Educational partnership to foster space collaboration 

An alliance between business schools in the UK, USA and Australia will use the power of education to strengthen international cooperation on defence and space.

The University of Exeter Business School (UK), Tepper Business School at Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and the University of South Australia (UniSA) Business School have joined forces to deliver a unique MBA programme designed to bolster the AUKUS tripartite security pact.

The Global Executive MBA in Defence and Space programme (GEMBA) will see the three academic institutions across three nations work together to develop visionary leaders who are equipped with the skills to navigate complex geopolitical relationships across different cultural and institutional contexts, and ready to face the challenges of both defence and space exploration.

Tailored for military personnel and employees from defence companies, government and adjacent industries, the 18-month programme will support the AUKUS security pact between the three countries by improving workforce skills, knowledge and cooperation in defence and space.

The AUKUS security alliance consists of two ‘pillars’: the first is to develop technical skills to build submarine infrastructure, sustainment and construction, while the second pillar aims to develop advanced cooperation and share technology between the three armed forces, including cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

The Global Executive MBA focuses on ‘pillar two’ of AUKUS, aiming to develop leaders who are capable of working on multi-decade defence projects that require technical understanding as well as future-focused capabilities such as communication, teamwork and problem solving.