Executive education without limits
A traditional academic background isn’t a requirement to take your education to the next level. New MBA pathways are giving leaders the freedom and confidence to study at any life stage.
“The day we stop learning is the day we stop advancing,” says Macquarie University Business School (MQBS) alumnus Shane Fitzsimmons. “I don’t believe any of us are ever too old to learn or advance our knowledge and our skills through education.”
Fitzsimmons came to national attention during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, when he was commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service. Today, he’s commissioner of Resilience NSW, an agency set up in the wake of those fires.
In the thick of the disaster, when lives were being lost, including those of his own firefighters, Fitzsimmons didn’t hesitate to show his emotion. That vulnerability is one of the qualities that makes him a great leader, says Professor Yvonne Breyer, deputy dean of education and employability at MQBS.
“Leaders need to be curious and vulnerable,” says Breyer. That includes admitting you don’t know everything and “recognising how important it is to continue to learn, develop and grow”
– like Fitzsimmons, who didn’t study at university straight from school but went on to his Master of Management at MQBS in 2018.
“There’s no end point to learning,” says Breyer. “A different skill set is required of leaders who are elevated to executive level – chances are they will need to lead across areas where they’re not experts and may never be experts.”
This moment on a career trajectory can be a big leap. “Showing yourself as vulnerable, needing to learn, asking questions and having a growth mindset is so important.” MQBS is committed to removing barriers – real or perceived – for leaders who didn’t go to university or who are worried that it was too long ago for them to get back to study.
A Graduate Certificate of Management gives students without an undergraduate qualification the entry requirements to transfer into an MBA or Global MBA degree and credit points towards attaining it.
For those considering taking the next step, MQBS offers an MBA Masterclass and a range of online short course webinars, both available at no cost. “It gives potential students a taste of what it’s like to be in an MBA course – a ‘try before you buy’ opportunity, with no assignments,” says Breyer.
“People who commence an MBA with a lot of work experience bring a wealth of knowledge and insights to the classroom. It creates a really rich and productive learning environment. When leaders wonder, ‘Is postgraduate study for me?’, I hope this gives them confidence that, yes, it is for you! There’s so much more to the learning experience than the formal aspect they might perceive it to be from way in the past.”