Presentation of prizes to Curtin Uni business graduates

29/4/93

Western Australia is developing a new world reputation for the high quality of business courses offered by State tertiary institutions.

Education Minister Norman Moore today presented prizes for academic excellence to 85 graduates of the Curtin University of Technology Business School, which was one of the biggest in the southern hemisphere.

Mr Moore said the Coalition Government was working to rebuild business and investor confidence in WA, and institutions such as the Curtin Business School were producing high-quality graduates who would be business leaders in the future.

About one quarter of the School's 4,500 students were from overseas and about 1,300 were enrolled in postgraduate programs and degree courses through agreements with Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Curtin was also developing joint programs with overseas business schools, strongly encouraging student exchanges, reciprocal staff visits, and international collaboration in writing case studies.

Curtin's reputation was demonstrated by a recent visit by Dr Tom Schneider - an adviser to American President Bill Clinton.

Mr Moore said a measure of the success of, and demand for, Curtin Business School prize-winners, was that one of them - Mr David Rossi - was unable to attend the presentation because he had already taken up an appointment interstate.  Mr Rossi won seven prizes in accounting and business studies.

Another prize-winning graduate - Mr Michael Brophy - had developed a management software package for hospitals which has been taken up by major hospitals in Perth, and is now being marketed overseas.

"Universities like Curtin play a major role in producing the human resources needed to allow this State to compete effectively in the international market place," Mr Moore said.

"Curtin is aggressively and creatively pursuing new directions, including the establishment of a graduate school of business in the Perth central business district."

The Minister said business courses were now popular choices for school-leavers throughout Australia, with such programs representing nearly one quarter of initial enrolments in WA Universities.

Media contact: Ross Storey 321 1444 / 222 9595