An interactive and high-tech simulated boardroom that will introduce students to the real-world pressures of business decision-making has been officially opened at Curtin University.
‘Management HQ’, run through Curtin’s School of Management in the Curtin Business School, is inspired by neuroscience and workplace ergonomics and will be used by students across a broad range of management, entrepreneurial, and innovation courses.
The room will provide students access to real-world cases from organisations around the world, simulation exercises and access to data from real-life companies, including news and commentary, and organisational, financial and social data.
Curtin University Faculty of Business and Law Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel de Bussy said the new teaching space would enable students to immerse themselves in a future-focused business environment.
“It is important to create innovative and engaging teaching and learning environments where students are challenged to explore, experience and acquire new skills that can help them successfully enter the workforce,” Professor de Bussy said.
“Management HQ is equipped with an array of screens providing data visualisation, simulation software, and interactive tools to foster group collaboration and engage participants from remote sites, and which allow students to engage in critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking, decision-making, and team collaboration, while also improving their productivity and communication skills.”
The facility allows students to see the outcomes of their decision-making in real time and revisit their decisions to achieve the desired results. The room is already in use by a pilot group of Corporate Governance students and will be used to its full capacity from semester 2, 2019.
A group of Corporate Strategy students from Curtin Mauritius took part in a pilot session and students from Curtin’s other international campuses will also have the opportunity to access the room through distributed learning.
Professor de Bussy added the new facility would contribute to Curtin’s leading real-world facilities such as The Agency and Curtin Business School Trading Room.
“The opening of this facility will ensure students have access to the most advanced technology in teaching, learning and research. It will also create new opportunities for education, industry and community engagement,” Professor de Bussy said.
“The development of Management HQ will help prepare graduates for their future careers by providing them with the opportunity to engage in realistic situations and practice a variety of scenarios that would likely occur in business environments.”
The new centre, which was officially opened last night, is located on Curtin University’s Perth Campus.
