KINGSTON, ON, – To combat the misperception that Canada lags behind other world leaders when it comes to innovation, MBA students at Queen’s School of Business have designed an Innovation Summit to be held in Kingston, ON, on March 20, 2010.

The first event of its kind in Canada, the student-organized Innovation Summit brings together thought leaders on innovation and creativity from leading companies, institutions and think tanks across North America to discuss the best way to use innovation to create sustainable competitive advantage.

“Canada does have extensive innovative and creative capacity waiting to be tapped,” said Jameel Lalji, MBA’10 and Chair of the Innovation Summit. “We just need to do more to support and enhance it, and that is exactly where the Innovation Summit can help.”

Today innovation is a key component of business strategy. Summit participants will learn how to build innovation capacity through out-of-the-box thinking and by adopting an enterprise-wide innovative culture. Participants will also learn how successful innovation can boost competitiveness, increase productivity, lower costs and increase benefits of a project or a strategic initiative regardless of size of company or industry.

The Summit offers three streams – The Concept of Innovation (Theories and Perspectives), Building Innovation Capacity, and Managing Innovation & Innovation Success Stories – as well as sixteen speakers, seven panelists and three moderators, all of whom are innovators in their fields. Selected sessions will center on how to strategically support innovation through public-private partnership investment and research.

Event organizers are marketing the event to business and government leaders, graduate students, alumni and undergraduates in the faculties of Commerce, Law, Engineering and Policy Studies. For more information on the Innovation Summit or to register, please visit www.qsbis.com.

Rick Irwin, Operations Manager, Financial Services, Walmart Canada with QSB Commerce student

Rick Irwin, Operations Manager, Financial Services at Walmart Canada spoke to Professor Tony Dimnik’s upper year undergraduate Management Controls class on March 4. His presentation covered Walmart Canada’s move into the financial sector with various products and services being introduced gradually across the country. Rick explained that while the move into financial services has been in development for several years, the green light to proceed came in July 2009, when the federal government granted the company a charter to operate a banking service.

Walmart Canada’s parent company is the world’s largest retailer with over 9,000 stores and 2.1 million associates around the world. Rick spoke about the importance of the company’s three core values in propelling the company’s world-wide success. “Striving for excellence, service to customers and respect for the individual govern everything that we do,” he explained.  A spirited question and answer period followed his presentation and students didn’t hold back from asking about some of the issues affecting Walmart’s reputation. Rick’s responses were candid and sincere, and, judging by the number of students who lingered to ask him questions after the presentation, the exchange of views was appreciated on both sides.

Rick has remained connected to Queen’s School of Business since his graduation from the Executive MBA program in 1999 and returned to campus at the invitation of his former professor, Tony Dimnik.