Business Management Short Courses

Developing a Compelling Strategy

Develop your skills in strategic analysis and decision making so that you can secure a role in strategic management. Practice critical thinking, business decision making and influence techniques in a supportive online environment.

Finance Essentials for Non-Finance Managers

Build skills in reading and interpreting finance reports. Understand Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss Statements, and Statement of Cash Flows. Learn to apply financial analysis and make management decisions based on finances.

Lean Six Sigma Yellow (Advanced)

Start to understand Lean Six Sigma – a technique used by leading organisations. Learn how to identify areas of improvement and take action using Total Quality Management, Kaizen, Business Process Reengineering, DMAIC, Six Sigma and Lean Thinking.

Project Management Essentials

No matter your industry, this course will equip you with the skills to manage projects with confidence. Learn how to define project value to stakeholders, estimate timings and costs, use scheduling techniques, monitor progress and most importantly deliver.

Machine Learning for Business

Study ‘machine learning’ - the application of algorithms that improve automatically with experience. Build the skills needed to launch machine learning in your own business. Join a revolution with this short course.  

Description:

Learn to effectively meet your project objectives on time and on budget.

In today’s rapidly changing world almost every professional needs to take on a project management role alongside their core organisational responsibilities. This makes project management an indispensable management skill.

• assess the strengths and weaknesses of your own, and your organisations, project management capability
• clearly define projects to maximise their value and link to stakeholders’ needs
• estimate project time and costs using proven planning and scheduling techniques
• develop effective project documentation, schedules and Gantt charts to help deliver project objectives on time and on budget
• establish a project control system and monitor progress
• use a practical process to manage project risk and address typical project issues
• articulately and professionally communicate project plan and progress in a format suitable for your workplace context and your stakeholder needs.

Learning Outcomes:

You will gain:

• practical foundation tools and skills that you can apply right away to enhance your project management approach
• confidence in leading or coordinating projects
• increased ability to gain stakeholder support for your projects.

Your organisation will gain:

• better alignment of projects with organizational strategies
• higher quality project plans cognisant of project priorities and organisational constraints
• clear budget baselines
• transparent project performance management
• application of effective project controls and corrective actions
• value based project decisions and improved project performance
• increased understanding of project coordination needs across the organisation.

Career Outcomes:

• This course suits any manager, professional or team leader with current or future project responsibility, or anyone who wants to understand and apply project management methodology.

Professional/Industry Recognition:

• gain credit into the University of Adelaide Professional Management Program by completing this course and its assessment
• the course offers pathways into the Adelaide MBA as part of the Professional Management Program
• participants will receive a University of Adelaide Certificate of Completion.

Participation Requirements:

• All online sessions are compulsory to achieve completion of course.
• The willingness to participate and engage with the instructor and other course participants.

Special Requirements:

Your course will be delivered via our online learning platform and you will need to have full access to the following:

• computer or tablet
• web browser Chrome or Firefox to view your course online
• webcam, headphones and microphone
• internet connection (broadband or 4G minimum)

Course Schedule and Duration:

15 hours over 4 weeks inclusive of 4 live learning sessions:

• Thursday 1 October 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 1 
• Thursday 8 October 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 2 
• Thursday 15 October 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 3 
• Thursday 22 October 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 4 

Access to online course activities opens one week prior to first live learning session.

Registration Fee:

• $1095.00 GST Free.
• Some discounts available.
• Fee not supported by HECS/FEE HELP.

Recommended study pattern

Description:

Understand where and how to use machine learning in your organisation.

Machine Learning is disrupting industry. From financial services to medical devices to legal services, machine learning technology is changing the way businesses operate.

Aimed at executives and professionals wanting to understand machine learning and its applications, this course will take you through the fundamental stages of a machine learning project, from conceptualisation to development to evaluation.

Seeing the evolution of a complete machine learning project will give you a unique perspective, allowing you to engage with key concepts, and understand where machine learning could apply in your organisation.

The course will equip you with the knowledge you need to prepare your organisation for machine learning technology.

Learning outcomes:

• Understand why machine learning techniques have been able to disrupt numerous industries.
• Explore the fundamental phases of a machine learning project.
• Understand the problems that machine learning can solve.
• Be able to distinguish between regression and classification problems.
• Be able to distinguish between supervised and unsupervised machine learning.
• Learn to identify aspects of your work that can benefit from machine learning.
• Practice organising a machine learning project using an AI canvas.
• Consider the stakeholders that are involved in the execution of a machine learning project.
• Consider how to assess the performance of a machine learning solution.

Career Outcomes:

The program is particularly suited for executives and leaders who want to understand what machine learning is, and how it could apply to your organisation.

The course is not suitable for technical experts, nor for students who want to learn the details of programming a machine learning algorithm.

Professional/Industry Recognition:

Participants will receive a University of Adelaide Certificate of Completion.

Participation Requirements:

• All online sessions are compulsory to achieve completion of course.
• The willingness to participate and engage with the instructor and other course participants.

Special Requirements:

Your course will be delivered via our online learning platform and you will need to have full access to the following:

• computer or tablet
• web browser Chrome or Firefox to view your course online
• webcam, headphones and microphone
• internet connection (broadband or 4G minimum)

Course Schedule and Duration:

14 hours over 4 weeks including 4 live sessions and other material

• Tuesday 7 July 2020, 1.30-4pm
• Tuesday 14 July 2020, 1.30-4pm
• Tuesday 21 July 2020, 1.30-4pm
• Tuesday 28 July 2020, 1.30-4pm

Access to online course activities opens one week prior to first live learning session.

Registration Fee:

• $1095.00 GST Free.
• Some discounts available.
• Fee not supported by HECS/FEE HELP.

Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.

Indicative total fee $1,095

The amount shown here is indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.

Fees may vary depending on:

• the subjects you choose
• credit from previous work experience
• your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.

To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.

The University of Adelaide has a habit of breaking new ground. It was Australia’s first university to welcome female students. The first to offer science and business degrees. Its alumni include Australia’s first female prime minister; the first Australian to walk in space; 2021 Young Australian of the Year; and 2020 Australian of the Year. Adelaide’s OUA degrees will give you deep discipline knowledge, transferable, future-ready skills, and the capability to change the world for the better. With Adelaide, you can make history.

Learn more about The University of Adelaide.

Explore The University of Adelaide's courses.

QS World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

8

Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

7

Description:

Confidently read and interpret key financial reports.

• interpret and understand financial information with confidence
• apply financial analysis when making management decisions
• read and understand the three key financial accounting reports- the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement and Statement of Cash Flows
• use financial information to assess an organisations financial health including identification of weaknesses and opportunities
• clearly understand internal budget/actual reports.

Learning Outcomes:

You will gain:

• an understanding of key financial reports and how to analyse them
• skills to develop effective budget documents
• increased confidence in financial decision making and financial implications of operational and strategic decisions.

Your organisation will gain:

• enhanced understanding of the financial environment of the organisation
• informed staff who can improve their strategic and operation decision making through an increased understanding of business finance.

Career Outcomes:

This course suits middle to senior managers and professionals:

• public or private sector managers responsible for the management of people and / or resources, requiring a better understanding of the concepts and issues surrounding analysis of financial performance
• middle-to-senior managers with little or no formal finance or accounting qualifications.

Professional/Industry Recognition:

• gain credit into the University of Adelaide Professional Management Program by completing this course and its assessment
• the course offers pathways into the Adelaide MBA as part of the Professional Management Program
• participants will receive a University of Adelaide Certificate of Completion.

Participation Requirements:

• All online sessions are compulsory to achieve completion of course.
• The willingness to participate and engage with the instructor and other course participants.

Special Requirements:

Your course will be delivered via our online learning platform and you will need to have full access to the following:

• computer or tablet
• web browser Chrome or Firefox to view your course online
• webcam, headphones and microphone
• internet connection (broadband or 4G minimum)

Course Schedule and Duration:

14 hours over 4 weeks inclusive of 4 live learning sessions:

• Thursday 29 October 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 1 
• Thursday 5 November 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 2 
• Thursday 12 November 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 3 
• Thursday 19 November 2020; 9.00am-12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 4 

Access to online course activities opens one week prior to first live learning session.

Registration Fee:

• $1095.00 GST Free.
• Some discounts available.
• Fee not supported by HECS/FEE HELP.

Description:

Develop a Lean Six Sigma toolkit to improve your business processes.

It's no coincidence that the organisations recognised worldwide as being the most successful strategically, and who've been able to develop sustainable long-term sources of competitive advantage, are also the ones who embrace business excellence as an important organisational value.

Six Sigma and Lean are the two pre-eminent business excellence and improvement methodologies currently used by leading organisations across a broad range of industries.

• identify and action opportunities for improvement in your organisation
• employ a wide range of process improvement techniques, such as Total Quality Management, Kaizen, Business Process Reengineering, Six Sigma and Lean Thinking
• develop and implement successful process improvement projects.

Learning Outcomes:

You will gain:

• a theoretical and highly practical understanding of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, tools and applications
• opportunity to immediately apply your new skills through the workplace-based project following the course
• opportunity to undertake Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt courses – Yellow Belt being the pre-requisite to Green Belt

Your organisation will gain:

• a real life project immediately applied to the workplace bringing immediate improvement opportunities
• significant opportunities for greater business effectiveness and efficiency
• individual and team ability to proactively advance continuous improvement as an organisational culture
• tools and frameworks to apply immediately to a variety of business improvement projects.

Career Outcomes:

• This course suits managers or professionals who want to understand and learn how to apply business improvement practices in their workplace.

Professional/Industry Recognition:

• gain credit into the University of Adelaide Professional Management Program by completing this course and its assessment
• the course offers pathways into the Adelaide MBA as part of the Professional Management Program
• participants will receive a University of Adelaide Certificate of Completion
• Completion is the pre-requisite to University of Adelaide Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Program

Participation Requirements:

• All online sessions are compulsory to achieve completion of course.
• The willingness to participate and engage with the instructor and other course participants.

Special Requirements:

Your course will be delivered via our online learning platform and you will need to have full access to the following:

• computer or tablet
• web browser Chrome or Firefox to view your course online
• webcam, headphones and microphone
• internet connection (broadband or 4G minimum)

Course Schedule and Duration:

14 hours over 4 weeks inclusive of 3 live learning sessions:

• Wednesday 16 September 2020; 9.00am - 12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 1 
• Wednesday 23 September 2020; 9.00am - 12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 2 
• Wednesday 30 September 2020; 9.00am - 12.00pm (ACST) - live virtual learning session 3

Access to online course activities opens one week prior to first live learning session.

Registration Fee:

• $1195.00 GST Free.
• Some discounts available.
• Fee not supported by HECS/FEE HELP.