coming together of two of the nation’s most distinguished institutions for business and management, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

The new curriculum focuses on modular, stackable degrees that offer incredible flexibility, share a digital underpinning combined with rich face-to-face teaching, and draw deeply on the latest research and industry needs.

Associate Professor Jean Canil has been overseeing the design of Adelaide University’s undergraduate business and management programmes.

“Adelaide University’s stackable approach provides fantastic options for students,” Assoc Prof Canil says.
“This means students earn qualifications as they progress towards their degree. Credentials that can be added to their resume, demonstrating their acquired knowledge and skills to potential employers, or for further educational pursuits.”

The modular curriculum also allows greater flexibility for course design, ensuring agility in incorporating new topics — a critical benefit in today’s fast-paced world.

“Our undergraduate programmes are centred on flexibility,” Assoc Prof Canil says. “As part of that, we have made first year as interchangeable as possible.

“Adelaide University’s business curriculum includes two distinct bachelor’s degree programmes. The Bachelor of Commerce offers five majors: Accounting, Banking and Finance, Property, Financial Planning and Business Analytics. The Bachelor of Business offers 13 majors including Marketing, Management, International Business, Digital Business, Real Estate, Human Resources and more.

“Students can switch between the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Business after their first year without losing progress. This adaptable structure means students can refine their academic focus as they gain more insight into their preferences and strengths, without delaying their graduation timeline.”

Adelaide University has developed its curriculum through strategic partnerships with industry leaders.

“Through designing our degrees with industry partners, we’ve carefully considered what topics and majors align with global needs, and what’s likely to be required in the future,” Assoc Prof Canil explains.

For business and commerce, these include majors in Business Analytics with its focus on AI, predictive data and coding that is highly relevant to modern business, and a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Professor Lan Snell has been co-leading the design of Adelaide University’s postgraduate business and management degrees.

“Our universities came together and developed a contemporary approach for Adelaide University’s programmes that combined our strengths and embedded cutting-edge practices, applying them to all degrees,” Prof Snell says.

Prof Snell says the flexible, student-centred approach is just half of the equation.

“The other aspect that sets the University apart is the complementarity of its two founding institutions, which is perfectly illustrated in the area of Business and Management.”

“Our founding universities are both in the global top 1% for business, however they have separate distinctive features they’re known for. Combine our complementary strengths and you have a business and management powerhouse.”

This is evidenced in the MBAs offered by the new Adelaide University. “Our MBAs are multi-modal including face to face, wholly online and intensive teaching blocks, giving students maximum choice,” Prof Snell says.

Adelaide University is poised to set a new standard for education, attracting aspiring students and visionary educators from around the globe. More than 200 initial programmes are now open for admission on the Adelaide University website, with further additions to be progressively released.