THE demands of carving out a career in the 21st century is one that promises to be tough. This is especially true in the business world, where the use of information technology (IT) is no longer separate, but interdependent.
Multidisciplinary education
Cognizant of this, Monash University Malaysia’s Master of Business Information System (MBIS) programme is one that has been designed to integrate niche business and IT areas for students with or without an IT background.
In a world that is becoming increasingly competitive, it is essential for students to become multidisciplinary experts and capable professionals who have knowledge in different domains including the business and IT sector. Why? Multidisciplinary experts can conquer blind spots that cannot be resolved by single-domain experts.
The Monash MBIS programme prepares students to explore and use IT in tackling business problems. They will develop capabilities to work in areas such as business information research, project management and consultancy.
Candidates without an IT background can enrol in fundamental units such as Introduction to Business Information Systems and Foundations of Programming before moving on to advanced areas of study.
Choices and options
The MBIS programme has two tracks where students have the option of branching into the research stream or the industry experience stream, according to their area of interest. They can also choose to enrol in a full-time (two year) or part-time (four year) course. Students who already come from an IT background will be able to complete the MBIS programme in one and a half years.
Previous students claim they have embarked on the programme for various reasons, one of which includes to enhance their knowledge for career progression. Those who are keen on research have continued to pursue their PhD after completing the MBIS programme.
MBIS graduates have a smorgasbord of career options. For many, the MBIS programme is viewed as a stepping stone for students to gain employment in various industries, both locally or abroad. The skills and knowledge that they acquire from the programme are notably in high demand.
Some of the fields they can enter include Cloud Data Centres, Human Resource Analysis, food businesses, clothing companies, and organisations that deal in trend analysis, depending on the graduates’ area of interest.
Remuneration
A study done by Kelly Services showed that the salary range for high demand jobs such as lead software developers and software development managers, with five to 12 years of experience, can range between RM9,000 and RM15,000 to RM12,000 and RM18,000 per month, respectively.
Project directors or SAP team leads with over eight years of experience can pocket minimum salaries of between RM15,000 and RM18,000, respectively.
For more information on the MBIS programme at Monash Malaysia, please visit www.monash.edu.my/it
Students who take up the MBIS programme have the option of focusing in the areas of research stream or industry experience, whichever they are interested in.
