Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge Transfer recognises the two-way flow and uptake of ideas between the University of Melbourne and the broader community. As the role of universities changes, we must develop strong bilateral relationships with government, business and the community - and become increasingly visible, relevant and accessible to society’s changing needs.
Recent examples of Knowledge Transfer in the Department of Finance include:
Coleman and Pinder run successful engagement program
The title of the project says it all: “From the boardroom to the classroom and back: A program of successful engagement with senior executives in the financial sector.”
Since 2005, Dr Les Coleman and Dr Sean Pinder, Senior Lecturers from the Department of Finance, have engaged with a wide cross-section of the business community through the delivery of tailored corporate finance courses.
The courses are run in conjunction with the Financial and Treasury Association (FTA) and KPMG, for staff within, or close to, Treasury and market operations. They are designed to equip frontline practitioners with the latest knowledge and to tap their expertise to enhance understanding of actual decision-making practices.
For the FTA, the courses are part of its continuing education program and contribute points towards accreditation; while KPMG similarly recommends its staff participate as part of ongoing training. The courses are also run in-house for a number of major financial institutions.
Stephen Cheesewright, Director, Financial Risk Management Group, KPMG, said, “I would like to stress how important I believe this type of industry-university interaction is for both communities. While it is clear that practitioners have much to offer in terms of highlighting the problems and opportunities they currently face in the market, academics also have a role in highlighting the way in which these same issues have been dealt with across time and/or in different markets/contexts.”
For the University, the courses trigger innovative research initiatives. Coleman and Pinder surveyed FTA members about corporate finance practices and used the rich insights and subsequent interviews to produce the research paper “Managerial Perspectives on Corporate Finance Decisions”, which has been presented at the University of Amsterdam and the 2008 AFAANZ Conference.
Findings have also been incorporated into undergraduate and postgraduate lectures, and practitioners that Coleman and Pinder have engaged with on the courses now regularly appear as guest lecturers.