In this year's Financial Times (FT) survey, the executive education arm of Melbourne Business School – MBS Mt Eliza - has been ranked the No. 1 provider of executive education in the entire Asia Pacific. Melbourne Business School is the business school of the University of Melbourne.

The ranking positions MBS Mt Eliza as the only Asia Pacific headquartered school in the global top 40 providers of executive education. FT has also ranked the School's customised programs No. 1 in the Asia Pacific.

"The No. 1 ranking underscores our commitment to quality in open and customised programs. MBS Mt Eliza's emphasis on quality is the catalyst for exceptional increased growth in our business,"said Professor Paul Kirkbride, Associate Dean - Executive Education, Melbourne Business School.

He adds, "many organisations are yet to discover the power of truly customised programs that can improve operational efficiency, fuel product innovation or improve customer satisfaction. We've partnered with many leading organisations who are seeing the power of customised programs, including McDonald's Australia, Pacific Brands, AVIVA, SEEK, Laminex and AFL”.

MBS Mt Eliza's open programs are rated by FT in the top 15 in the world for repeat business and growth. The School offers a comprehensive portfolio of practical programs in general management, leadership and specialist areas. The programs are usually held at our heritage listed facility which is right on the waterfront and is more than 100 years old. This facility is rated by FT as the No. 1 facility for executive education in Australia.

"Excellence in executive education is a combination of exceptional faculty, superb facilities, outstanding service and strong partnerships. This ranking is acknowledging our commitment to each of these,"said Professor John Seybolt, Dean and Director, Melbourne Business School.

The outstanding FT rankings coincide with the recent successful staging of the International University Consortium for Executive Education (UNICON) conference. Leaders in executive education from around the world joined with MBS Mt Eliza in April to discuss the future of executive education.

Melbourne Business School and Mt Eliza Business formed one of the largest business schools in the Asia Pacific in management education and executive development through a strategic merger in December 2008 to offer a wider range of programs and better support their students and alumni. The merged School maintains the name of Melbourne Business School across all programs and the MBS Mt Eliza name for executive education programs. In addition to servicing corporate clients in China, Melbourne Business School also offers the University of Melbourne Master of Marketing degree in Beijing, a program approved by the Ministry of Education of China.

Media contact:

Susan Wang, +86 10 6507 4822, 13911589591, susan.wang@mbs.edu