In the second part of the interview, Imran Kanga - Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment & Admissions reveals the biggest misconception about Schulich Full-time MBA program and the massively popular International Field Study project.
What is the biggest misconception about Schulich Full-time MBA program?
I think a common misconception students have about our MBA is that our program is best suited for students who would like to pursue careers in Finance and Marketing. While the Finance and Consumer Products sectors do tend to recruit a large number of Schulich graduates, I think our program has strengths beyond just these two sectors. For example, our students gain live consulting experience in Canada by working with companies on consulting projects during the program, so students that would like to pursue a career in Consulting would also benefit immensely from our program. We also offer some very niche and unique industry specializations like Arts and Media, Real Estate and Infrastructure, Social Sector Management, Business and Sustainability and Healthcare Industry Management. So students that have diverse interests in these areas would also be a great fit for our program.
The eight-month International Field Study project is an extensive experiential learning program. What is the goal of the experience? Tell us how the project is designed.
The goal of this project is to give students relevant industry experience while they are in the program. However, there are so many benefits to this program. From an academic perspective, a student gets the opportunity to apply all the knowledge acquired in the classroom into solving a real business problem. It trains students to work cohesively and efficiently as a team to ensure that tasks are completed on time, project milestones are met and that the final recommendation and implementation plan submitted to the client is highly impactful.
For international students, this project is even more beneficial because it gives students the opportunity to explore an industry in Canada by working with a company in that sector. Especially for international students who want to make a career transition, this really helps bridge the “lack of Canadian experience” gap that some students can face. Of course, for students who want to get into Consulting, our program is a logical choice because you graduate with an MBA degree and 1 year of Consulting experience in the Canadian market. This makes our students highly attractive to employers.
Who are some of the prominent partners in the Strategy Field Study Project?
To date, we have worked with over 3000 companies in Canada, so this is not an easy question to answer! Students are free to form their own groups and work with any company (that meets our parameters for the project) in the industry of their choice, so students work with different companies every year on the basis of common interest and shared team goals.
Reference
Strategy Field Study project
Schulich MBA Consulting
About Imran Kanga
After completing a BA (Hons) Business Economics from York University in 2006, Imran Kanga went on to pursue a career in Capital Markets and Private Equity in India for 3 years and then completed the International MBA program at the Schulich School of Business, York University in 2010.
Upon graduation Mr. Kanga began his career in Higher Education first as Associate Director of Schulich's MBA in India program and currently as the Assistant Director of Graduate Recruitment and Admissions for the MBA and IMBA program at the Schulich School of Business.