TORONTO - The Canadian MBA Alliance (comprised of Canada’s top six business schools) have joined forces to recruit prospective graduate students from around the world on the merits of studying business at a Canadian university.
The new alliance – which includes representatives from Desautels, Ivey, Queen’s, Rotman, Sauder, and Schulich – aims to increase awareness worldwide of the high quality of MBA education programs in Canada; thus helping attract international talent to Canada; and retaining top Canadian talent in Canada.
“We are delighted to work together to create events that are attractive and valuable to prospective students interested in Canada’s top MBA Programs. Canadian business schools are at an exciting juncture and we are collaborating to continue to build on the strong momentum that exists for the Canadian education brand.” (Praveen Muruganandan, Director, Admissions & Recruitment,
Schulich School of Business, York University.)
The MBA Alliance member schools will be holding a series of combined, two-hour information events to promote the merits of an MBA education to prospective students in Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary in late February, www.canadianmbaalliance.ca. Events in additional Canadian cities will follow. The Alliance also plans to promote the benefits of an MBA and life in Canada by expanding the reach of these collaborate events in key international markets this fall. “Our vision with the structure is to offer a unique event where top candidates will have an opportunity to hear from Admissions Directors at the best business school in Canada. The unique experience will allow candidates to attend a panel and join these Directors for exclusive one on one networking sessions. We believe this high touch event format will offer a great deal of value to top prospective candidates interested in an in-depth exploration of each of our programs.” (Teresa Pires, Assistant Director, Recruitment & Admissions, Queen’s School of Business.)
“For economic, social and cultural reasons, Canada is one of the best places in the world to get a business education and to work. We want to make sure that both Canadian and foreign candidates are aware of this.” (Carine Nahman, Associate Director, Recruitment & Admissions, MBA and PMBA, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University.) “Global rankings show that our programs are amongst the top 100 in the world, our tuition fees reasonable, and as a nation, we welcome diversity and newcomers. Canada offers a stable economy and generous job opportunities upon graduation. The Alliance is excited about what we can achieve together by promoting the natural advantages of studying in Canada.” (Niki da Silva, Director, Recruitment & Admissions, Full-Time MBA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.)
While the United States and United Kingdom have been restricting visas and making it harder for students to stay and work in those countries after graduation, Canada relaxed its rules in 2008 to allow international students enrolled in a two-year MBA program to stay and work for three years following graduation, while students enrolled in a one-year Program may stay and work for one year after graduation (with the possibility of extending this stay in the future). “International candidates see the unique value that Canada’s progressive visa policies offer, and they understand that studying at one of Canada’s top schools becomes a gateway to future opportunities worldwide.” (Greg Yantz, Director, Recruiting & Admissions, Ivey Business School, Western University.)
There is much at stake. While North American demand for MBA programs has been falling in recent years, Non-Canadian citizens represented 57 percent of all GMAT score reports sent to Canada in 2011, up from 49 percent in 2007. (Source: GMAC North American Geographic Trend Report.) The Alliance schools would like to boost the collective global market share of Canadian business schools as a result of this initiative. “We are confident that the calibre of education can compete with the best programs in the world, and when combined with such an attractive post-MBA career opportunity set supported by the Post Graduate Work Permit Program, the Canadian MBA Alliance believes we can win top talent from around the globe.” (Wendy Ma, Assistant Dean, Professional Graduate Degree Programs, Robert H. Lee Graduate School, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia.)
Fast Facts:
- All six Alliance member schools rank among the world’s top 100 schools, according to their participation in key rankings – Financial Times, Business Week, and The Economist.
- Visa rules allow international students enrolled in a Master’s or MBA degree program to stay and work in Canada under the Post Graduate Work Permit Program for the length of the study program, up to a maximum of three years, according to Citizenship & Immigration Canada.
- International students enrolled in post-secondary studies in Canada pumped $5.5 billion into the Canadian economy and helped generate more than 83,000 jobs, according to in a 2009 report prepared by Roslyn Kunin & Associates for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
For more information, please contact:
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Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
E-mail mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca
Follow Rotman on Twitter @rotmanschool
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