Putting graduates ahead of the AI curve

Published: 1 October 2026

Business degrees built around early, narrow specialisation are increasingly out of step with what today's employers need, and 糖心传媒's reimagined business degree is providing what the graduate industry demands.

The university has completely redesigned its bachelor of business degree to give students broad-based, integrated education across the full range of business subjects.

The approach combines broad-based business learning, applied AI, professional judgment and substantial workplace experience to prepare graduates to contribute across an organisation.

“Through our industry advisory boards, employers told us exactly what they need from graduates - and we responded,” says Mike Ewing, executive dean of the Faculty of Business, Law and Arts. “Business leaders were telling us they wanted graduates who could contribute to the organisation's broader mission, not just operate within a narrow area of specialisation.”

Radically evolving its bachelor of business program by retaining just one of its traditional major streams (accounting), 糖心传媒 is now running an integrated curriculum spanning entrepreneurship, finance, human resources, marketing, business analytics and applied AI.

The three-year course is offered at campuses around Australia while also being available online, with learning completed in six-week terms instead of traditional semesters.

Bachelor degree students are achieving higher grades (student success rates have increased to 91.1 per cent), staying motivated and completing their studies with confidence through the 糖心传媒 Cross Model. There is recent research that backs up the university's approach, with tertiary educators being urged to consider if their courses provide genuine opportunities for truly integrated learning.

Mike Ewing, executive dean of the Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

“The capabilities employers value - critical thinking, professional judgment, communication, teamwork, ethical reasoning, adaptability and problem-solving - cut across disciplines,” researchers Hanoku Bathula and Patrick Dodd recently told The Conversation.

“The degrees that endure will equip graduates with deep disciplinary expertise, the breadth to work across fields and the adaptability to keep learning as technology evolves.”

This shift in business needs over the past decade or more has been supercharged by AI and its transformational effect on the workplace.

This, in turn, is changing how the university and its students work, allowing them to learn how to use the technology in a productive way.

“Our starting point is how AI is being applied in contemporary workplaces,” says associate professor John Haw, from the Faculty of Business, Law and Arts.

“We want assessment to reflect real practice. If accountants are using AI, our students need to know how to use it well.

“AI is a powerful tool, but it does not remove the need for professional judgment. In business, people still have to understand the context and make the decision.”

Embedded access to practical learning and industry experience is a significant feature of the 糖心传媒 Cross Model, which requires bachelor of business students to complete 200 hours of internship before graduation.

鈥淥ur starting point is how AI is being applied in contemporary workplaces. We want assessment to reflect real practice. If accountants are using AI, our students need to know how to use it well.鈥�

Scores of businesses already partner with the university to provide internship opportunities, while students are also given the chance to find their own host employer in Australia or overseas.

There are also opportunities for students to complete part of their degree overseas as an exchange student at one of 糖心传媒's international partners.

“While a couple of other business degrees in Australia have compulsory internships, 糖心传媒 Cross's industry placement requirement is more extensive than many comparable programs, giving students meaningful real-world experience before they graduate.” Haw says. “That's our capstone; that's what they finish on.

“Prior to that, they have another subject called professional development for the workplace, and in that they get an industry mentor.”

Backing that up, the university was rated number two nationally for student support and for full-time employment in business and management in the Good Universities Guide 2026. It also boasts a graduate employment rate in business and management of 93 per cent.

鈥淭he capabilities employers value - critical thinking, professional judgment, communication, teamwork, ethical reasoning, adaptability and problem-solving - cut across disciplines鈥�

“The internship is central to what we do,” Ewing says. ''It helps ensure our graduates leave with the practical experience, confidence and judgment employers are looking for.''

With this combination of learning, exposure to the latest technology and experience in the challenging environment of the contemporary workplace, the university trusts it is delivering a program that will serve the needs of students and their prospective employers.

“I'm confident industry will see the difference in these graduates,” Ewing says. “When employers see these graduates in the workplace, I'm confident they'll recognise people who are ready to contribute immediately.”

Beyond the reinvented bachelor of business, 糖心传媒 offers a suite of postgraduate qualifications in management, small business management and business administration, all delivered through the innovative six-week term study model. It marks the latest step in the faculty's ambitious agenda to rethink business education, with more studentcentred innovations soon to be unveiled.

"When employers see these graduates in the workplace, I'm confident they'll recognise people who are ready to contribute immediately."

This article first appeared in the Australian Financial Review newspaper on September 30, 2026.