7 Reasons Why We Decided to Go to Business School in Australia

Sponsored by the University of Sydney Business School

With its stunning beaches, chilled culture and bountiful economic opportunities, over the years Australia has attracted thousands of students from all around the world.

It is also a great place to study if you’re looking for academic excellence. In the most recent QS World University Rankings, 36 Australian universities were featured in the ranking, seven of which ranked in the top 100 worldwide – with the University of Sydney being one of them.

We spoke to two graduates from the University of Sydney Business School to find out why they chose to study their MBA in Australia.

The excellent standard of education in Australia

Kevin Lenahan is originally from the US, and studied the Full-time MBA. Kevin was initially attracted by the University of Sydney’s excellent reputation (ranking 40^th worldwide) as well as its history and the location of its campus. 

 “The University of Sydney is top-ranked. I knew that my classmates would be accomplished heavy-hitters, and the staff would be top-notch, informed, and good at what they taught,” he said.

Nadia King also studied the Full-time MBA, and is originally from Barbados. She was also attracted by the university’s excellent reputation.

She said: “Apart from it being ranked first in Australia and fourth globally for graduate employability, I also had a personal connection to the University of Sydney. My uncle is a part of the University of Sydney alumni and I first heard about the program from him.”

To meet valuable business connections

Studying in Australia gave Kevin and Nadia the opportunity to meet plenty of people who might help them in their future careers.

Kevin said: “During my time at the University of Sydney, I met so many approachable and talented business and government leaders. I also met multiple heads of state and fortune 500 CEOs.”

While studying the MBA at the University of Sydney Business School, Kevin gained hands-on experience working alongside real Australian businesses, in a program called ‘Learning By Walking Around’.

He said: “We’d have the flexibility to walk freely through companies and learn their problems from the ground up.  Our company walkthroughs provided the most insight and context to the classroom theory.”

Nadia added: “It was an excellent blend of the theory with more practical and experiential methods of learning. Certain study units provided us with an opportunity to apply our learning to real world situations and engage with Australian Business Leaders.” 

Kevin is still in contact with staff at the University of Sydney Business School, often having hour-long phone calls with them and describing them as his “second family”.

He said: “The MBA team care about the students and knows us all on a first-name basis. On the last day, our program director provided surprising recollection of every student’s achievements with a few well-placed jokes.”

To help build my own business

At the start of his MBA, Kevin only had a vague idea of what he wanted to do afterwards. He knew he wanted to start his own business, but said the program helped him find his vision.

He said: “We all leveraged our peers’ and instructors’ expertise and learning environment to build our success pathways”.

“I believe the MBA is fitted for students wishing to develop their enterprise as entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs by centering on inventing and implementing.  The Lean Startup Methodology is strong here!”

After his MBA, Kevin went on to start an NGO, which now has over 40 volunteers, eight employees and 1,099 contract workers serving three client companies.

He said: “I finished the program with an NGO, business, and a more expansive, personal network.”

To experience another culture

Nadia grew up on the small island of Barbados and wanted to explore the world, visit natural wonders and experience new cultures.

After travelling to Asia in 2017, she longed to explore Australia, and thought studying there was a perfect way to do that.

“I saw this as the perfect opportunity not only propel my academic and professional goals but pursue my travel interests and invest in myself. I saw this international experience as a way to improve my cross-cultural communication and gain a better understanding of another culture,” Nadia said.

“Island life has the potential to leave you enveloped by close-minded mentalities and can result in stunting of your creativity. Undertaking my first degree at home highlighted this as it lacked that international touch. 

“I believed that living abroad would provide a wonderful opportunity to open my eyes and help me mature into a well-rounded adult.”

There’s so much to do in your free time

When asked what they enjoyed most about studying in Australia, both Kevin and Nadia mentioned how much there was to do in Australia in their spare time.

Kevin said: “After class, we’d either do group work or study, then go to the beach, out to eat, venture capital pitch nights or networking events. Our class even took an informal class trip to Cairns in Queensland for a beach-rainforest getaway. It was fantastic!”

Nadia said she loved spending so much time outdoors. She enjoyed the natural views that Sydney had to offer, as well as the coastal walks, hiking and relaxing on the beach.

She said: “We’d go out to eat, drink, play soccer and basketball, go to the beach, to the gym, venture capital pitch nights, startup events, corporate networking events, concerts, language or cooking classes, bushwalks, movies, plays or harbor cruises. You name it: Sydney has it all.”

Australia’s strong international outlook

Both graduates were initially attracted by the international aspects of the course.

Kevin’s MBA program was small, with only 50 students, yet very diverse. The course was made up of students of 18 different nationalities from numerous industries.

He said: “There were no more than five people from the same country, virtually eliminating cultural cliques: we all bonded together. We learned to value and absorb the finer details of international business too.”

Nadia also enjoyed the global outlook of her MBA.

She said: “The program assisted me in developing a more comprehensive outlook and understanding on global leadership.

“It underscored the importance of understanding myself as an individual, my team members and my surroundings, in order to develop a successful business and leadership model moving forward.

“The program also spoke to my personal goals of experiencing and understanding diverse cultures and building a wider network, by allowing me to work in cross-cultural teams daily.”

The friendliness of Australia

Overall it was Australia’s friendly, safe atmosphere that made Nadia’s and Kevin’s experience such a pleasant one.

Nadia said: “I immediately felt at home. Australia felt like a bigger version of Barbados where the locals are extremely welcoming, friendly, laid back and truly embody the 'work to live' and not 'live to work' attitude, which is similar to my culture back home.”

She added: “I always felt safe. I was living in a city, but I always felt safe taking the train at night or walking alone.”

Describing his MBA course Kevin said: “It’s a family. Every morning you go to class, you are catching up with your friends and staff. It’s the kind of place and time where the weekends and weekdays blend together, in a good way.

“Sydney is beautiful, happy, safe, and comfortable to live in. I loved spending every minute there.”