Committee launches practical work opportunities for local and international post graduates [15.02.2010]
The Committee for Melbourne has partnered with the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Business and Economics, to launch the first Melbourne Business Practicum today at 11am on Monday 15 February, 2010, at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
The Committee for Melbourne has been instrumental in locating appropriate organisations requiring high-level research.
“An initiative of the Committee’s Higher Education Taskforce, the practicum projects allow both high-achieving local and international graduate students to work on real projects in conjunction with local businesses to develop their skills and knowledge base,” Higher Education Taskforce’s Co-Chair and Innovation Australia’s Chairman, Mr David Miles AM said.
Teams of post graduate students will undertake two-week projects designed by participating Melbourne-based organisations.
“A priority identified by the Committee’s Higher Education Taskforce is the need for greater integration between our university and business sectors,” Mr Miles said.
“The Melbourne Business Practicum allows universities and business to work together on meaningful projects thus better utilising our valuable resource of highly skilled postgraduate students in Victoria,” he said.
“The practicum also provides an opportunity for highly skilled international students to gain greater exposure to Australian business culture which is especially important if they are considering making Australia their permanent home,” Mr Miles said.
During the inaugural project this month, students of the Graduate School of Business and Economics will produce a cutting-edge and invaluable tool for all gardens across Australia and overseas to ascertain their carbon footprint.
The team of four international and local students working on the Royal Botanic Gardens project will ascertain the value of their carbon footprint by creating an Environmental Accounting model. This model will involve accounting and environmental practice and has the potential to assist gardens throughout the world.
The next practicum to commence in 2010 will be an examination of the regulation, taxation, cost frameworks and other incentives facing commercial and housing developers in Australia’s cities. This project is hosted by the Grattan Institute, a think tank focused on Australian domestic public policy.
The students’ findings will be used to make policy recommendations on how market design can encourage commercial and housing development that matches housing and employment needs.
Industry partners for other projects in 2010 include the eab group, a local IT company, and the Faculty of Business and Economics.