Showcasing university life down under

More than 90 high achieving undergraduate and postgraduate business students from the USA, South America, South Africa, China, Europe and Australia visited City campus to hear about academic life and see RMIT in action.

Dr Margaret Heffernan, OAM, from the School of Management presented a lively and inspirational presentation on: The Successful 21st Century Worker in a Global Context: Business Education in Australia.

Dr Heffernan spoke about the importance of transnational education, work and life experience, life-long learning, leadership, creativity and innovation.

She reinforced the importance of leveraging opportunities for a future career whilst studying.

“A successful career in the 21st century require a global mindset especially cultural intelligences, critical thinking, and adaptability. These requirements are not going to be completely fulfilled in a classroom setting.

“I encourage you to gather rich experiences through your social activities, taking calculated risks where it does not matter if you fail, meet interesting people; do something totally random every week... be bold, be brave!"

The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with current students and graduates from the College of Business, who spoke about their journey from secondary schooling through to vocational education, undergraduate and postgraduate study at RMIT.

As well as sharing their study experiences, the students provided insights into the variety of opportunities offered by RMIT to develop skills and networks through formal studies, study tours, and taking on student leadership roles.

The panel included Devian Panchal (International Business), Caitlin Farrelly (Supply Chain and Logistics), Rica Dezoller (Marketing and also winner of the Australian L’Oréal Brandstorm challenge with her team in 2013), Sophie McDonald (Management) and Torrell Fernandes (Finance). 

The delegation asked a diverse range of questions about studying at RMIT and education in Australia, course requirements, fees, cost of living, study tours, cooperative education, industry connections and career prospects.

Following the presentation, the delegates toured the Swanston Academic Building and the RMIT Trading Facility and enjoyed some Melbourne highlights.