Stay up-to-date with finance short courses
With the largest postgraduate finance program in the world, the Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre is well qualified to offer high quality short courses to the business community.
The Centre, which enrols around 900 students annually, offers a Master of Applied Finance in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tokyo, Singapore and Beijing. Students typically work in the finance sector, for banks, investment banks, insurers, stock brokers, investment managers, and other major financial institutions.
Teachers with practical experience
The programs run at the Centre are conducted by full-time and adjunct staff with high-level academic qualifications and years of practical experience in the areas in which they teach.
"We regard it as essential that the person standing in front of the students has actually done what it is they are teaching, where there is 'real money' involved," explains Colin Wise, Assistant Director (Programs), Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre.
Short course program
The Applied Finance Centre has run numerous executive short courses over the past 10 years aimed at those who want an introduction to a particular area of finance, without the commitment of enrolling for a formal degree or certificate.
"Typically, attendees work in the finance sector, or in a finance function within a manufacturing, transport, mining or other industrial firm for instance," says Wise.
This year the Centre expects to conduct at least 20 short courses. Most are conducted in one day but in some cases, where the subject is essentially identical to a Masters program elective, it is run over three days. The beauty of such courses is that they can be taken with or without formal assessment.
"The short courses typically look at a new area of finance that is becoming 'mainstream' such as venture capital and behavioural finance," says Wise. "In some cases, they are driven by market action that makes a particular sector of interest. An example would be 'Managing Energy Risk', an area that has become very topical due to the run up in oil prices."
First quarter programs
Some of the programs on offer during the first quarter of 2006 include: Behavioural Finance for Investment Professionals (2 February); Venture Capital - an Introduction (14 February); Managing Operational Risk (21 February); Managing Energy Risk (14 March) and; Ethical Risk in Finance (6 April). These programs will be conducted in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. There are plans to offer short courses at all centres which offer the Masters program within the next two years.
"Most major financial institutions have had students attend either our Masters program or our short courses," says Wise. "Students who have participated in our short courses have found them to be of significant value career-wise, as it enables them to stay up-to-date."
For further information visit the Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre website at http://www.mafc.mq.edu.au/Short_courses.htm or email Colin Wise at colin.wise@mafc.mq.edu.au