Beyond the ‘Big Four’: What are the Other Major Consulting Firms You Should Know?
Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and E&Y: Together these firms make up the “Big Four”—the four biggest professional services firms in the world. The companies offer auditing, assurance services, management consulting, corporate finance, legal services and more. It’s no surprise, that many of these companies are also ideal destinations for many MBAs. Continue reading…
McMaster University Receives $15 Mil. Donation, and More – Toronto News
Toronto’s business schools have had an active week, filled with exciting new developments. Below, we’ve laid out some of the highlights.
McMcaster University Receives $15 Million Donation For Its Commerce Program – The Globe and Mail
Paul McLean and his family have contributed $15 million CAD to McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business. Private donations will go toward revamping the school’s undergraduate commerce program. McLean’s gift will be added to the $50 million undergraduate business education building—scheduled to open in 2022.
McLean, who earned his undergraduate degree and MBA at McMaster, is the Chief Executive Officer of CWB Maxium Financial. He feels passionate that this donation will lead to a valuable and “potentially revolutionary” learning experience for those involved.
Len Waverman, Dean of the DeGroote School of Business, says:
“When you think about the way the world is changing, it is beyond hype; and with artificial intelligence, it does change the nature of work and the nature of the occupations students go into…everyone has similar ideas that our students have got to be creative, think outside of the box and be able to transform themselves.”
You can learn more about the donation here.
Doug Ford’s Fix for Toronto’s Housing Crisis is Easy: Just Build More Homes – Financial Post
The Financial Post recently highlighted the push from Doug Ford, the Ontario Premier, to build more homes in Toronto as a solution to housing shortages.
Toronto’s housing prices have doubled in the past decade, and experts are debating the best solution to re-mediate. Demand measures are controversial, as they disproportionately affect younger buyers and buyers in lower socioeconomic brackets. Ford argues that supply measures would grow the markets in a stable and maintainable way.
Just in the past five years, housing costs in Toronto have risen 60 percent, according to The Financial Post.
The Financial Post spoke with Michael Fenn, a visiting fellow at the Lawrence National Centre at Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School, on the rising costs. According to Fenn, “Keeping housing of a variety of types affordable and available is crucial to the economic success of the GTA and the country generally.”
You can read more about the Toronto housing crisis here.
30 Exceptional Educators Recognized As Canada’s Outstanding Principals – The Learning Partnership
Recipients of Canada’s Outstanding Principal Award were recently announced, and will be honored at a ceremony at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management on February 26, 2019.
Additionally, the honorees have the opportunity to attend a leadership training program at Rotman, wherein they will learn about management practices from experts in various fields. This year marks the 15th anniversary of The Learning Partnership’s Outstanding Principal Award.
Debra D. Kerby, President and CEO of The Learning Partnership, says:
“From Rankin Inlet, NU to Vancouver, BC to Richmond PEI, we are honored to recognize principals from coast to coast to coast. Principals are so important to the success of our schools and our students. They ensure our schools are dynamic, engaging places to learn, and that student are inspired every single day. These principals are enabling students to thrive in an increasingly diverse and changing world. These 30 principals are all instrumental in connecting students, educators, families and the community together, and we recognize their indispensable contributions to helping Canada continue as a global leader in education.”
The recipients were nominated by parents, faculty, and members of their community. They will join the National Academy of Canada’s Outstanding Principals, which will afford them, “… networking, mentoring and professional development opportunities to enhance their leadership skills.”
You can learn more about the awards here.
York Schulich’s Groundbreaking Building Opens Its Doors, and More – Toronto
Toronto‘s finest business schools have spent the new year making positive contributions to the fast-changing world of business education. We’ve laid out some of the high points.
How Business Schools Are Adapting to the Changing World of Work – CBC News
In the age of information, the business arena is changing at record pace. In order to keep up, Canadian business schools are shifting focus from concrete skills to abstract ones. Creativity and innovation, for example, are at the forefront of the curriculum for schools like Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School. In fact, Ivey recently staff conducted 250 interviews with international industry leaders in order to glean which skills are in high demand in today’s marketplace.
“Although people do need to have the technical literacy that’s probably higher than before—the skills that are really demanded are the soft skills that will allow them to adapt,” says Mark Vandenbosch, acting Ivey Dean. Among the most important skills, Vandenbosch listed “creativity, grit, teamwork … and decision-making skills.”
“We provide a lot of support post graduation for those who want to come back at a later time to start a venture two, three, or four years later.”
Learn more about the demand for soft skills in the marketplaces here.
New Schulich School Building Opens at Toronto’s York University – Canadian Architect
On January 11, York University’s Schulich School of Business opened the doors of the Rob and Cheryl McEwen Graduate Study & Research Building. The building, designed by Baird Sampson, is among the most environmentally efficient academic buildings in North America. Funding from the Canadian Government’s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, Schulich’s Leading Change fundraising campaign, and a generous donation from Rob and Cheryl McEwen made the $50 million project possible.
The all new Rob and Cheryl McEwen Graduate Study & Research Building, opened Jan. 11 at the York University School of Business.
The building will house Schulich’s Research Office, as well as the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business, the Schulich Centre for Global Enterprise, the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate and Infrastructure, and the newly-established Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
You can read more about the new York Schulich building addition here.
New Arrival to Canada Finds What He Was Missing – The Globe and Mail
Voyt Kryzchylkiewicz moved to Canada from Johannesburg to pursue his EMBA at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and launch a business venture. In his first blog entry for EMBA Diary, he discusses those challenges and lessons of the past year of his life.
Before his move to Canada, Kryzchylkiewicz served as a board member at several companies in Europe and Africa. However, his experience with Canadian companies was limited, and he did not meet the criteria to be considered for similar positions in his new home. Kryzchylkiewcz entered Rotman with the hope of developing a professional network in Canada.
“While building my knowledge through Rotman has indeed proved valuable, the real benefits of the EMBA are the relationships that I have made, both business and personal,” Kryzchylkiewicz says. “This has already propelled my business forward and provided me with significant opportunities that I would not have had otherwise.”
Learn more about Kryzchylkiewicz’s experience here.
Upcoming December MBA Application Deadlines
As winter approaches and December comes into clear view, let’s review all the major upcoming MBA application deadlines for December and January. Get those applications in ASAP so you have more time to enjoy the holidays with friends and family as you await your acceptance letter in 2019. Best of luck, and Happy New Year in advance! Continue reading…
Rotman and Bocconi Design New Global Executive MBA, and More – Toronto News
Toronto’s best business schools have seen some exciting developments this week. We’ve laid out some highlights below.
New Partnership for a Global Executive MBA Program Announced by University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and SDA Bocconi School of Management – Rotman Media Centre
The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management is banding together with the SDA Bocconi School of Management to offer a Global Executive MBA (GEMBA). Students in the program have the opportunity to study at seven international business hubs, including Toronto and Milano. This program allows students to graduate with both and MBA from Rotman and a GEMBA from SDA Bocconi. Both institutions are enthusiastic about the opportunities this joint venture will present.
Alongside the Rotman School of Management, SDA Bocconi has recently introduced its brand new, joint GEMBA program.
Ferdinando Pennarola, Director of the SDA Bocconi Global EMBA program, says:
“The program will expand each participant’s global understanding and business skills, as it is delivered through a dynamic blend of classroom discussions, convenient self-paced learning, and valuable interactions with leading businesses around the globe.”
Find out more about the brand new Rotman and Bocconi Global EMBA here.
Courses Spring Up to Train Students in the Business of Bus – The Globe and Mail
As the cannabis industry in Canada expands, so too does the need for acknowledgement of the industry in business education. In response to this need, Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management has banded with the Chang School of Continuing Education to launch a course called The Business of Cannabis.
The creation of the course was spearheaded by Brad Poulos, Academic Coordinator of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Ryerson. The course deals with the marketing, logistics, sale, and finance aspects of the cannabis business. The non-credit, 39-hour course (coded 420) is designed to help entrepreneurial students get a leg up in a relatively new industry.
Poulos, profiled in the Globe and Mail, says:
“There is a massive influx of people into [cannabis industry] jobs. With any other consumer good, there is already a huge pool of people to pull from, but that’s not the case here. What we’re trying to do is fast-track.”
You can read more about the cannabis course here.
Arcane Wins Prestigious Google Award For Work With Ivey – MARTECHSERIES
Marketing and analytics firm Arcane received the Search Innovation Award at the 2018 Google Premier Partner Awards, for its work with Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School. The award ceremony occurred at The Press Lounge in New York City.
“Over the past year and a half, the organizations have worked together to refine their digital marketing footprint and drive significant growth for their programs,” according to MARTECHSERIES. The award was based on innovative work with Google’s search advertisements. Arcane is the first Canadian agency to receive the prestigious award.
Ron Gallagher, Director of Marketing at Ivey Business School, says:
“I have been impressed by the innovation and impact of our partnership with Arcane. The Google Search Innovation Award is testament to Ivey’s progressive, results-oriented, and highly accountable approach. We are proud to see Arcane recognized for their digital marketing work with Ivey.”
You can find out more about the award and event here.
Surprising Political Divides, and More – Toronto News
Toronto’s finest business schools have seen some exciting developments this week, including new research from Rotman on the U.S. political divide. Check out some of this week’s highlights below.
Like Race and Class, Commute and Homeownership Divide Us – CityLab
Richard Florida, Professor at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and co-founder and editor of CityLab, recently wrote a piece for the publication that detailed how lifestyle and transit decisions impact America’s political divisions. The article references research performed by Florida and urban studies alum and instructor Patrick Adler. Adler’s research found that congressional districts with higher levels of homeownership were more likely to support Trump, as opposed to renters.
The political divide research also found that districts where the majority of people drive to work alone were more likely to vote for Trump, and areas where commutes were mostly via mass transit were likely to oppose his agenda. Perhaps surprisingly, commute and homeownership correlated as heavily with political stance as race and more so than education.
You can read more about Florida and Adler’s political divide research here.
‘Extraordinary’ Gift Will Help Establish Ivey Business Centre for Innovation – The London Free Press
John F. Wood, Western University Canada Ivey Business School 1964 graduate, has donated $7 million to his alma amter. The gift will go toward establishing the John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Learning.
On the announcement, Mark Vandenbosch, Dean of the Ivey Business School, says:
“John’s extraordinarily generous gift will benefit students at Ivey and throughout management education for generations to come.”
For over 30 years, Wood served as president and CEO of W.C. Wood Company Limited, one of the largest manufacturers of freezers, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators in North America. Now, he has utilized the payoff from his years of work to give back to future generations of business students.
According to the London Free Press, Wood’s donation “will also be used to develop new courses and teaching programs, expand Ivey’s educational outreach to secondary school students, provide permanent administrative support for the centre, and establish a global symposium on innovation in business learning.”
You can read more about the donation here.
McMaster’s New Innovation Minor Sees Unexpectedly High Enrollment – Silhouette
This was the first year of the McMaster University Engineering School and the DeGroote School of Business joined to offer an innovation minor. McMaster faculty teamed up with The Forge, a Hamilton startup incubator, to develop the curriculum for the minor.
“The innovation minor is a nexus where academics meet startup culture,” says Monika Yazdanian, Director of The Forge. The minor has far exceeded enrollment expectations, due in part to the breadth of networking opportunities and hands-on learning embedded in the curriculum. Courses rely heavily on guest lecturers and, in their third and fourth years, students even get the opportunity to develop their own startup.
Learn more about McMaster’s innovation minor here.
