Explore Economics & Finance

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Sveta Angelopoulos:

Hello. My name is Sveta and together with Nirav, we are the Program Managers of the Bachelor of Business, Economics and Finance here at RMIT University. Today, we're going to talk about the benefits of our program, why this is the right degree for you. Economics and finance is more relevant and necessary than ever before. This has been demonstrated again and again in the world around us, and has been one of the core focuses throughout this COVID-19 crisis. We will talk about what you'll study in the degree and why. The structure of the program, and the opportunities to choose your own path and learning experiences. We're proud to be a part of the business education community and the economics and finance team here at RMIT. And we'd love to welcome you to our program one day soon.

Before we start, we'd like to acknowledge the people of the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung language groups of the Eastern Kulin nations on whose unceded lands, we conduct the business of the university. RMIT respectfully acknowledges their ancestors and elders past, present, and emerging. And while we conduct our work remotely, we want to pay our respect to the wider unceded lands of this nation. This is more than just another business degree. We provide a unique, well established, and recognized program. We are not offering some generic degree with a random combination of subjects, but one that offers two specializations. Essentially two majors. Economics and finance. Providing pathways into all industries and endless employment opportunities. Our focus is on applied knowledge and skills, not just theoretical knowledge. We want you to be able to use the theories and models you will learn in the real world to solve problems. This is what economics and finance is all about. How to improve the wellbeing of individuals, households, businesses, regions, and thereby the world around us.

You are our future business leaders. You are our future political leaders. The knowledge and skills you will acquire will help you make the best possible decisions. To do this, you will be taught by lecturers whose research actively tries to solve problems. We are applied academics, who work with industry and government agencies to improve the outcomes for residents and businesses. We undertake active research of our markets and our industries, and focus on the health and wellbeing of our communities. Our approach is unique. We provide two majors and in the three year program, you also have the opportunity to undertake an additional minor. Specializations that continue to be in demand by industry. Our minors include behavioral business and blockchain. Providing you with knowledge and skills being demanded by businesses, and thereby further extending your employment opportunities.

The applied degree offers a year long work placement, and in the fourth year applied students undertake two business design project courses that work with industry, and consolidate theory, practical experience, and problem solving skills. These courses build upon the work experience here and use design thinking concepts to develop projects for industry partners. Next, Nirav will present on the RMIT trading facility and the rest of the program.

Nirav Parikh:

Thank you Sveta for introducing the core structure of Bachelor of Business Economics and Finance program. I'm Nieto across universities in Australia RMIT has one of the largest trading facility that gives you experimental trading experience by simulating task undertaken by finance professionals in a real world investment company, thus providing further applied training to students. While doing the economics and finance degree, each student gets exes and training on the definitive icon financial data platform, which includes data on financial markets, listed companies, business news, macro data, et cetera. Definitive is a world's leading source of intelligent information are for businesses and expert and finance professionals widely used Refinitiv icon for analysis purposes. They had wanted for students is that we teach them economic and finance theories, and then using live data from the market, we provide hands on experience by training them in all aspects of foreign exchange, money market, risk management, and financial market settlements together with market language and conventions used by practitioners in the real world.

To meet industry requirements, the course and trading facility related assessments have been designed by taking inputs from finance professionals. We also have industry experts teaching in our classes, with the objective to assist students, to increase their marketability and graduate employability. We are now fortunate to have a behavioral business lab that is used for both research and the behavioral business minor available to our students. In addition, the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub helps students to learn and understand the latest in blockchain technology and its role in the future economy.

In the third year of the applied goals, students undertake a compulsory eight to 12 months supervised work placement in the industry through the Cooperative Education Program. Students get an opportunity to undertake local and overseas work placements paid and unpaid, and also take up a position for one or two days per week, for one semester through the business internship electives. As part of the Fastrack Innovation Program, students can do an elective course working with mentors to develop and present a solution to a real problem. We align with industry partners to provide beyond the classroom experience. We work very closely with the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. While starting in the program, students get an opportunity to be part of the CFE challenge, where they compete with students around the globe. As part of the challenge, students get a chance to be mentored by an industry practitioner.

Students also participate in the Inter-university Foreign Exchange trading competition run by Refinitiv and in an Industry Challenge with Mercer International, a leading firm for superannuation and investments product. Hence by working closely with industry partners, we get our students ready for their role in the professional world. In addition to work integrated learning, we have an economics and finance business design project that consists of two courses that undertake a challenge with an industry partner. This year, students will be working with Finding Infinity to address sustainability solutions for the Melbourne 2030 - New Normal Project, projects include business models to develop waste to energy solutions, solar and wind grid storage solutions, electric car charging infrastructure for large car parks, and ending landfill. Thus students will learn how to apply design thinking principles and techniques to produce creative and innovative business plans and solutions to examine broader business issues.

RMIT has partnerships with 215 universities across the world, which includes universities in Europe, Asia, North, and South America, Africa and Oceania. The rare combination of economics and finance provides employment outcomes that span industries and businesses, and doesn't pigeonhole those who complete the degree to a particular type of occupation. Our students don't just develop the skills and learn the knowledge required for the dual specialization; they learn to think, consider, analyze, and problem solve. This makes them suitable for an incredibly wide range of occupations and are desired by a wide range of employers. The graduate exit survey shows our graduates work as analysts, consultants, advisors, brokers, economists, personal bankers, and in many different types of managerial roles. Where are they employed? They work at ANZ Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank, Deloitte, IBM, KPMG, Optus, Unisuper to name a few. For domestic applicants, the ATAR entry score for this program, for 2019, was 68.25 For international, general admission students, they require a secondary school qualification with a minimum of 65% average.

For domestic applicants, the ATAR entry score for this program, for 2019, was 80. For international, general admission students, they require a secondary school qualification with the minimum 75% average. For both the programs, there are no prerequisites. There are many pathways available at RMIT. You can start in a diploma program and progress into a degree pathway. Higher education orientation week is from 22 to 26, February, 2021. And classes begin first March, 2021. Let me end by saying thank you for taking the time to hear about our economics and finance program at RMIT. For more information about Bachelor of Business Economics and Finance at RMIT, check out our website or call study at RMIT on nine, nine, two, five, two, two, six, zero. Take care, stay safe and healthy, and we hope to see around RMIT.

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