invest.
shaping tomorrow’s
world INVEST IN IDEAS
The greatest ideas in the world start as seeds in people’s minds. These seeds require nurturing to develop; they require the opportunity to grow into the concepts and actions, which transform people’s lives. Concepts like micro-finance initiatives to lift people out of poverty. Or complex economic research, which guides governments in the implementation of life-changing public policy. Or resolving basic supply and demand issues that the world’s economies face. These are big concepts that address the world’s big issues. These concepts are nurtured at universities like The University of Melbourne, where at the Faculty of Business and Economics our students and researchers are shaping tomorrow’s world.
SHAPING TOMORROW’S WORLD The objective of the Faculty of Business and Economics is to strive for excellence, opportunity and innovation in all that we do. Our students are highly sought-after; and our graduates head up organisations and governments to become leaders locally and globally. The mission of the Faculty, and of the University, is to provide a global environment, which will attract and inspire the brightest minds to learn, teach, research and make positive contributions to our national and international communities. By supporting the Melbourne Foundation for Business and Economics, you will help us achieve this mission.
Your support will enable the brightest and best minds to benefit from a world-class education. They will graduate prepared for leadership and citizenship; come together to pursue research which will shape tomorrow’s world; and engage in a unique University experience which will continue to distinguish our Faculty, Alumni and impact locally and globally. By donating today, you can make a difference to excellence, opportunity and innovation. We do hope that you are willing and able to support our mission.
Professor Paul Kofman Dean - Sidney Myer Chair of Commerce
excellence Excellence (noun) – the quality or state of being outstanding and superior The overwhelming questions that face us today are the ones the Faculty strive to find answers to. How do we provide education and healthcare to a growing and aging population? What can we do to lift individuals out of poverty? Why do boom economic cycles continue to end in bust? Questions like these are vast, affecting people all around the world and answers are urgently required.
Bringing great minds together in a stimulating and inspirational environment is the most effective way to find these answers; and the Faculty of Business and Economics is one of the best places to do this.
International rankings confirm the Faculty is first in Australia and one of the worlds leaders in business and economics research and education. Our people continually explore and test new ideas and concepts – both pure and applied– to inform our knowledge, inspire students’ learning, and to improve our society. We can develop and expand our work further. To do this the Faculty requires a greater number of specialist researchers; more experts; the brightest students; and the facilities and tools for them to excel. Our goal is to effect major change in three key areas by 2015: • Business and economics decision making • Sustainable societies • Corporate governance With your philanthropic support, the Faculty of Business and Economics will make real progress and a marked difference on these complex issues. You can help us find answers by bringing exceptional minds together. Enable us to achieve excellence by supporting our researchers, research and environment.
Our researchers
Our research
Our environment
Excellence requires expertise. To nurture our existing areas of excellence and explore new opportunities, we must constantly build expertise in both established and emerging fields. This demands we recruit and retain the best academics – people who will set and deliver the research agenda, and who will provide the best intellectual experience for our students.
Research is about pushing the boundaries of our knowledge to seek the best answers.
The incubator in which minds come together to make a difference locally and globally plays a key role in stimulating ideas.
Named Chairs for leading academics help to recognise achievement and will drive the expansion of knowledge in key areas such as Economic History, Corporate Governance and Strategy and Leadership. Named Chairs in emerging areas such as Decision Making & Neuro-Biology, Experimental Economics and Global Markets will enable us to attract the leading scholars by demonstrating a commitment to leadership and the pursuit of knowledge. Excellence is generated and supported by a vibrant community of young early-career researchers who build our intellectual capital and encourage academic discovery.
Support for our research – in general and for specific projects – makes it possible to pursue innovative and novel ideas. It enables our researchers to address challenges from a wider perspective, drawing upon the knowledge and skills from different areas of study to gain a better understanding of problems and arrive at more holistic answers. With your support, we can foster an exciting, engaging research dynamic within the Faculty. In doing so, it becomes possible to pursue research that may not attract traditional funds – whether this is due to its novel nature; the disciplinary orientation of most scholarly journals; or budgetary practices which channel resources through the disciplines.
Your support for research will inspire teaching and learning, drive policy, shape practice and change lives.
At the Faculty of Business and Economics, academics, researchers and students gather at The Spot – an iconic, purpose-built building with all the facilities our staff, students and communities need. To continue to attract the best and brightest minds, we must continually develop this environment. We must continue to inspire and enable the very best research, teaching, learning and public participation in our activities. You can make a significant contribution to our environment by supporting our current and future physical capital. With your support, the Faculty will remain a hub of pure and applied academic enquiry, on par with the world’s top institutions and a destination of choice for future leaders, employers and partners.
opportunity Opportunity (noun) – a chance, especially one that offers some kind of advantage The brightest minds deserve a world-class education. To enable this an assurance of equal access to the opportunities provided by the Faculty of Business and Economics must be achieved. Continuation and development of new initiatives give our Faculty, students and Alumni a sharp and competitive advantage. Committed to building one of the most diverse student bodies in the world, we believe we will change the face of elite business and economics education. Arriving at answers to some of the most critical questions our world faces.
Help us to ensure this opportunity is available to talented scholars irrespective of any geographic, financial, cultural, ethnic, religious, or social barriers by supporting our scholarships and bursaries. Scholarships Scholarships reward academic merit and potential, providing invaluable opportunities to tomorrow’s leaders. They enable and widen access, encourage excellence, and generate pride and reputation for scholars, their families and the Faculty.
At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, our scholarship programs are designed to develop potential by providing support for the duration of a student’s degree. This support can make all the difference to the student – from the first decision they make about pursuing a university education, through to their performance during their studies and their future career. Bursaries While the cost of education and living increase, the number of university students from disadvantaged and non-traditional backgrounds is growing steadily. With Bursaries these students can seize all the opportunities university life presents. Bursaries provide invaluable short-term financial support. Bursaries also help those who are suffering financial hardship – ensuring that help is available when needed. By supporting our bursaries program, you will help to ensure greater access to opportunity; and give some of our students the support they need to remain in the Faculty.
innovation Innovation (noun) – the act or process of introducing something new Through innovation and creative thinking, the answers to critical questions facing society will be found. The Faculty of Business and Economics is renowned for its innovation. Our students, academics and researchers actively pursue ground-breaking initiatives, supported every step of the way. Within the Faculty, an innovative approach to teaching and learning is producing standout results. Students benefit from an internationally recognised research-driven teaching model. They can enrich their academic and life experience beyond the classroom through active participation in a range of new services and programs. Students participate in a unique curriculum that recognises learning is a process that occurs through experience, understanding and exploring new ideas.
You can be part of this innovative approach by supporting enrichment activities, pioneering research, and student access to opportunity – whether through individual projects or through The Dean’s Fund. The Dean’s Fund The Dean’s Fund provides unrestricted support, fuelling innovation and helping to keep the Faculty on the leading edge of education, research and participation. Rather than being invested in the endowment for future use, Dean’s Fund donations enable immediate support of priority projects, and initiatives that might not otherwise be possible.
small loans that make a big difference This story winds between our pillars of excellence, opportunity and innovation and demonstrates the power of investment in philanthropy to make a difference. Innovation The Melbourne Microfinance Initiative (MMI), was founded by Fernando Tomayo, in late 2010. A group of 5 founders and a handful of founding members, all students in the Faculty of Business and Economics, organised by Fernando, were the first student-run microfinance organisation in Australia. In less than two years, through enormous effort and hard work, this group has grown to over 300 members. Each student involved with MMI seeks to utilise their business skills to make a direct impact on the lives of others. Overseas, they do this through their involvement with non-government organisations in developing countries that offer microfinance services to the poor. At home, in the Faculty and across the University, they seek to actively introduce and educate our academic community and corporate partners to use microfinance as a tool which helps people lift themselves out of poverty and foster an environment of sustainable growth and development.
Excellence
Opportunity
To date MMI has reached thousands of students, staff and stakeholders through their annual program of lectures and activities. Internationally they have promoted the Faculty, and the University, through their collaboration with non-government organisations in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Kenya and Ghana.
Fernando is from Peru and came to Melbourne via an AG Whitlam Scholarship, a scholarship program made possible through a bequest to the Faculty. Fernando made the most of the Faculty’s unique opportunities, including our international exchange program, with assistance from the Dean’s Fund – a fund made possible by philanthropic donations.
Through these collaborations, their contribution to the delivery of microfinance initiatives has directly impacted the lives of more than 14,000 individuals. This is a tremendous achievement and one that the Faculty is proud of and glad to be able to support.
forging the future for the Asia-Pacific region Philanthropy provides a platform for excellence. It can ensure a University breaks the frontier of knowledge, challenges conventional wisdom and ultimately it allows for a community, society and a region to be prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead. The axis of the 21st Century world has shifted significantly to the Asia-Pacific region, this is the Asian century. Australia is ideally positioned to respond and capitalise on the benefits that this century will bring, but to ensure it responds effectively it must be equipped with excellence in knowledge.
The Faculty of Business and Economics is ranked 1st in Asia Pacific and 14th in the world for Accounting and Finance and equal 1st in Asia-Pacific and 16th in the world for Economics and Econometrics (QS 2011). As one of the preeminent Business and Economics schools in the Asia-Pacific region, within what is one of the world’s leading universities, this Faculty is ideally structured to provide the excellence in this Asian century.
Foresight and generosity by the Lippo Group has recognized this and has allowed for the creation of the James Riady Chair in Asian Business and Economics at the heart of the Faculty’s new Asian Centre for Business and Economics. The creation of this important academic role will allow the Faculty to build on its existing links with leading institutions, governments, industry and business in Asia to deliver in-depth collaboration on ground breaking research across the Asia-Pacific region. This support ensures this Faculty can recruit the leading thinkers in Asian business and economics and allows the creation of opportunities so that our students can become immersed in Asian business and culture. This philanthropy has provided the foundations of support to drive excellence in research that will greatly assist in forging and shaping the future of this Asian century.
invest The Faculty of Business and Economics has an urgent need for your support to achieve our objectives. The Faculty’s work is critical for the region’s economic, financial and social future. For excellence, opportunity and innovation. Ways to INVEST • Individual or family donation • Faculty of Business & Economics Annual Appeal • Bequests • Gift of shares or property • Payroll giving • Corporate sponsorship We would be delighted to talk to you in more detail about how you can make a difference and the best way for you to donate to opportunity, excellence and innovation. There are many opportunities to engage with us and to make a difference through your support for and participation in our Faculty. For further information please see our website at: http://fbe.unimelb.edu.au/giving or contact: Mr Stephen May
Ms Ali MacLeod
Director, Advancement Faculty of Business and Economics
Manager, Fundraising and Major Gifts Faculty of Business and Economics
E. may.s@unimelb.edu.au E. ali.macleod@unimelb.edu.au T. +61 3 9035 3547 T. +61 3 9035 3302