I recently spoke with a senior executive in a large multi-national organisation. He told me that one of the key characteristics he looks for when hiring new employees was an ability to work productively in a very diverse environment. He said “I hire people who may have been born in Country A, studied in Country B, whom I will send to work in Country C, alongside people from Countries D, E, F and G. If those I hire can’t operate effectively, it will put a fairly hard ceiling on how far they can expect to go in my firm”. 

A genuinely effective educational experience should aim to ensure that students are exposed to a range of views, and that questions are encouraged. This is more likely to happen if those students are in an environment where they don’t find that all their classmates look like them, or (even worse) think like them. 

There is substantial evidence that students can, in some circumstances, learn as much from their classmates as they do from their professors. This is particularly so when the students are involved in group work, where as well as the more formal material they are seeking to master, students learn how to operate effectively in teams. The greater diversity among their classmates that students get to experience, the more likely they are to be well prepared to operate effectively as part of a global work force, and the more successful their own careers are likely to be. 

In a similar vein, students should seek to broaden their horizons by taking advantage of the many study abroad and exchange programs that UWA offers. I was fortunate enough to undertake some of my own study at an overseas university, and really benefited from the experience, not only in terms of the education I received, but through learning more about another country (in my case, the U.S.), and making friends with whom I am still in touch. I also acquired a life-long taste for the sport of baseball! 

For many years, a key objective of the Business School has been to raise the funding necessary to ensure that a wide range of scholarships are available. These scholarships enable students from less advantaged backgrounds, but who nevertheless have the ability and life history to benefit from, and contribute to, the educational environment at the School are able to do so. 

Further details on the scholarships available to students wishing to study at the UWA Business School can be found at: http://www.business.uwa.edu.au/students/prizes