KEY POINTS:
The University of Auckland's new $220 million business school is "mission critical" to the country's success,says Business NZ chief executivePhil O'Reilly.
The custom-designed Owen G. Glenn Building - named after its $7.5 million benefactor - will open today, bringing together 480 staff and 7867 students previously spread across six buildings and three campus locations.
New Zealand business needed to be nimble, clever and market focused,but was challenged by the number of small companies in the country, O'Reilly said.
"So we don't have the luxury of these large businesses training lots and lots of folk that then spin out into small businesses," he said.
"That means that that kind of training and skilling work, that building of capability ... falls much more heavily on the tertiary sector and Auckland University is the mission critical university for New Zealand success because Auckland's the mission critical city."
Barry Spicer, dean of the University of Auckland Business School, said the school was focused on relevance in the context of New Zealand.
"In particular, organising its programmes in such a way that it adds value to New Zealand through those programmes," Spicer said.
The university said the school was making strategic investments in new programmes as well as developing partnerships with business.
New degrees had been introduced in business technology and business bioscience and seven centres of excellence had been built; while 14 professorial appointments had been made since 2002, including three international experts.
"Vibrant and growing business communities in major cities around the world are notable for their first-class business schools that help prepare middle and senior level managers to compete in global markets, and now Auckland in New Zealand has joined them," Spicer said.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said the new building augured well for the Auckland brand, and the school may become a focal point internationally.
