THE Ulster Business School is the first of its kind in the UK to join an elite academic global network teaching an internationally renowned economics course.
From April 2013, it will deliver the prestigious Microeconomics of Competitiveness: Firms, Clusters, and Economic Development (MOC) course, developed by Harvard Professor Michael E Porter, a world-leading authority in matters of economic competitiveness and the application of competitive principles to social issues.
Dr Adele Dunn, Professor Jackie McCoy and Darryl Cummins undertook intensive training in Boston and will bring to the MOC course students specialist knowledge in Harvard case study methods, access to online resources as well as the prestigious Harvard stamp of approval.
Professor Marie McHugh, Dean of the Ulster Business School, said: “The Ulster Business School is very excited to be the first institution in the UK to offer this exceptional course designed by Harvard Professor Michael E Porter.
“Not only will it give students the opportunity to experience a fresh approach to studying economics the ‘Boston way’, but it also has the a added value of bringing the Ulster Business School into an elite global network of Harvard-affiliated universities, strengthening further the school’s influence as a key player in the field of economics and business research and education.”
The MOC course approaches the determining factors of competitiveness and successful economic development from a bottom-up perspective and analyses how the creation of wealth at microeconomic level ultimately defines the overall economic health of a nation as well as the consistency of its productivity.
Microeconomics are studied within the holistic context of macroeconomic policies, the stability of political institutions and sound social conditions which are believed to be a vital grounding for competitiveness and wealth creation.
Case studies, written materials as well as a video library, including lectures by Prof Porter, make this world-class course truly unique.