Best in IT and business studies
MONASH University Malaysia’s Master of Business Information Systems (MBIS) is a programme suited to those who want to expand their knowledge in the business and information technology fields.
MBIS course director Dr Anushia Inthiran says, “The programme is suitable for candidates with previous qualifications in any discipline as students get the best of both the IT and business worlds. It prepares someone without an IT or business background to work in the IT field.”
Instead of teaching students technical skills to do with computer functions or programming, the course equips students with skills to help businesses with information technology.
“IT and business components are not segregated as they are both interdependent in building a business. One must know how businesses work before applying the use of information technology. Similarly, one can’t be in a business without knowing about IT and the extent of its usage,” says Dr Anushia.
In the past, IT professionals used to be known as programmers and were the go-to person to fix computer problems.
“These days, IT professionals are expected to be able to understand the needs of businesses and provide them with IT solutions.
“It is no longer just about coming up with fantastic systems, applications and programs if businesses do not see the need for them or understand how information technology can bring positive changes. This programme develops graduates who can play this important role,” she says.
What makes the Monash University Malaysia’s MBIS programme unique is that not many other universities offer a programme that combines both business and IT studies at the postgraduate level.
“The course is structured in a way where there are mandatory components to be completed and up to four elective units can be selected based on a student’s liking and interest.
“We also offer students the option of either completing a minor research project or an industry project in the last semester, depending on what they want to pursue after the programme,” says Dr Anushia.
She recommends the former for those interested in pursuing a PhD and the latter for those planning to go directly into the industry.
Regarding the subjects that are taught in this programme, Dr Anushia says, “One of them is IT for management decisionmaking, which focuses on the IT needs of managers, how they think, how they go about their work, and the applications and systems suitable for them.”
This subject also explores operations management concepts, which look at how an organisation works and the psychology and biases that affect how a manager makes decisions and decides on strategies.
The other subject is enterprise systems, which give students practical experience using the SAP software that allows the tracking of customer and business interactions.
Career options for graduates, among others, are in the fields of project consultancy, business analytics, information management specialist, application specialist and IT management and governance roles.
The duration of this programme is two years for full-time study and four years for part-time study.
Monash University Malaysia is hosting its Discover Monash Day on April 25 from 11am to 4pm where visitors can experience and gain insights of what the university has to offer.
For more information, visit www.infotech.monash.edu.my or www.monash.edu.my/discovermonash