The Sunday Times had the privilege of meeting up with two of Australia’s leading academics from the Australian Institute of Business, namely: Prof. Rod Oxenberry & Prof. Dennis Hardy. Visiting Sri-Lanka to attend the graduation ceremony was the Dean of the Australian institute of Business, Emeritus Professor Dennis Hardy and the Academic Board Chairman, Professor Rod Oxenberry. Education Times had the opportunity of talking to Professor Hardy and Professor Oxenberry about the Australian Institute of Business MBA program and their association with Oxford College of Business, here in Sri-Lanka.
 Previously known as the Gibaran Learning Group, in 2011 the group rebranded and consolidated into a single institute, the Australian Institute of Business (AIB). Oxford College of Business (OCB) has been offering the MBA from AIB for the past 5 years. “The Australian Institute of Business is fully accredited by the Government of Australia to offer Business Degrees ranging from Masters Programs, Doctorate in Business Administration and PHD’s. We run pre-university courses, as well as a vocational education department” said Prof. Hardy
“AIB currently offers study opportunities with partner institutes with sixteen centers located in ten countries, and Oxford College of Business in Colombo is one of them” said Prof. Oxenberry. Some of the other institutes include those located in South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore), the Carribean (Jamaica) as well as in Europe.
It is unique that Sri-Lanka is the only South Asian country currently offering the MBA program in association with AIB. “We are really excited to be here in Sri-Lanka, as a country that has just come out of a war Sri-Lanka is at a real take off point in a business sense and as a country entering the world market with a lot to offer, so its an exciting time for us to be here” said Prof.Oxenberry, highlighting on their presence in Sri-Lanka with OCB. Prof. Hardy further added “Australian education in particular is highly valued in Sri-Lanka and that is inspiring to others, it is a great privilege for us to be a part of that environment.”
 AIB’s MBA program popularly known as the ‘12month MBA’ in Sri Lanka distinguishes itself by encouraging students to make connections with what happens in the work place and brining those experiences in to the class room. “There is a great emphasis on learning from each other and in an MBA class where, typically, everyone is in employment there is much they can learn from each other. We place tremendous emphasis on this we are not just highly theoretical. That is why the tagline of AIB says we are ‘a practical business school’” said Prof. Hardy. He further added that they always encourage students to relate their learning to real world applications especially from their own country.
The learning is very culture specific and the lecturers give the students an additional boost and deliver the local knowledge and examples to the students.
“We want our students to take the theory and really make a difference in the world of business and also in the development of the country and business environment. This is one reason why the 12month MBA program is very popular in Sri Lanka. We have met many top business leaders who graduated in the recently concluded graduation ceremony who had made a significant contribution to the development of the Sri Lankan economy, this has given us a lot of pride” added Prof.Oxenberry. The 12 month MBA program is time-effective, “once students are on it each month they have a different subject, so they finish off 1 of the 12 subjects every month, so they see themselves progress.” said Prof. Hardy.
The research-based Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) is one of the most popular follow-up degrees that students opt for. AIB wants to make it more accessible to the students and bring them together with other students who are also following the DBA. The advantage is that students can follow the DBA in their own country, whilst in employment. “The DBA is a popular follow-up degree. Most students have the desire to follow the DBA because they have enjoyed the research at MBA level. We are discussing this very closely with OCB and looking at how we can introduce the DBA to the Sri Lankan market very soon” said Prof.Hardy. AIB looks forward to build up on the research-based DBA “we encourage students because there is so much that is exciting and challenging in the world of business today. Knowledge and skills are very important to understand further, refining questions and dealing with the bigger complexity of issues is very important, in addition to constantly developing oneself.”
AIB is particularly impressed with the MBA students at Oxford College of Business and sees eminence that differentiate them from the rest of the students “They are on a different league! They are so committed and they want to make a difference in the business environment and they use their knowledge to do this. They have a desire to gain something from this qualification. There is a curiosity to learn more and gain more. To me it reflects the values of Sri-Lanka” said Prof. Oxenberry.
AIB directly monitors the academic staff and checks for progress, to ensure that the teaching is in-line with the guidelines set forth by AIB. “In order to create opportunities, we need to work with the local partners. We are particularly pleased with Oxford College of Business and they have done well with the MBA program and maintained very high standards of quality which OCB can be proud of” said Prof.Hardy. He further added “an MBA is an international currency and we at AIB offer a high quality MBA.”
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