Finance Department celebrates milestones
We are proud to share that despite the challenges of 2020, the AUT Finance Department has achieved two significant milestones.
First, the Department was recognised as the premiere finance department in all New Zealand. The recent release of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (also known as the Shanghai Rankings, and one of the most prestigious global university ranking systems) saw the AUT Finance Department climb into the top 200 universities worldwide with the highest score among its New Zealand peers.
This ranking puts the AUT Finance Department in good company alongside top international universities in Australia, the US, the Netherlands, Canada, and the UK. What makes this achievement even more notable is the departments’ relative youth: founded in 2004, it is only 16 years old! In this time, the department has developed a solid reputation for high-quality teaching and contemporary and relevant research. The department’s research centre, the Auckland Centre for Finance Research, attracts world-class academic colleagues to its annual conferences and is strongly engaged with industry bodies.
The second milestone was the establishment of the AUT Business School Trading Room, with construction completed at the beginning of 2020, just in time for the start of the teaching year. The Trading Room features specialist software and hardware giving students access to financial information from around the world and across the full range of financial assets. Data and portfolio simulation software gives students the opportunity to experience real-time trading just as they would on the trading desks at an investment bank in New York, London, or Hong Kong.
The Trading Room allows students to engage in authentic learning and assessment exercises and will enhance the ability of the Finance Department to produce graduates ready to step confidently into the workplace. Throughout COVID-19 lockdowns this year, students have been able to continue using the Trading Room thanks to the ability to switch the software to remote access.
The launch of the AUT Trading Room was formally celebrated in August, with a function for alumni, current students and staff, and a range of industry representatives, including from the New Zealand stock exchange and the Institute of Finance Professionals New Zealand. It was a great opportunity to highlight how the AUT Business School learning experience equips graduates to hit the ground running with relevant real-world knowledge and skills.