Business Down Under
Study Marketing in Australia

Australia offers world-class education with a number of advantages that set it apart as a destination for study. Our major cities are regularly ranked amongst the most liveable in the world, based on climate, cost of living, relative space, general amenities and, most importantly, personal safety. Tuition fees compare very favourably to other destinations, and students are permitted to work part-time in Australia whilst studying.

Australian people are well known for their easy-going, casual friendliness - we are a multi-cultural society, with many ethnic groupings very well catered for. There is also a tremendous range of entertainment and exciting activities readily accessible, from snowfields to tropical beaches!

Quality life-style has in fact been the draw card for a number of highly regarded marketing academics from other parts of the world to take up permanent positions in Australian universities or to affiliate with a local university and spend at least part of the academic year in Australia. Australia is very definitely part of the world stage for visiting Professors from the USA, UK and European universities.

In all, Australia can offer marketing education that is second to none with a lifestyle to match!

As technology enables us to get closer than ever to individual customers on a global scale, an understanding of our marketplaces and what makes our customers tick has never been more important. Marketing graduates, armed with the latest marketing thinking, skills, personal qualities and an appreciation of the practicalities of the situations that lie ahead, are in demand across an enormous range of business environments.

The Australian Edge
Australia occupies a unique position in the World, with strong historical and cultural ties to the West, along with a close proximity to Asia and the eastern cultures. This has enabled marketers in Australia to distil the best from our Western links, primarily through the UK and USA, as can be seen in the educational approach to and practice of marketing in Australia. At the same time, the delivery of training and educational programs to our northern neighbours has provided a degree of insight into their cultures and business environments. Given our geographic location, Australian marketing organisations, including universities, have had to learn how to market into developing countries and to deal with the inherent differences. The value of these lessons can be seen within Australian universities in the way internationalisation of the marketing curriculum has generally been embraced as a fundamental part of the marketing system. Universities such as RMIT University have in fact established a number of campuses in Asia.

Whilst distance is far from a drawback in today's electronic business world, in Australia the 'tyranny of distance' has given rise to business characteristics of resourcefulness and ingenuity - a certain practicality in seeking solutions to difficult situations, highly valued in business environments the world over. Australian universities pride themselves on the delivery of marketing courses that balance high academic standards with real-world, practical action learning. Some of the best known marketing programs in the world are taught at leading universities such as RMIT University (in Melbourne), the University of New South Wales (Sydney), and Monash University (Melbourne).

Choice of Marketing Courses
Studying marketing in Australia reflects all of the above mentioned factors - innovative, cutting-edge learning delivered with the very best traditions of academic excellence, but always with a firm focus on the realities of the global arena. This approach permeates all levels of marketing education in Australia, from distance marketing skills development offered by a number of institutions and professional associations such as the Marketing Association of Australia and New Zealand, through Vocational Education providers, undergraduate courses and onto a number of post-graduate options.

Vocational Education and Training courses are usually offered from certificate level to Advanced Diploma. These courses are tailored specifically to offer a practical business oriented 'hands-on' approach to learning. Degree programs at undergraduate level can be undertaken as dedicated Marketing degrees or as Marketing streams within generalist Commerce or Management degrees. The difference being in the greater exposure to specialised marketing knowledge available in dedicated programs.

Australians have developed a commitment to lifetime learning as seen in the growth of post-graduate degrees in marketing. For those who have an undergraduate degree in marketing, a Masters degree in Marketing presents opportunities to study the marketing basics such as Marketing Management, or Marketing Research at an advanced level or to pursue particular areas of specialisation, such as Electronic and Direct Marketing, Services Marketing or Retail Management. Other post-graduate marketing programs cater for those who have an undergraduate degree in another discipline and wish to use the marketing qualification to effect a career change.

Another alternative is to undertake Masters of Doctoral research programs which take the participant deeply into one aspect of Marketing. The quality of marketing research produced from Australian universities rivals that undertaken anywhere in the World. Some Australian universities will allow students to undertake research courses from home, provided quality communication channels are available and occasional visits to the University are made.

Author
Brian Monger
Marketing Association of ANZ