A new degree that prepares graduates for the digital future of business is among the first study programs to be offered at USC’s Moreton Bay campus when it opens for Semester 1, 2020.

USC’s Bachelor of Business (Digital Futures) will equip students to create business ideas, harness opportunities and drive innovation and growth in an increasingly digital global marketplace.

It is one of four new degree programs to be offered by USC exclusively at its Moreton Bay campus, alongside a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) (Honours), Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic) (Honours) and a Bachelor of Computer Science.

Search365 Chief Executive Officer Gavin Keeley said the Digital Futures program responded to demand across public and private industry to raise digital competence in the workforce.

“Digital is now in every business, it’s not just for tech-intensive industries. The reality is that all industry is now digital intensive,” Mr Keeley said.

Dean and Head of USC Business School Professor Lorelle Frazer said the Digital Futures program was designed to give graduates the agility to navigate a future in which business continued to evolve.

“Technology will keep changing and businesses have to keep up, so we are really preparing students so they can adapt to a rapidly changing business environment,” Professor Frazer said.

“Business graduates will need to think more futuristically, radically and critically, and employers will need them to communicate, be creative and solve problems.

“They still need the fundamental business skills. But because everything is so digital, and because every industry is affected by this, even people who are self-employed still have to be able to cope with everything from new technologies to working online.”  

The Digital Futures program covers technologies expected to become all-pervasive in business, including artificial intelligence, and ‘fintech’, which covers blockchain, crowdfunding, microfinancing and other new finance technologies.

Professor Frazer said USC had worked closely with industry to design the course to suit employer needs.

USC also has Business degrees majoring in Accounting, Business Administration, Economics and Finance, Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, International Business, Management, Marketing, and Tourism, Leisure and Event Management – with some of these offered at Moreton Bay.

USC Moreton Bay will open in early 2020 with a state-of-the-art foundation building that includes a full suite of university services. The three-storey multi-purpose building is the first stage of development of the university precinct that is expected to attract 10,000 students enrolled in more than 100 programs by 2030.