upGrad ties up with Deakin University to offer online MBA (Global) program

Delhi: upGrad, India’s largest online higher-education company and Deakin University, Australia have announced an online MBA (Global) program for working professionals. Senator Simon Birmingham, Australian Trade Minister launched the program along with Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, upGrad and Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global Engagement) and CEO (South Asia), Deakin University in New Delhi.

Deakin University and upGrad will be jointly working towards creating online executive programs for mid-senior and senior professionals offering them learning opportunities to encourage professional growth. upGrad and Deakin is a first-of-its-kind association of an Australian University with an e-learning company to provide transnational educational opportunities for professionals in India.

Speaking on the collaboration, Ms Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global Engagement) and CEO (South Asia), Deakin University added, “New digital technologies are disrupting the business landscape and the type of skills required are changing as rapidly as the industry dynamics. Jobs today are highly specialized and require constant reskilling. Our collaboration with upGrad is based on the need for education providers to come together with online learning platforms to create growth opportunities for working professionals by improving access to higher-quality skills.”

The program has been carefully designed keeping in mind the industry needs and aims to upskill working professionals who are in the early stages of their careers and wish to pursue a post graduate qualification. According to Colin Higgins, Director, Global Courses, Deakin University, “Over the past decade, we have seen a massive change in the kind of courses that are being opted by students. Working professionals are increasingly looking to upskill themselves. Deakin faculty has worked on the course content keeping in mind this need of the professionals. upGrad has ensured that the course remains relevant to Indian job scenario and have taken inputs from industry leaders and key influencers.”

“As one of Australia’s largest universities, Deakin has strong global linkages, world-class research and, most importantly, an educational portfolio that blends the best of campus and digital delivery into a highly supportive and personalised student experience. We believe that our association with upGrad will help the working professionals in India, while also offering them an opportunity to learn globally-relevant skills.” said Professor Iain Martin, President and Vice-Chancellor, Deakin University.

The program is a blend of rigorous hands-on teaching along with case studies and projects. The digital learning experience will be accelerated by a 360-degree career support aimed at transforming learning into solid career outcomes for each of the students enrolled in the program.

Commenting on the association, Ronnie Screwvala, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, upGrad said, “Our vision has been to provide working professionals a platform where they can continuously upskill themselves in order to stay relevant. We are excited about the addition of Deakin University to our list of esteemed partners and with this collaboration we hope to bridge the gap between evolving workplace requirements and workforce skilling.”