A warm welcome to this edition of Sydney Business Connect.
As the year draws to a close, I'm proud to reflect on a period of remarkable success and impact for our broader community.
We celebrated the success of our
Master of Business Administration (MBA) and
Master of Management degrees, both ranking in the top 50 globally in the
2025 QS Global MBA Rankings and QS Business Master’s Rankings. This follows our strong standing in the
2024 Financial Times business school rankings, where the University of Sydney emerged as the highest-ranked Australian university in both the MBA and the Master of Management. These achievements highlight our commitment to providing world-class education to meet the evolving demands of a global market.
Our students embody resilience and leadership. Among them,
Chantal Mousad, a Syrian refugee and recipient of the
UN Women Australia MBA Scholarship, continues to overcome challenges to build a brighter future for herself and her daughter. Similarly,
Belinda Craig and Belinda Murdoch, recipients of the
Indigenous Australians Leading in Business MBA Scholarships, are using their skills to drive change in Indigenous engagement across corporate and educational settings.
In a rapidly evolving higher education sector, we remain focused on our strategy to be a leader in innovation, equipping students with the skills for the industries of tomorrow. We’ve refreshed our
Board of Advice, bringing together strategists from across sectors, including Seek, IBM Australia and New Zealand, and the Climate Council, to guide us in this endeavour.
It was a great pleasure to see many of you at our
External Stakeholders' Dinner. We had the opportunity to listen to Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Scott AO engaged in conversation with our guest speakers,
James Ferguson and Robbie Ferguson, the co-founders of Immutable. They shared valuable insights into the gaming industry and their journeys from alumni to founding an industry-leading NFT minting and trading platform.
We also strengthened our international partnerships. Our collaboration with the
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business will foster the next generation of unicorns with a focus on new energy, digitalisation and disruption in our new
program, designed as the latest addition to the
Global Unicorn Series. We have partnered with
HEX to further expand opportunities for students to engage with real-world projects, honing the skills needed to navigate the challenges of the future workforce. We also continue our partnership with
Cartier SEAO, supporting the 2024 Young Leader Award and the development of partnerships between universities and the private sector to enable entrepreneurs to scale up, and shape future leaders who will drive impactful change.
As we look ahead, our dedication to equipping business leaders with future-ready skills remains unwavering. Our
Net Zero course, launched this year in partnership with the Net Zero Initiative and HSBC, is a prime example of how we are preparing leaders to address pressing global challenges. In today's complex global landscape, enhance your understanding with our
Geopolitics and Business sprint. Offered in partnership with the United States Studies Centre and KPMG, this program will help you navigate geopolitical risks and understand the evolving nature of international politics and its impact on global economies. For members of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, enrolments open in March 2025 for our specialised
AI Fluency for Directors sprint to build essential AI knowledge to guide your organisation confidently.
We also unveiled the
2025 Skills Horizon Report, which explores the critical competencies leaders need to thrive in an increasingly complex business landscape. We also celebrated the launch of the
Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work, dedicated to advancing workplace equality and improving policies to create more inclusive and equitable environments.
As a global community, our alumni network of over 92,000 continues to inspire and support us. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you during our international alumni receptions in Singapore, London, Toronto, New York, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and China this year, and at the recent
Alumni Festival. I invite you to celebrate our outstanding alums who have demonstrated a commitment to empowering progress in their communities by nominating them for our
2025 Alumni Awards.
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we continue to pursue our mission of delivering a transformational student experience, driving impactful research, and further strengthening our industry partnerships. I am excited for the year ahead, and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season.
Professor Leisa Sargent
Dean, The University of Sydney Business School
