The business school of Sri Lanka's pioneering accounting body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), which has made vast strides over a period of more than half a decade, is offering the country's ambitious professionals the opportunity to follow a prestigious Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree in partnership with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), a leading Australian university.

With registrations now open for the next semester commencing in July 2011, the USQ MBA is seen as a gateway for professionals to achieve their highest professional ambitions in today's competitive world where both academic and professional qualifications are deemed essential to succeed in one's career goals.

In 2004, the ICASL, which has been the pioneer of chartered accountancy education in the country, together with USQ commenced offering the postgraduate degree programme for Sri Lankans, and almost seven years since, the USQ MBA has been recognized as a prestigious qualification with approximately 300 students seen following the MBA during a single semester at any given time.
Infused with tremendous flexibility, students following the MBA are given upto six years to complete the postgraduate course, although on average, majority of students complete the degree within a two year period.

USQ's Student Experience Director, Lorne Gibson, who recently in Sri Lanka, emphasized that the primary reason the university provides such flexibility to its students was because most students who follow the degree are professionals, who are subjected to various forms of pressures, work and otherwise. "Most students who are professionals have work pressure and also family commitments, etc. and studying an MBA needs commitment and it is challenging, and one cannot rush through such a course, that way the end result would not be satisfactory, hence we give flexibility to students, allowing them to take their time and finish it within a stipulated yet flexible timeline," he noted.

Incidentally, the MBA offered at the ICASL, has a diverse student population following and does not limit to financial professionals only. Professionals from the fields of management, marketing and information and technology are also following this post graduate course.

The flexible entry pathway to follow the MBA is yet another added advantage to those interested to follow a MBA degree but without an undergraduate qualification.

Mr. Gibson also stressed that USQ has focused on getting students to interact proactively when studying for the degree, unlike in a conventional class environment where interacting with a lecturer is minimal and often students just only take down notes.

"At USQ we don't only focus on theory but also take studying to the next level, providing a platform for better interactions for students, ensuring they are heavily involved with research and also allowing them to increasing their knowledge on soft skills. Our aim is to ensure that at the end of the course, students should be able to carry out everything clearly articulated in the course," Gibson noted.

The MBA also helps a student take better stock of the organization around him, apart from helping a student improve his or her communication style, students following the USQ MBA are also instilled with better understanding on how their counterparts work, the importance of organizational behavior, thereby building them professionally and helping them understand their surroundings which ultimately makes them better team players.

Mr. Gibson assured that the USQ MBA offered in Sri Lanka were of the same standards offered in his country. He noted that USQ follows a strict quality control and even the lecturers hired by the university are selected after a thorough procedure and often the teachers are former USQ students themselves.

"Even the grading is done under the same basis carried out in Australia, so there is no disparity at any level with regard to the course offered in Sri Lanka or any other country outside Australia," he assured.

Meanwhile, the university has decided to revitalize its MBA curriculum from 2012 with an updated new structure, in keeping with changing market trends and in its continuing strive to maintain the strictest of standards.