Australian ANU offers Asian business course

Australian ANU offers Asian business course

CANBERRA (Reuter): The Australian National University (ANU) yesterday launched what Trade Minister Bob McMullan said was the world's first Master of Business Administration course in Asian business.

"The ANU is the first course to offer an MBA course specifically designed to prepare Australia's and Asia's future business leaders to do business in the fastest growing economies in the world," McMullan said in a speech at the programme's launch.

In recent years Australia has focused its foreign, trade and defence policies more sharply on fostering links with the fast- growing Asia-Pacific region.

The course, which will be taught largely on the university's Canberra campus, includes three months of practical experience with an Asian-based company.

McMullan said the course matched moves announced in the government budget in May to fund a programme promoting Asian language study in schools.

That program aims to have 60 percent of Australian students learning an Asian language by 2006.