Earn a world-class Masters degree while you work

KINGSTON, ON, – Queen’s School of Business has introduced an innovative Master of Management in Finance (MFin) program, designed for aspiring investment bankers, asset managers and financial analysts.

The 10-month program, offered through the school’s downtown Toronto classroom, enables students to continue to work while obtaining this highly sought-after degree beginning in July.

“Over the past year, we have witnessed changes in the world’s financial markets of a magnitude not seen in our lifetime,” said Sean Cleary, the program’s Academic Director and BMO Professor of Finance. “There has never been a greater need for financial specialists with the knowledge and skills to tackle these issues. So it should come as no surprise that The Financial Times has called the master’s degree in finance the new “must-have” degree.”

Queen’s has partnered with the CFA Institute to create a highly focused program offering extensive preparation for anyone considering pursuing the valuable CFA designation, which has been referred to as the “gold standard” among investment professionals. The Queen’s MFin program reinforces the concepts in the CFA curriculum, and is scheduled to accommodate students wishing to write the CFA exams in December and June.

The curriculum is delivered by a combination of Queen’s School of Business faculty and industry specialists, integrating theoretical rigor with practical applications.

“Increasing globalization in the financial sector has created the need for recognized qualifications for those who work in finance,” adds Cleary.

For more information on the Master of Finance at Queen’s School of Business, visit www.qsbmasters.com/finance.

About Queen’s School of Business
Queen’s School of Business is one of the world’s premier business schools – renowned for exceptional programs, outstanding faculty and research, and the quality of its graduates. Canadian executives regard Queen’s as Canada’s most innovative business school, offering students academic excellence and a superior overall experience. Queen’s School of Business – where Canada’s first Commerce program was launched in 1919 – is located at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. The School also delivers programs at locations across Canada, as well in the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.

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For more information, please contact:

Megan Boate, BCom’12, looks on as Commerce students leave their shoes in bins outside their classroom during “One Day Without Shoes”. (Photo credit: Michael Lea/Kingston Whig Standard)

Commerce students walked the talk when they surrendered their shoes to help spread awareness about the impact a simple pair of shoes can have on a child’s life. Queen’s Advancing Canadian Entrpreneurship (QACE) conference organizers spear-headed the initiative, billed as “One Class Without Shoes”, as part of the global “One Day Without Shoes” campaign that attracted ¼ million people to similar events on April 8. This annual event supports Tom’s Shoes, a US-based company that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold.

Visit onedaywithoutshoes.com for more information and to view photos from the global event.

Suanne Nielsen, Senior VP & CAO, Foresters Insurance with Focus 2040 winner Sandeep Achar.

With graduation looming and final assignments due, MBA’2010 student Sandeep Achar looked beyond his immediate future to imagine what the world of work will be like in 2040. Along with Commerce student Dylan Dilecce, BCom’13, Sandeep participated in Focus 2040, a competition jointly organized by The Strategic Capability Network (SCNetwork), a national association of senior HR executives and practitioners, and McMaster University’s DeGroote School Of Business.

Sandeep captured the top prize – a six-month paid internship as a member of the HR consulting team at Foresters Insurance in Toronto. His presentations envisaged disaggregated workplaces made possible by technology that will make physical office spaces almost redundant, ‘Swat teams’ of like-minded skilled workers offering their expertise for hire, and artificial intelligence advances producing robotic and ‘bio-bot’ (part human, part machine) coworkers. Challenges HR managers will face will include “tackling diversity on different dimensions: between humans and robots, between cultures, nationalities and religions,” he predicts.

Sandeep came out on top of the three-phase competition by first submitting a 750-word entry describing the worker of 2040, followed by a 1500-word submission that described the workplace and work environment of the future. These two submissions impressed the judges – a panel of academics and HR experts – who chose him, along with eight other business students from across Canada, to present his vision at the finals held in Hamilton on March 23.

Before judges and spectators, Sandeep and the other finalists presented their vision of how the workplace of 2040 will operate, and included their proposed organizational models designed to effectively engage the workers of tomorrow.

Sandeep and the second and third-place finishers, Vanya Grover and Viva Nsair, both MBA students at DeGroote, will reprise their winning presentations at an event hosted by the Human Resources Planning Society, at Toronto’s National Club on May 6. Click here for more information.

Annual showcase highlights Eastern Ontario’s business potential 

Whether it is wine in Prince Edward County, white-water rafting in Renfrew County, or the history of UNESCO World Heritage Site the Rideau Canal, every community in Eastern Ontario has something unique to attract tourists and business investment. Community leaders, business owners, and policy makers will learn how to tap into that potential at the 2010 Knowledge Impact in Society (KIS) Showcase at Queen’s University on Friday April 23rd. 

Led by The Monieson Centre at Queen’s School of Business, the KIS Showcase draws together leading researchers with community leaders and business people from across the region.  “The Showcase is an opportunity to look at business successes and cutting edge research to enhance Eastern Ontario’s competitiveness in the global marketplace,” states Dr. Yolande Chan, Director, The Monieson Centre. 

A key part of the conference is a symposium on tourism and community competitiveness featuring Dr. Brent Ritchie, Professor in Tourism Management at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. Other speakers include Dr. David Saunders, Dean, Queen’s School of Business, Leeds-Grenville Conservative MP Gord Brown, Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry Liberal MPP Jim Brownell, and Kingston Mayor Harvey Rosen. 

The Showcase is part of a three-year endeavour between The Monieson Centre, the Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC), the Eastern Ontario CFDC Network, Inc., and over thirty community and government partners to bolster Eastern Ontario’s economy with academic knowledge.  Importantly, the project’s research priorities have been identified through a series of fifteen community workshops. 

The day-long Showcase has attracted more than 100 academic researchers, business leaders, economic development officials, policymakers, and politicians from all levels of government. It takes place Friday, April 23rd at Robert Sutherland Hall, Queen’s University. The full conference program and list of speakers is available at www.easternontarioknowledge.ca. 

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For further information, please contact:

Jeff Dixon, Project Coordinator, The Monieson Centre

 (613) 533-3271 / jdixon@business.queensu.ca

 2010 KIS Showcase:

• Friday April 23, 2010, 9:30am-4:30pm
• Robert Sutherland Hall, Queen’s University
• 138 Union Street
• Kingston, ON

Wireless internet business started on exchange leads to success in Latin MOOT Corp competition

(l to r) Commerce student Jennifer Turliuk, Latin Moot judge Augusto Camargo and teammate Aimee Gulliver

Fourth year Commerce student Jennifer Turliuk and her teammates placed second in the Latin MOOT Corp Competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for their business plan to provide a wireless internet service at universities in Australia and New Zealand.

This international business plan competition assessed 32 entries before inviting seven teams to pitch to South American venture capitalists, angel investors and industry experts at FGV University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Jennifer was a member of the only team from outside South America. Her team – WIFLI — was awarded second place overall as well as the Outstanding Presentation Award.

WIFLI is wireless internet ‘Whenever I Feel Like It’, offering free and premium wireless internet options at universities in Australia and New Zealand. While on exchange in Perth, Australia, Jennifer had noticed a lack of wireless internet services at Australian campuses. She and her team mates from Australia and New Zealand developed a model to offer students free wireless internet by providing corporate sponsors with advertising opportunities to reach millennials. In January, WIFLI was awarded second place and $6,000 from the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition, Canada’s largest undergraduate international business plan competition,

“The competition was an amazing experience,” said Jennifer Turliuk after returning from Sao Paulo. “We received a lot of great feedback from the judges, learned to communicate in a city that speaks predominantly Portuguese, and brought home new ideas and contacts that will be beneficial to the business.”

For more information contact: Jennifer Turliuk at jenn.turliuk@gmail.com

Students, faculty and staff flocked to the BMO Financial Group Atrium on April 8 to check out architectural drawings and floor plans for the Goodes Hall expansion. Wearing “Ask Me” stickers, Dean David Saunders and members of the School’s senior management team answered questions about the expansion, the construction phase and building design elements. The Dean also thanked Commerce students for their support of the expansion through their contributions of an optional $97.50 annual fee that will generate $1.2 million over 10 years.

“The Open House was a great opportunity to address the questions and some concerns about how the construction phase will affect the day-to-day life at Goodes Hall,” says David Saunders. “The students have been very supportive and are excited about all that the new wing has to offer – especially the increased learning space such as breakout rooms. Many of them asked specifically about the environmental aspects and were intrigued by the many ‘green’ components that will be incorporated to promote sustainability and reduce energy consumption.”

Click here for more information, including answers to FAQs, building design drawings and video virtual tours.

Commerce students (l to r) Kelsey Paterson, Kathryn Wizinsky and Kelsey Roberts volunteering at Martha’s Table.

From a soup kitchen to an archeological dig, Commerce students volunteered their time and talents in the Kingston area on March 18. They were participating in the Commerce Society’s “Commerce Has Heart” program that gives students the opportunity to give back to the local community by volunteering at charities and not-for-profit organizations throughout the city.

In addition to learning about how these organizations operate, the students rolled up their sleeves to help by preparing and serving meals for those in need at Martha’s Table, washing artifacts and setting up displays at the Cataraqui Archeological Research Foundation, and lending a hand at The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and The Boys and Girls Club of Kingston.

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.

Queen’s School of Business Commerce students hosted the 31^st annual Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC) to great success during the final round weekend January 8 & 9.  ICBC is the largest and longest running undergraduate business case competition and featured 150 submissions from Canadian and international universities with the final rounds represented by 18 different universities. Highlights of this year’s competition included the introduction of the Human Resources event, presented by Minerva Safety Management Education and the 10^th anniversary of the Sheldon Chumir Foundation Ethics event which has been commended for its personal interaction and presentation.

Students valued the interaction with other competitors in addition to the Queen’s Commerce student hosts.  “I chose to participate in ICBC because it gave me real exposure to one of the most prestigious schools in Canada,” said Valerie Larochella from Concordia University. “I got to add value to my diploma, and gained many new experiences.”

The Final Debate was a heated one, with the University of British Columbia and Calgary University going head-to-head debating the topic “It’s All Good” within the realms of government and education.  In the end, UBC’s strong topical points and quick responses gave their team a competitive edge and first place in the competition.

The three universities who came out on top with two first place finishes out of the eight disciplines were: University of Calgary in Accounting and Business Policy; University of British Columbia in Debating and Marketing; and McGill in Ethics & Finance. Wilfred Laurier was the winner of the first ever Human Resources event. Queen’s School of Business was tops in the category of Management Information Systems, presented by Caro Systems and came second in the Finance category, presented by BMO Capital Markets.

For competition details and photos please visit the ICBC website.