KINGSTON, March 9, 2012 – More than 30 experts in the field of innovation will descend on Goodes Hall to speak to more than 200 eager students, alumni, industry members and citizens on March 9 and 10.

Originally the first event of its kind in Canada, the third iteration of this annual student-organized Innovation Summit features thought leaders on innovation and creativity from leading companies, institutions and think tanks from across North America. Speakers will discuss the best way to use innovation to create sustainable competitive advantage.

“The Canadian and world economies are at a crossroads,” says Christina Waters, MBA’12 Co-Chair of the Summit. “Strategies used in the past will not necessarily work in the future. That’s why this year’s Summit focuses on how innovation is a key strategic tool for future personal, corporate, and societal success.”

“Spark” was chosen as the Summit’s theme to address the question, ‘How can individuals ignite the spark of innovation around them?’ By focusing on how to transform ideas into developed business innovations, participants will gain an understanding of how to create those elusive ‘eureka’ moments.

This year’s lineup of speakers includes representatives from 3M, Bombardier, RBC, Xerox, IBM, Exxon, Industry Canada, National Research Council (NRC), PARTEQ and Ontario Centres of Excellence.

Summit participants include business and government leaders, alumni, and students in Business, Law, Engineering and Policy Studies. Visit www.qsbis.com or follow the Summit on Facebook or Twitter@qsbis.

Kingston, February 3, 2012 – The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) has awarded Queen’s School of Business EQUIS re-accreditation. The European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.

Queen’s School of Business (QSB) is also accredited by the U.S.-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the other leading global academic quality assessment organization.

“EQUIS accreditation is yet another validation of the quality educational experience Queen’s School of Business offers,” says Dean David Saunders. “Being a member of this exclusive group speaks to QSB’s reputation as an innovative global leader in business education.”

QSB received its initial accreditation for a five-year term in 2006 and, following a thorough review process in the fall of 2011, its re-accreditation was confirmed in December.

To be accredited, institutions must demonstrate high academic quality and professional relevance, as well as a high degree of internationalization in keeping with the increasingly global business and educational environment. EQUIS also looks for innovation, especially in program design and pedagogy.

The fundamental objective of EQUIS is to raise the standard of management education worldwide. EFMD’s diverse membership of international academics and professionals form the pool from which the international peer review teams are drawn. As of December 2011, 133 business schools in 38 countries have been awarded EQUIS accreditation.

Toronto, January 10, 2012 – For this first time in its 24-year history, the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition (QEC) will take place in Toronto. Previously held on campus in Kingston, the competition finals move to Toronto to provide greater accessibility for the competition’s international competitors, judges and speakers. The QEC is Canada’s largest international undergraduate business plan competition and attracts young entrepreneurs from around the world. The competition’s mandate is to foster innovation and provide aspiring entrepreneurs with opportunities to launch successful and sustainable businesses.

After a preliminary round of judging competitors’ business plans, the top 16 teams were invited to compete in the finals in Toronto from Jan. 19 to 21. Competitors will present their business plans to a judging panel comprised of Canadian business leaders who will select the winning entries and award $25,000 in cash prizes.

Networking events will introduce students to representatives of some of Canada’s top companies including TD Bank Financial Group Wealth Management, ONCAP, IBM Canada, Manulife Bank, Level5, LoyaltyOne, Ricoh Canada and Freshii. Keynote speakers include Chris Hodgson, Head of Industry Retail for Google Canada; John Poulos, President and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, and Ted Zittell President at Ted Zittell & Associates.The competition’s founder, Meredith van Binsbergen, BCom’90, will be attending the finals with her husband Steven van Binsbergen, MBA’91.

further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Charlotte Gadon
Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition Public Relations Officer
(613) 532 5695
charlotte.gadon@theqec.com

Backgrounder
Founded in 1988, the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition is under the management of undergraduate Commerce students at Queen’s School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. The QEC is part of the Queen’s Commerce Society, the largest and most successful business student government in Canada. As Canada’s largest international undergraduate business plan competition, the QEC seeks to provide student entrepreneurs with the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and mentors, and develop and bring their business ideas to reality through competition for cash prizes.

Kingston– The Common Ground Coffee Shop was the setting for the Queen’s Accounting Association’s casual mentoring event held September 21. The ‘Coaching Coffee Session’ matched 25 fourth-year Commerce students with second- and third-year Commerce students interested in the accounting industry. The older student coaches, who had all recently completed summer internships at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG or RSM Richter, shared their insights and experiences in working in the accounting field and offered advice on the recruitment processes unique to each accounting firm. This one-on-one mentoring opportunity is one of the QAA’s many events aimed at bringing together Commerce students in the Accounting stream to inform them of every aspect of the profession and familiarize future recruits with firms of potential interest. The Coaching Coffee Session was timed to coincide with the start of the job interview process and left attendees well equipped to wow recruiters.

International experts bring a global perspective to local challenges

Kingston and Picton: The Creative Rural Economy – From Theory to Practice conference is unique. The multi-location conference offers participants an opportunity to experience sessions in a university setting as well as in the heart of creative rural Ontario – Prince Edward County. It starts June 14th.

The first full day session in Grant Hall at Queen’s University focuses on the theory behind the creative rural economy. It examines regional economic development, challenges and solutions for creative economy businesses, and practical tools for community action. Featured creative industry key note speakers come from Scotland and Australia, as well as Queen’s.

The remainder of the conference is based in two locations in Prince Edward County and showcases hands-on practices from industry specific companies in the creative rural economy. Participants will experience the vineyards of Hillier Creek Estates, or see what goes on behind the scenes at a video production studio at Whistle Stop Productions. There are also sessions on the role of youth in the creative economy, as well as creating opportunities for new Canadians. The conference wraps up with a discussion on how to turn creative economy theory into practice.

“Eastern Ontario is well positioned as Canada’s Creative Corner,” says Dr. Yolande Chan, Director of The Monieson Centre at Queen’s School of Business, which is one of the conference sponsors.  “This conference gives Canadian and international academic researchers a chance to exchange ideas with creative economic professionals. Rural communities stand to benefit greatly from the new knowledge this conference will create.”

Attendees can register for the entire conference or for single days only at http://business.queensu.ca/centres/monieson/events/creative_rural_economy-from_theory_to_practice.php.

More information about the Creative Rural Economy – From Theory to Practice conference is found at http://www.creativeontarioeast.ca/special-events/.

For more information, please contact:

Andrew Barrett
Research Officer, The Monieson Centre

Queen’s School of Business, Queen’s University

613 533-3088
abarrett@business.queensu.ca

Businessweek magazine has once again ranked Queen’s MBA as the top Canadian business school, finishing second overall for international schools in the biennial business school ranking.

Now known as Bloomberg Businessweek, the ranking is based on three elements: a survey of the most recent MBA graduates (45%), a poll of corporate recruiters (45%), and a calculation of the school’s intellectual–capital rating (10%), based on the number of articles published by faculty in a list of 20 key publications.

“Ten years at the top of the world’s oldest business school ranking confirms what we have always known to be our strengths – academic excellence and exceptional student experience,” said David Saunders, Dean of Queen’s School of Business. “While it is rewarding to be recognized for our success, our goal is to provide the best business education using the most innovative methods, regardless of ranking.”

Businessweek’s ranking of Queen’s corroborates a 2010 survey by Environics Research Group that revealed Canadian executives rank Queen’s as the business school with the most innovative programs, highest academic quality and best faculty, in addition to best preparing students for the global marketplace.

Businessweek cited the less volatile hiring conditions in Canada as a factor for why four of the top ten schools in this year’s list are Canadian.

The complete results of Businessweek’s 2010 business school ranking are now available online at http://www.businessweek.com/go/10/best_bschools2010 and will be published in the magazine’s next issue.

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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.

For more information please contact:

Amber Wallace, Queen’s School of Business
613.533.3351 / awallace@business.queensu.ca

Queen’s Professor Steven Salterio (left), newly appointed editor of Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR), and Dean David Saunders talk with the journal’s founding editor, Professor Haim Falk, Open University and Tel Aviv University, at the 25th annual CAR Conference held in Kingston November 5-6, 2010. CAR was recently added to the Financial Times prestigious list of the top academic journals in the world.

Attendees included, from left, Eric LeBlanc, MGM Program Director, Narinder Chauhan, India’s deputy high commissioner to Canada, Elspeth Murray, Associate Dean, MBA Programs, Mukesh Gupta, Tata Consultancy, Peter Sutherland, former Canadian High Commissioner to India, Kingston Mayor Harvey Rosen and Shai Dubey, Cornell-Queen’s EMBA Program Director

Students in the full-time Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Masters of Global Management (MGM) program recently organized the first-ever Queen’s Business Forum entitled ‘Experience India.’ Business leaders, politicians and diplomats gathered at Queen’s to discuss India’s influence on Canadian businesses, both as a partner and as a market.

Meredith Slemko, MBA candidate 2011 and a member of the event’s central organizing committee, found the day-long event to be extremely beneficial.

“The forum really strengthened the importance of India as a potential place to be when graduates are applying for positions or opportunities,” she says.

For Ricky Chandarana, MBA candidate 2011 and also a member of the central organizing committee, the months of hard work by more than 30 students paid off.

“The tremendous people—India’s acting high commissioner to Canada, a former Canadian high commissioner to India as well as representatives from the Export Development Canada, Bombardier, Dupont, Tata Consultancy, ICICI Bank, Tory’s Law Firms, Telus and many more—had great and valuable insights.”

Mr. Chandarana said learning about young entrepreneurs who have enjoyed success in India also inspired the students.

As India continues to develop as an economic power, students in the Queen’s School of Business are constantly learning about the opportunities and challenges of doing business in that country.

“India is starting to flow into a lot of our material. We talk a lot about how various aspects of business differ by country,” Ms Slemko says.

The Indian students enrolled in the Queen’s School of Business programs also share their perspective and knowledge.

“A lot of times when there is a discussion, there is a parallel drawn to India. They will say, ‘this is how it’s done in India.’ That’s been a great exposure for the rest of the class,” Mr. Chandarana says.

India began growing economically in the early 1990s with liberalization of regulations that attracted direct foreign investment.

“It’s very hard for a business to ignore the opportunities that exist in India,” Mr. Chandarana says.
The Queen’s Business Forum will become an annual event thanks to the success of Experience India. In future years other countries will be the subject of the conference.

“It’s another strong event that serves to put Queen’s School of Business on the map,” says Ms Slemko.