Are you looking to take the next step in your career or a way to gain that competitive edge? Find the pathway you’re looking for with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and its Canberra-based Executive MBA program.

Consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in Australia, QUT has again this year been ranked first in Queensland and number three nationally for postgraduate studies in AFR BOSS 2023 Best Business Schools.

One of last year’s graduates of the Canberra-based Executive MBA program, Krishan Jogia, founder and managing director of Evolve&Amplify, says the course gave him the confidence to expand his business internationally.

“I always had a desire to move and diversify from just working with government clients to working with the private sector as well, looking at different regions, working internationally. Having done QUT’s Executive MBA, I had the confidence to be able to do that. I certainly learnt a bunch of new skills, particularly when it came to economics, statistics, financial remodelling, some of those more technical skills,” Mr Jogia says.

Primarily working with the federal government from a Canberra base, Mr Jogia launched his strategy and business design consultancy firm in 2019. Wanting to add an MBA to his resume, he researched options across Australia before deciding on QUT for the 2020 start date. 

“At the time when I enrolled, QUT were the best and had triple international accreditation. For me, it was really important to study somewhere that had triple international accreditation so my Executive MBA was recognised on a global level,” he says.

The two-year intensive course allows peer-to-peer collaboration through intensive study weekends, while students are taught skills that can be implemented immediately and set them up for future opportunities.

“These skills include data analysis, accounting, law and finance, but there’s also a variety of leadership units. The Executive MBA starts with leadership of self, then the relationship of self and other, and then leadership at scale,” says Associate Professor John Bensley, MBA Director at QUT.

The course offers a choice of study pathways – Complex Program Leadership and Strategic Procurement or International Leadership. Catering to different aspects of leadership, both programs offer overseas experiences.

The International Leadership stream, which Mr Jogia undertook, has a strong global focus on stakeholder engagement and entrepreneurship, while learning how to best integrate emerging digital and engineering innovations into work practices. Students are invited to take part in a two-week MIT Immersion Program, which for Mr Jogia was the opportunity that cemented QUT as the pathway for him.

“MIT is all about innovation, so that stood out to me as a small business owner who helps other businesses … It’s a brand that’s recognised, especially now that we have expanded into North America. As much as I can speak to QUT having a really good reputation and being the number one MBA provider at the time, no-one needs to ask any questions when they see that part of my study was done at MIT,” he explains.

Canadian-born, Mr Jogia has expanded his business abroad, relocating to Toronto this year. Already securing contracts in North America, he credits diversification and adaptability as key skills for reaching a global market.

While Evolve&Amplify offers a very specific service and methods that give them a unique edge, they also require a diverse portfolio in different regions to continue growing.

“This type of thinking was really borne out of my MBA experience. You step back and you say, ‘Hey, Australia constitutes less than two per cent global GDP, if we really want to grow, we need to be playing in the other 98 per cent’.”

No longer restricted to his little pond, Mr Jogia says Canada offers access to potential clients across North America and, with the UK just being a seven-hour flight, that market has also been opened. During the pandemic, he accessed the international market via Zoom, however, as the world readjusted, he knew this wouldn’t last.

“It made me realise you’re really as good as the projects you’ve done in your last year or so. If we didn’t have a physical presence outside of Australia, then all that hard work we had done building up those case studies is becoming irrelevant pretty soon,” he says.

Acknowledging that undertaking an MBA is a commitment, Mr Jogia says the practical lessons from lived experience experts outweighed any potential discomfort and initial output for him.

“If you’re a Canberra person looking to expand, you’ve got to be willing to endure discomfort and be uncomfortable in the unknown … You’re going to have a million reasons to say no and you just need one really strong reason to say yes. If fear is the only thing holding you back, it isn’t a good enough reason.”

Unlock your leadership path with an Executive MBA at QUT. Find out more at qut.edu.au/emba-canberra