Posts Tagged ‘Vancouver MBA’
Vancouver Celebration of Light: A Big Business
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Student Life on July 28th, 2010
Every year near the end of July, Vancouver experiences a 4-day fireworks spectacle that rivals most international fireworks competitions. Since 1990, the residents of Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver have been able to look forward to this incredible show, as they line the beaches, parks, and hills that surround Vancouver’s English Bay to catch the show. As a matter of fact, it brings nearly half a million people, from all over Vancouver’s Lower Mainland (Metro Vancouver, 2010 Est. population 2.7M). The fact of the matter is that for retail businesses in the West End, English Bay, and Kitsilano, the fireworks mean a huge boost in sales. Further, corporate sponsorship of the event changed drastically in 2008 when HSBC withdrew as the principal sponsor, forcing the event to look at a multiple sponsor model.
While for most students of SFU Graduate Business these four shows spread over two weeks mean four nights off and some great entertainment, others see it as an opportunity to have something in common with a local Vancouver business. The Vancouver Celebration of Light is sponsored by companies such as The Keg, London Drugs, HSBC, Concord Pacific, FCV (an up and coming interactive agency), BC Hydro, and the YVR airport. With such an impressive sponsor line-up (these are BIG BC businesses) it would be wise for a newly minted MBA student to get involved as a volunteer with the logistics and organization of such a huge event. The SFU Business’ Career Management Centre highly encourages volunteer involvement with local events and charities. This is one of the easier ways to gain exposure and come across as a hard worker in the eyes of potential hiring managers.
Another example of a great event to get involved with is the Vancouver Canary Derby. The Canary Derby is a soapbox race, held in Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park, that raises money for research toward early cancer detection. The race teams consist of local Vancouver companies, many of which are in growth phases and rapidly hiring staff. The extra exposure in a volunteer situation may just give someone that boost of a familiar face once the interview comes. For others it may provide an interview opportunity where one might not have previously existed. To read more about the Canary Derby or get involved you can visit the Official Canary Derby Site. I also encourage you to read this past post by A Few Good Minds MBA Blog.
Top MBA Programs in Canada for Sustainability
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Tips on June 29th, 2010
SFU Business’ Undergraduate and MBA Programs have again made the top ten list (out of 35 Canadian MBA programs) for “sustainable education”. The study looks at the integration of environmental and social sustainability issues into university programs. The research and report is done by a quarterly magazine publication called the Corporate Knights. The Corporate Knights study and report on about the corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices of Canadian Business, Education, Commerce, and Industry. Their overall goal is to help Canada become a leading country with regard to socially responsible commerce. This link will allow you to learn more about the Corporate Knights “Clean Capitalism” Magazine.
SFU Business and Graduate Business for the second time in a row has placed in the top ten for Sustainable Business Programs. Notably, the SFU MBA program in Vancouver has moved from the ninth position in 2009 to the eighth spot for 2010. While this full-time, one-year MBA program is still only in it’s third year of existence, it is steadily and consistently climbing the ranks of programs that have integrated social and environmental responsibility into their curriculum. It is in part due to the SFU MBA program administrator’s commitment to a dedicated Sustainability course along with a Business Ethics class that place SFU Grad Business among these top ranks. The fact that SFU is the first university in the world to name a Sustainability Entrepreneur in Residence, along with a fully supported student-run Net Impact chapter also helps the rankings. Read on for a more detailed view of the study as well as a link to the methodology. Read the rest of this entry »
Top Five Reasons to Do an MBA in Vancouver
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in MBA Experience on June 22nd, 2010
There are hundreds of students that travel from their homes in Canada or around the world every year to study for their MBA here in Vancouver. There is no doubt that the city is an ideal place to live, with incredibly temperate weather, ideal for outdoor activities, cosmopolitan culture, and more social activities than anyone could possibly keep up with. The city is also a hotbed for international business, as it is Canada’s link to Asia and the Pacific Rim. Be sure to read on for all five reason’s to look at MBA programs in Vancouver.
1.) Up and coming hotbed for Pacific Rim trade activity:
Studying for your MBA in Vancouver provides access to this developing hub for the Pacific Rim. One of the major strengths for Vancouver is the strong tie to Hong Kong, which is another up and coming gateway city. This is a good partnership as both Vancouver and Hong Kong provide access to the largest global markets, North America and China. Vancouver, leveraging NAFTA has access to the USA and Mexico, while Hong Kong has preferred trade access to China. To make the city even more appealing for international business, the Provincial Government has lowered corporate taxes and provides accessible immigration policies. The city benefits also from a very high standard of living, attracting foreigners for both business and pleasure travel. Read the rest of this entry »
SFU Business Sustainability Entrepreneur in Residence
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in MBA Experience on June 14th, 2010
The SFU Graduate Business school’s Full-Time MBA is one of the more sustainability-focused MBA’s currently in existence. The program features a dedicated, full-credit sustainability course, along with an equally apportioned ethics class as part of the mandatory full-time MBA offering. These courses provide evidence that SFU’s Graduate Business programs are committed to teaching sustainable and ethical values. The sustainability course in particular is backed by a faculty at SFU that is committed to sustainability planning and policy. The movement is supported in large part by Dr. Boyd Cohen, SFU’s Sustainability Entrepreneur in Residence.
SFU Graduate Business, located in downtown Vancouver is the first University Business School in Canada, and possibly the world to appoint one of their past faculty members as a Sustainability Entrepreneur in Residence. Boyd is a LEED-accredited (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) serial-green-entrepreneur, and a former SFU Business professor. He moved on from his academic focus in 2009 to dedicate his time to 3rd Whale, a company that provides mobile solutions for personal lifestyle, health, and conservation. Boyd has since moved on from 3rd Whale to start his new company CO2 Impact, as well as to write a book with Hunter Lovins, entitled, Climate Capitalism. Read the rest of this entry »
EPIC Vancouver – Sustainability Advice for MBA Students
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in MBA Experience, Sustainability on May 31st, 2010
Ethical. Progressive. Intelligent. Consumer. (Company).
EPIC is Western Canada’s largest sustainable living and working expo. In a city with a plethora of green space, one of the largest inner-city parks in the world, and mountain ranges as the backdrop to beautiful ocean views, there’s no surprise that Vancouver has Canada’s strongest sustainability movement. The last weekend of May is witness to an expo that showcases both the new and the tried and true sustainable living strategies. This year it was easy to notice that the show is also integrating sustainability into the workplace.
MBA students with a desire to focus on sustainable business strategies should take notice. As a student of business in the 21st century ethical and sustainable business practices should be absolutely top of mind. As a result, SFU has indoctrinated a full credit ethics course and an equally weighed sustainability course as part of the mandatory curriculum for the SFU Full-Time MBA Program. These courses have been part of the MBA program for three years, and will continue to be a major focus in the one-year MBA degree. Further, sustainability and ethics teachings are making their way into the curriculum of the other core MBA courses. As this article will go on to explain, this idea of integrating sustainability into every-day business is something that the EPIC expo is starting to focus on. One key exhibitor, the David Suzuki Foundation, has a very interesting take on it all. Read the rest of this entry »
Vancouver Canary Derby – SFU MBA Community Engagement
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Academic Survival on May 21st, 2010
Once the case studies, organizational analysis papers, and mock financial audits are completed, the primary goal for most MBA grads is the job hunt. Of course there are some students who choose to continue on with their education. SFU offers a highly reputed Business PhD Program, and many grads go to other institutions to complete high finance, accounting, economics, or law degrees. For those looking for an immediate career, Vancouver can be a fantastic place to be if the student knows the right people. The SFU MBA Program’s Career Centre rightly points out that the majority of job candidates graduating from an MBA program are hired, or at least interviewed, based on a recommendation to the hiring manager. These recommendations can be gained through simple networking and business community involvement. One extremely valuable networking opportunity, and a worthy charitable cause is the Vancouver Canary Derby. The Canary Derby brings together both large and small Vancouver-based technology companies to raise money for the early detection of cancer (thus the Canary). The companies form teams which fund-raise for the charity along with the construction of a soap-box car which they race against other teams. Anyone can get involved as a volunteer, which allows exposure to executives and hiring managers alike from these technology companies. Read the rest of this entry »
MBA Stress? Canadian Business has a Lot to Offer
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Academic Survival on May 17th, 2010
In my opinion, Canadian MBA students and students in Vancouver are studying in one of the least stress conductive environments that exist in North America. I’d like to speak for global business and MBA students, however since I haven’t visited any schools outside of the US or Canada, I probably shouldn’t. The reason I speak so boldly about Vancouver has primarily to do with the breadth of healthy, outdoor, nature-based activities and programs. The city is a mecca of study-induced stress relief activities that allow for greater focus and dedication when the student goes back to reading that 50-page case study on the feasibility of a large enterprise takeover. For students at Simon Fraser University’s Graduate Business School, the ocean, hundreds of lakes, the world’s best ski resort, and the beautiful Pacific Northwest is at their doorstep. Read on to learn about some of the favorite activities that current SFU MBA students and Alumni like to enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »
SFU MBA Student Testimonial – Why SFU MBA Program
Posted by: Chelsea Guy in Tips on May 12th, 2010
I chose to apply to the Simon Fraser University (SFU), Master of Business Administration (MBA) program for a number of reasons. When I first attended the information session for the MBA Program, I felt instantly comfortable. I felt at ease in the state of the art classroom and I was very encouraged by the faculty that I met from the SFU MBA Program. Altogether, I felt a sense of confidence and warmth, and I was made to feel that I wanted to be a part of this MBA program. Read the rest of this entry »
SFU MBA Experience: A Day in the Life of a New Vancouver Entrepreneur
Posted by: Jessica Oman in Student Life on May 3rd, 2010
The routine of working 9-5 isn’t for everyone, and as a young entrepreneur, it certainly isn’t for me. I’ve launched my own business, Write Ahead editing & writing services. This path necessitates that I take what I’ve learned from my recently completed MBA from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and help businesses write, improve, or revise their business communications. Here is a story about a typical day in my atypical life, and how the SFU MBA helped me develop the skills and confidence to be an entrepreneur in Vancouver. Read the rest of this entry »
New to the SFU Student Blog – Start Here
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Student Life on March 24th, 2010
Hello, and welcome to A Few Good Minds, the SFU MBA Student Blog, written here in Vancouver by current students and Alumni of SFU’s MBA programs. We understand that if it’s your first time to the blog it can be difficult to navigate this much content. Therefore, we’ve created this guide to make sure you’re reading that which you’re most interested in based on who you are. For more information on the origin of the blog, or to contact us, navigate to the “About Us” section. The SFU Student blog is also committed to a code of blogging ethics and a privacy policy which can be read by clicking on the corresponding links. With regard to content, the blog includes SFU MBA student career paths, MBA class reviews, admissions advice for any MBA school, GMAT tips and tricks, local Vancouver activities, and more. Below is an abbreviated table of contents that will help you find what you’re looking for. Read the rest of this entry »
Vancouver Business Career Expo – Hosted by SFU Business and UBC’s Sauder
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in MBA Experience on March 15th, 2010
This video was recently created to promote the Vancouver Business Career Expo. The event attracts nearly 100 employers and over 1000 business students at both the graduate and undergraduate level from SFU and Sauder (UBC) schools of business. Every year, the attendees (business students) select a group of employers who they feel were most organized and who impressed them the most. For 2009 (2010′s event was rescheduled due to the Olympics) the employers were Telus, BC Liquor Distribution Branch, Research in Motion, Sun Life Financial, BC Hydro, Best Buy Canada, Deloitte, and Department of National Defense. For more information on the Vancouver Business Career Expo, or to join as an exhibitor, please visit: www.businesscareerexpo.com
Click here to read a transcript of the video: Read the rest of this entry »
SFU Vancouver MBA Admission Criteria – “Compensatory Model”
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Tips on March 5th, 2010
The admission’s department at SFU’s Segal School of Graduate Business calls it “recruiting”, but I call it helping out someone in the same position as I was once in – looking for a great Business School to take an MBA. If you’ve decided to take your MBA, Graduate Business school selection can seem like one of the most challenging and complicated choices to make. Luckily, Graduate Business schools (especially Canadian MBA schools) provide multiple opportunities annually to develop a better understanding of the school and what it offers on a closer, more personal level. At SFU Graduate Business School, located in the Segal Graduate school (The old Bank of Montreal building) in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the staff and faculty make a concerted effort to give prospective students the information they need to make the choice about which business school to attend. Read the rest of this entry »
Alumnae Interview
Why I Chose an MBA in Vancouver – SFU
Why I Chose an MBA in Vancouver – SFU
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Student Life on March 3rd, 2010
Here at A Few Good Minds Student MBA Blog we are aware that success is subjective, so we love hearing alumni success stories. In our opinion there’s nothing more impressive than seeing an individual whose educational choices have launched their career. This is especially true with one MBA Alumnae who we follow quite closely, Lindsay Angelo (MBA ’08). Since completing her MBA at SFU in Vancouver, Lindsay was brought on as a future-manager at British Columbia’s second largest corporation, and has led a team in the Athlete’s Village for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Read the rest of this entry »
Vancouver Winter Climate – Doing Your MBA in a “Mediterranean” City
Posted by: ryan-schmidt in Student Life on February 26th, 2010
Until recently, when the Vancouver 2010 Olympics showed the world that Vancouver weather is capable of 10°-15° C in February, Canada was thought of globally as a “cold place”. In fact in Vancouver, the temperature rarely dips below freezing. Snowfall, while possible is seldom and largely gone after a few days of milder temperatures. The diagram to the left has not been altered in any way, it’s the fourteen-day forecast for Vancouver in late January, 2010, the beginning of the second semester of SFU’s Full-Time MBA program. Even though it threatened to snow a few days that week, the temperature didn’t ever fall below 5°, and there wasn’t much more than a sprinkle of rain. Read on for more info about typical Vancouver weather and activities. Read the rest of this entry »
BC Hydro MPID Program – Lindsay’s Second Management Rotation
Posted by: Lindsay Angelo in Student Life on February 5th, 2010
A crucial element to the MPID program is the field rotation, a rotation that exposes you to the bare bones of BC Hydro, which is of course the generation of electricity. Although we have an array of functional areas at Hydro, generation is the core of what we do. For this reason, it is important to learn as much as possible in the MPID “field rotation”.
My field rotation at Burrard Generating Station was one-of-a-kind. I spent these precious months familiarizing myself with operational processes at the Plant while trying to learn how a Thermal Plant actually operates. My project portfolio included developing several tools to help the Plant better prepare for major outages (where the Plant will shut certain equipment down in order to perform work). This project was aimed at improving workplace safety and reducing risk. Read the rest of this entry »