Latest News
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
A local businesswoman and skilled and passionate communicator, Mona Fortier is well known for her professional achievements and effective service to our community.
Since her high school days 30 years ago, Mona has been inspired by the community of Ottawa-Vanier to live, work and volunteer here. Learning the value of public service early in life, she became active in social issues and in the improvement of her community and region.
Mona Fortier holds a master’s of business administration (MBA 1998) from the Telfer School of Management, and a bachelor of social sciences, honours in sociology, from the University of Ottawa.
“While at Telfer, Mona was actively involved in student life, participating, for example, in a high tech case study competition and supporting the activities of the student council,” said François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School. “In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Mona received the Telfer School’s Young Achiever’s alumni award in 2011.”
“Throughout both the nomination campaign and the by-election to follow, I pledge to meet with and listen to residents from all walks of this extremely diverse riding to better represent their interests and concerns,” said Mona Fortier.
“It wouldn’t seem right to launch my campaign without mentioning the great contributions of the late Honourable Mauril Bélanger,” says Mona. “Mauril’s service and dedication, not only to Ottawa-Vanier, but to our region, to minority communities including the francophone community, and to Canada have always been inspirational for me.”
- Category: Latest News
Congratulations to Professor Richard Clayman who will be awarded the Part-Time Professor of the year award by the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa. The presentation will take place on Friday, November 25 at 2:30 p.m. in FSS 4004.
The Part-Time Professor of the Year Award was created in 1996 in recognition of the contribution of the members of the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO) to university education. Sponsored by the University of Ottawa, the Alumni Relations Office, and the APTPUO, the Award consists of a $2,000 honorarium to be conferred during the special lecture given by the recipient.
- Category: Latest News
As part to the Telfer School of Management’s highly innovative new capstone course “ADM4317: Leadership, Strategy and Sustainability” for the Honours Bachelor of Commerce’s management option, students had the opportunity on November 10, 2016 to participate in an on-site visit of Windmill Developments’ Zibi project, Canada’s first and only One Planet Living planned community.
Professor Daina Mazutis, Endowed Professor of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, and her students were hosted by Jonathan Westeinde, CEO of Windmill Developments who graciously presented his vision for sustainable living. He provided students hands-on exposure to how businesses are tackling critical issues such as carbon neutrality, clean energy, waste reduction, the future of mobility and stakeholder engagement, amongst other inspirational examples.
In addition to this visit, students taking this course benefited from participating in a three-day immersion in running a Triple Bottom Line business through the Green Lab simulation and heard from two guest speakers from the community – John Purkis of The Natural Step and Mike Gerbis of Delphi Consulting, who both provided examples of leadership, strategy and sustainability in practice.
Within the course, students are also working on community service learning projects through the Michael Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement with the both the Office of Campus Sustainability and CFUW (Canadian Federation of University Women).
About Zibi
Zibi is a world-class sustainable community and redevelopment project by Windmill Development Group and Dream Unlimited Corp. Through this multi-phase development, Windmill and Dream will transform derelict land into a blend of residential housing types of low and high rise condominium towers and townhomes, commercial and office space, unique waterfront plazas and outdoor squares, recreational facilities, and more. Truly one-of-a-kind, Zibi combines unparalleled views of the Ottawa River, Parliament Hill, Chaudière Falls, and downtown Ottawa and Gatineau skylines framed by a modern architectural design that still respects the heritage of the area. Zibi is where nature, culture, heritage and the joys of life culminate.
- Category: Latest News
From November 11 to 13, 4th year students from the BCom participated in the Intopia Strategy Simulation, a competition created as a component of the 4th year Strategic Management class.
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world, known as Intopia, where students get immediate feedback on their decisions.
According to Victoria, a student who participated in the simulation over the weekend: "Intopia is a weekend long business simulation that lets the students who play it experience running a company in a competitive industry with all the stress of running said company over 9 years compiled into 3 days."
She also mentioned the hectic energy of the activity and how the Desmarais building was full of eager and motivated students that were running around. She adds that every team struggled to get their decisions in as the clock counted down.
Alexandre Maisonneuve, another student who participated in Intopia, says that his biggest takeaway is that Intopia allows students to practice the most basic skills of all in business: that art of negotiating.
Congratulations to members of the overall winning team: Team 20!
(Left to right) Andrew Lim, Zachary Page, Ioana Lazescu, Catherine Chu, Oluwatobiloba Afolabi, and Genevieve Walton (CPA)
Individual Award winners were:
Best Negotiator: Christopher Chan (Left), with Genevieve Walton (CPA), Noureddine Elkadri, & Abdenour Slaouti.
Most Congenial Player: Taylor Davidson (Centre) with Genevieve Walton (CPA), and Noureddine Elkadri.
Most Valuable Player: Zachary Page (Left) with Genevieve Walton (CPA), Noureddine Elkadri.
Honourable mention:
For a superb performance overall and top performance as an R&D specialist, Team 60:
Cheuk Sze Ng, Hoi Tung Lau, Ming Tak Liu, Zihan Gao
This capstone activity has recently been renamed to recognize CPA Ontario’s comprehensive contribution of $370,000 to the Telfer School to support students, teaching and research.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Three other new faces were added to the TAA’s Executive Board – Lucas Goshn as the Treasurer, Sushil Dahiya as the Director of Operations and Carl Lafleur as the Director of Marketing. Diana along with Lucas, Sushil and Carl join returning members Alexandra Batchelor, Vice-President, and Arianna Pontello, Director of Events.
Getting involved is something Diana has always done, whether it is in her community or her school. During her time at the Telfer School, she was a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Club for three years and participated in Happening Marketing and Jeux du Commerce.
“The TAA has the power to foster an amazing network and inspire future generations of Telfer students. I look forward to use this opportunity to give back to the institution that gave so much to me”, says Diana.
Join the new TAA Facebook page: facebook.com/telferalumni
- Category: Rising Stars
The second annual Telfer Internal Case Competition (TICC) occurred on the weekend of November 4. During the Friday night, first and second year teams improved their case competition skills by case cracking with an experienced mentor, and gained valuable feedback from upper year students. During the day on Saturday, participating teams (from first to fourth year) competed for the win in front of industry professionals and case competition veterans.
On Saturday evening, a gala of over 175 people was held to announce the winners. All in all, this year was a huge success!
TICC is hosted by the Telfer Marketing Association, the Human Resources Association, the Finance Society and Telfer International, and brings marketing, human resources, finance, and international management students together.
- Category: Latest News
The University of Ottawa is pleased to invite students and faculty who have created startup ventures to participate in a competition that will result in up to five companies being selected for an exclusive trip to Silicon Valley in the spring of 2017. Each selected startup will receive $4,000 (CAD) in financial support for the trip.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Congratulations to professors Craig Kuziemsky, Morad Benyoucef and Pavel Andreev who have been shortlisted for the American Medical Informatics Association’s “distinguished paper award” at its annual conference in Chicago, November 12-16. Their paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the connectivity challenges involved in the design of social information systems in healthcare. This is the second time in three years that a Telfer School paper made the list of 10 top papers at AMIA, chosen from among 400 papers presented.
From the article: “Social information systems (SISs) will play a key role in healthcare systems’ transformation into collaborative patient-centered systems that support care delivery across the entire continuum of care." Read the full article abstract
The research was undertaken by Professor Kuziemsky, who holds the University Research Chair in Healthcare Innovation, Pavel Andreev, Telfer School, Morad Benyoucef, Telfer School, Tracey O'Sullivan, University of Ottawa, and Syam Jamaly, University of Ottawa.
- Category: Rising Stars
All to say, we are so blessed to be living in Canada, in the capital city of this great country. And while there are others that devote their lives to tackle issues in their communities, it is our responsibility as leaders of the world that we are in part, doing the same. Ethically investing, starting socially conscious businesses, giving back to the community in any meaningful way. These are the things that will determine whether our generation leaves this world for better or for worse.
A resounding quote I’d like to share is one by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the opening ceremonies on Parliament Hill:
"I do not think you are the leaders of tomorrow — I know you are already leaders today. Your generation is politically engaged, educated, innovative, inclusive and progressive. You need to harness that potential to make the world a better place … Please remember, what you say, and the choices you make, have the power to change the world" - Justin Trudeau
Tahir Shahzada, External Affairs
- Category: Rising Stars
Hearing the stories of other delegates was the most humbling experience, so I encourage you to step outside of what you're used to by learning and asking tough questions TOGETHER. I, or anyone else, can't fight these issues alone. We do, indeed, need each other. A huge thanks to Telfer and uOttawa for giving me the opportunity to represent Canada at the One Young World summit. #OYW
Kloe Desrosiers, Telfer School of Management and Enactus uOttawa
- Category: Rising Stars
In today’s digital age, it is very easy for us to stay connected with the rest of the world through the screen of our laptop, thus giving us a feeling that we are very aware of what’s going on around the globe. However, we might not be mindful of the fact that what we see in the media and on the internet is often tailored to our interest and might offer us a relatively narrow view of the world around us.
At the One Young World Summit, I was able to meet in person with some of the most exceptional young leaders from some 196 different countries who gave eye-opening speeches about their progressive initiatives throughout the field of education, human rights, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and peacemaking. However, I also learned some frightening challenges that the world is facing. It is appalling how some 2.5 billion people do not have access to proper eye treatment, how 1 out of 3 people do not have access to adequate sanitation and how nearly half of the world's population live on less than $2.50 a day.
This conference showed me the great social achievements that are being done elsewhere in the world, and the work that is still ahead of us. Although the world is facing some challenging issues, the inspiring accomplishments of the speakers and the delegates make me believe that there is still hope in humanity.
Call for action: As Canadians, we are the most privileged, either by education or by wealth; therefore it is our responsibility to make the world a better place. So take a second to close your eyes and to think about the hardest time of your life and, who do you wish would have been there to help you. Be that person.
Jia Li, Telfer School of Management
- Category: Latest News
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcoming One Young World Counsellors including Kofi Anna, Emma Watson and One Young World delegates at the opening ceremony of the One Young World Summit 2016.
The University of Ottawa sponsored 7 students from 4 different faculties to participate in the 2016 One Young World Summit (OYW) that was held here in Ottawa, from September 28 to October 1.
Delegates between the ages of 18 and 30 arrived in Ottawa from 196 countries. Representatives were youth who have demonstrated their leadership ability and a commitment to effecting positive change. Many have already had an impact in their home countries on a range of issues, including the role of business in society, transparency in business and government, the impact of climate change, global health and hunger relief.
During the Summit, delegates participated in debates, formulated and shared innovative solutions for the pressing issues the world faces.
Some of the special OYW speakers included Cher, Singer & Oscar Winning Actress, Kofi Annan, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation and Seventh Secretary-General of the United, Bob Geldof, Musician and Activist, Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, Fatima Bhutto, Writer, Journalist and Activist, Jon Landau, Oscar-winning Producer of Titanic and Avatar, Marc Garneau, First Canadian Astronaut & Minister of Transport, Harley Finkelstein, (MBA 2009) Chief Operating Officer at Shopify, and Marc Kielburger, CM, OMC, Co-Founder of Free The Children and CEO of Me to We, to name just a few. The 2017 One Young World Summit will be held in Bogota, Colombia.
Below you can read short reviews on what each of the University of Ottawa delegates brought away from the Summit.
Jia Li, Telfer School of Management
This conference showed me the great social achievements that are being done elsewhere in the world, and the work that is still ahead of us. Although the world is facing some challenging issues, the inspiring accomplishments of the speakers and the delegates make me believe that there is still hope in humanity.
As Canadians, we are the most privileged, either by education or by wealth; therefore it is our responsibility to make the world a better place. So take a second to close your eyes and to think about the hardest time of your life and, who do you wish would have been there to help you. Be that person. Click here to read the full profile.
Tahir Shahzada, Telfer School of Management and External Relations
“While it was comforting to watch the likes of CEOs, actresses, philanthropic figures, current and former prime ministers talk about how they help enable progress, the true change makers were the young men and women, victims turned entrepreneurs when faced with injustices.”
Midia Shikh Hassan, Faculty of Engineering
I participated in the Resolution Social Venture challenge that is run by Resolution Project during the summit. The venture idea I proposed aims to empower autistic youth through providing job opportunities and a support system. The venture I proposed will use the MakerSpace facility on campus.
I was awarded a Resolution Fellowship in the closing ceremony.
Kevin Smiley (MBA 2016) Founder of SuraiTea Inc.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus was so passionate about the importance of being a job creator rather than a job seeker.
My social business SuraiTea Inc (www.suraitea.ca) is a tea packing and tea retail social enterprise that hires refugees to package and sell tea. We are quite small and only 6 months old but showing lots of promise. I found it very inspiring to hear from some other delegates at the summit who have very large social businesses.
Kloe Desrosiers, Telfer School of Management and Enactus uOttawa
When it comes to climate justice, we might not be able to see the effects of climate change in our city, but there are certainly millions around the world who are experiencing first-hand the repercussions of our actions as we continue to act irresponsibly. Let's think about what actions we are taking and the conditions that others are living in because of climate change...because at the end of the day we are all "one world".
Natasha Gulati, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section
The distinguished roster of speakers included Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson. However, I found the most inspiring speakers to be my fellow delegates.
In panel discussions, breakout sessions and networking breaks, delegates were able to share their social entrepreneurship stories, providing insight on overcoming the hurdles they faced while working towards their social justice goals.
Megan Beretta, Faculty of Social Sciences
Many attendees of the conference were already working, and in this framework started and continued to incorporate actionable change into their everyday life, whether related to their work through corporate social responsibility initiatives, or by making their work social enterprises and not-for-profits.
Generating a lifestyle where moving the bar on social change is part of every young person’s existence is certainly the message of One Young World; and the venue definitely has the potential to create it. Now, after the conference, it is up to each delegate, myself included, to choose whether to live that life.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Telfer School welcomes professor Mohamed Chelli as a new professor in accounting. His teaching areas include financial accounting and his research interests include topics related to socio-environmental performance indicators. He obtained his PhD in accounting from Université Laval and Université Paris-Dauphine and he was previously a professor of accounting at Toulouse Business School in France.
Professor Chelli said governments, policy-makers, stakeholders, and companies are keeping close watch on the development of socio-environmental performance indicators. CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, has operated for the past 15 years, while more recently the Financial Stability Board (FSB), chaired by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, created the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Chelli noted. Led by Michael Bloomberg, the task force is working on developing more effective climate-related financial disclosures for use by companies; the group’s members include the head of sustainable investing at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In a separate step, France last year introduced mandatory climate change-related reporting for institutional investors, a move which ESG Magazine called “one of the world’s most comprehensive shifts to public sustainable finance data.”
Professor Chelli noted: “There are many efforts underway to improve and standardize climate change and environmental disclosures, and my particular focus is on the legitimization practices of socio-environmental performance measurement bodies that oversee corporations. My work also provides analysis of the way the measurements produced exercise a certain pressure both over the corporations under scrutiny and the stakeholders.”
- Category: Rising Stars
Her career path – which began with an undergraduate degree in biology and continued with jobs in retail, public service and finance – led her to discover a passion for nutrition and administration. To further mesh her skills in management and health care, after finishing a degree in Nutrition from uOttawa, Carolyne decided to pursue a Master of Health Administration (MHA).
Carolyne’s commitment to health extends beyond her day job. A mother of two young girls, she enjoys going on outdoor activities such as mountain and road cycling, running and cross-country skiing. Her private practice, Fine Balance Nutrition, focuses on gastro-intestinal health, lipid management and sports nutrition for new athletes. But beyond that, Carolyne is the co-leader of a not-for-profit group which aims to bring together local RDs and welcomes new graduates through networking events and professional development opportunities. What’s more, she also volunteers for the fundraising committee at her daughter’s school. As a registered member of the College of Dietitians of Ontario, Carolyne also volunteers as a local “Nutrition Month” media representatives for Dietitians of Canada.
“Receiving a scholarship in memory of Laurie Strano is a great honour. In my eyes, this scholarship acts as a thank you for my contributions and the ones of past and future MHA students. It also serves as a reminder that these commitments are recognized, and highlights the importance of community involvement.”
What matters to Carolyn is nutrition, health promotion, disease prevention and working with children. As an enthusiastic and motivated individual, she hopes to work as a leader for a dynamic, health-focused organization which embraces creativity, strives for innovation and cares about its community.
For more information about the Laurie Strano Memorial MHA Scholarship, please contact Roxanne Chénier, Development Officer, at (613) 562-5800, ext. 4760 or
- Category: Latest News
Thank you to all of those who attended the 2016 Gala of Excellence on October 15. With over 350 guests in attendance, we celebrated the achievements and outstanding contributions that our alumni make to the world of business, health-care, the community and their alma mater. It was also a chance for us to celebrate the milestone anniversaries of the graduates of 1966, 1976, 1991 and 2006.
Click here to view and download the pictures »
Click here to read more about the five remarkable alumni who were recognized at the Gala »
Did you graduate in 1967, 1977, 1992 or 2007? We are looking for class champions for Gala 2017. Please contact Kim Duthie if you are interested in being a class champion and helping your classmates reconnect after all these years!
- Category: Student Announcements
MISA, or the Management Information Systems Association, kicked off its year with MISA Connects, held on October 18, 2016, at The Albion Rooms. MISA Connects was the first of two semi-annual networking events that promote the study and growth of information systems in every business sector. In a more intimate setting, students were given the opportunity to connect with Telfer faculty who teach MISA-specific courses and business professionals who believe in the value of data and analytics.
MISA would like to thank everyone who made MISA Connects a successful event. We will continue to advocate for the importance of information systems and analytics in a business setting.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Telfer School of Management is proud to announce that it has been ranked 31st of the Top 40 MBAs in the Corporate Knights 2016 Better World MBA Ranking, and is one of only 9 Canadian schools to make the ranking.
The Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking is the only major global ranking to evaluate graduate business programs on their integration of sustainability into the education of future business leaders.
“We’re very pleased to be ranked by Corporate Knights for our efforts to infuse social responsibility into our program”, says Greg Richards, MBA Director. “The Canadian MBA Oath that was developed here by our MBA students and the fact that we continually integrate material on governance and sustainability into our courses attest to the work we’ve been doing. The objective is to raise awareness that managerial decisions should place equal emphasis on people and on the planet, as well as on organizational success.”
Compared to traditional MBA rankings, the Better World MBA ranking is designed to help students and corporate leaders identify solid programs that have the infrastructure to support sustainability skills and knowledge. The rules-based ranking also recognizes those programs which best prepare graduates to solve business problems that intersect with larger social problems, such as climate change and inequality. The Better World MBA ranking evaluates the top 100 programs on the 2016 FT Global MBA ranking, and invites all other accredited (AMBA, AACSB, EQUIS) programs to opt-in. This year, Corporate Knights evaluated 123 programs in total.
- Category: Rising Stars
The 6th Telfer Trading Competition (TTC) was held on Saturday, October 1, 2016 and continued to build on its legacy as one of the most anticipated competitions and events of the year. The competition consists of about 100 students from 1st to 4th year who are looking to take part in friendly, faced-paced trading competition which helps enhance their student experience. It’s also an opportunity for like-minded individuals to meet each other and compete in a simulated environment designed to mimic real-life trading scenarios. For the second year, students from Telfer’s Financial Theory class (ADM2352) were encouraged to participate in order to apply the theory they learn in class and earn some additional bonus grades. The TTC is organized and hosted by the school’s Financial Research and Learning Lab, which is a state-of-the-art teaching and learning facility with leading industry standard software and databases such as Bloomberg, S&P Capital IQ and WRDS.
The competition consists of two parts, an ice-breaking Social Outcry competition and computer based case simulations which uses the order-driven Rotman Interactive Trader (RIT) platform. The Social Outcry tries to mimic olden day trading pits where individuals are required to buy and sell shares of the Telfer 500 Index (a simulated market) that is driven by news items appearing at various intervals. Just like actual markets, news is interpreted differently by the 100 traders who make the experience a fun, loud and fierce environment.
After students have had a chance to meet each other during the Social Outcry in the Camille Villeneuve Room, they move down to the Financial Research and Learning Lab in order to compete on 5 different cases exploring different financial theories: Liability Trading (2), Options, ETF Arbitrage, and Equity Valuation. Students competing at the TTC get access the cases 2 weeks in advance and have the opportunity to create their strategies for each case. Many students build complex financial models and macros which completely automates their decision making. During the competition, each case is run 3 rounds in order to reward consistency of strategy over speculation. The tension in the room can be cut with a knife as students focus on generating consistent profits and avoiding losses. Since all traders in the room affect liquidity in the rounds, at many times the room bursts in uproar from a potential manipulation by a competitor. This generally causes a sudden market spike, which only enhances the dynamic environment and feel of a trading floor.
After a full-day of competing (noon to 6:00 p.m.), students made their way back to the Camille Villeneuve Room for a well-deserved dinner while the results are tabulated. Cash prizes are awarded not only to the top 3 finishers, but also for each of the 5 cases and Social Outcry.
The TTC is also the method used to select the team for the prestigious Rotman International Trading Competition, which is an annual invite-only competition held in Toronto each February. The RITC is the world’s largest trading competition and includes 50 teams from the best schools around the world (Columbia, Princeton, Queens, Western etc.). The parameters of the RITC is similar to that of the TTC and as such those that perform well at the TTC make good candidates. Those that finish in the top 12th get invited to apply to the Telfer RITC team in hopes of representing Telfer on the international stage.
The 6th Telfer Trading Competition was again a huge success, and continued to build its reputation as one of the school’s best and toughest competitions. Events like these help give students of all years a chance to dive deeper into applying theory into practice, learning new skills, and understanding the financial industry a bit better. A big thank you to the Financial Research and Learning Lab, its lab assistants and volunteers for organizing and running this event, as well as the Telfer Marketing Department and Capital Markets Society (CMS) for sponsoring it. As we close out this iteration of the TTC, we look forward to a successful showing at the Rotman International Trading Competition as well as continuing to grow the TTC.
Overall Rankings:
- Dmitry Shorikov
- Roma Stepanchenko
- Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
- Danika Fu
- William Tu
- Evan Friend
Case Winner:
Social Outcry: Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Liability Trading 3: Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Liability Trading 4: William Tu & Beau Keppler
Options: William Tu, Dmitri Shorikov & Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
ETF Arbitrage: Tsoi (Jack) Yuen Lau
Equity Valuation: Aleksa Milosevic
- Category: Latest News
This page is for the 2017 Entrepreneurship Foundry Course. For information on the upcoming session, visit this year's page.
The Entrepreneurship Foundry is a cross-campus initiative that leverages University and community start-up resources to help you start and/or grow your business venture in a for-credit 13-week long course.
The Entrepreneurship Foundry course will act as an accelerator for your entrepreneurial venture; you will have access to external mentors at themed sessions as well as frequent access to “lab” time to allow you to focus on your business. .
- Your venture will be evaluated by using a pre-survey and interview to determine where you are at with your venture and set goals.
- At the end of the course you will be interviewed to measure the progress
- Mandatory 3 slide check-ins on a bi-weekly basis; will allow you to develop your pitch skills, as well as gain valuable feedback from professors, mentors and peers.
An interview and acceptance process will ensure only those most committed to real entrepreneurship will be accepted.
The course will run this winter on Thursdays from 4-7 p.m. and space is limited to 25 students. Student teams are eligible and not all members need to be registered for the course to participate. The deadline to submit applications is December 12, 2016.
To learn more and to apply for the course, please contact Stephen Daze.
- Category: Latest News
The Telfer Executive MBA will be hosting more than 35 candidates from the Sun yat-Sen University Executive MBA program from Guangzhou, P.R. China., during the week of October 2 – 7, 2016. This will be the third and final stop for these senior executives as a component of the Program's “Overseas Business Trip”. Prior to Ottawa, the group attended executive development programs at Columbia and Yale University.
One of the Telfer Executive MBA’s key objectives is to provide an impactful contribution to our business community through its executive leadership and competency development platform along with growing a global network that serves its business community.
This academic exchange program is an extension of a close relationship between our two programs. The first in 2014 was the direct result of the Telfer Executive MBA’s International Business Consulting Trip to Guangzhou, P.R China in April of that year. Since then the partnership has grown to include Summer Business Consulting Projects, known as the G9 [Guangzhou 9]. Working in teams of three, nine selected Telfer Executive MBA candidates complete a smaller scaled International Business Consulting Project for Chinese organizations throughout the summer months between their first and second year. This experience includes a one-week trip in Guangzhou to present their findings and meet with key stakeholders. The G9 was piloted in 2015 and the Class of 2017 recently closed off another successful year of the projects.
The activities during their stay will provide excellent opportunities to promote the University of Ottawa and the City of Ottawa, to many senior-level executives from China. It will also provide opportunities for engagement and insights from our community leaders through company visits, in-class sessions with distinguished professors, and several networking opportunities with Telfer Executive MBA alumni and leaders in the business community. It is important to note that more than 2000 of Sun yat-Sen’s alumni are in leadership roles of large and medium-sized enterprises in China.
With a focus on promoting local entrepreneurs and Canadian organizations, the Telfer Executive MBA has arranged for the Chinese visitors to enjoy the culinary and ale delights of Millstreet Brew Pub located in the historic Thompson-Perkins Mill building. The week also includes executive briefings at Ottawa’s Kivuto Solutions Inc., and the Royal Canadian Mint; as well as enjoying fall activities such as apple picking at Mountain Orchards and zip-lining adventures at locally owned Camp Fortune.
The visit is capped with a University of Ottawa / Sun yat-Sen Business School Delegation Dinner Reception on October 5th. The Mayor's office, in partnership with Telfer Executive MBA Program and Gowlings, will be hosting the reception with guests from the business community at the elegant Château Laurier. Special guests will include the mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson, senior officials from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and senior executives from the University of Ottawa.The academic portion of the week will be three fold; Global Competitive Intelligence; Economics for the Global Manager; and Self-Leadership and Branding.
During their scheduled leisure time, the executives will enjoy Canada’s rich history with visits to Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, as well as Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
- Category: Rising Stars
During the weekend of September 23 to 25, Telfer School of Management students in the ADM4317 Leadership, Strategy and Sustainability course engaged in an intensive simulation called The Green Business Lab.
“The Green Business Lab is unique in that it is the only interactive, live, comprehensive business simulation that can provide students with a hands-on experience in running a business while at the same time solving the most pressing problems arising from environmental and social issues facing organizations today” said Daina Mazutis, Endowed Professor of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability at the Telfer School. “It connects students directly to important strategic decisions that they will need to make as future business leaders.”
Working in teams, the students were immersed in running a business where each team member played a key function in the company. They had to shape the company’s strategic direction, design and build a new product and improve performance. Yet, due to mounting pressure from various stakeholders — including customers, governments and NGOs — success depended on triple-bottom-line (economic, environmental, social) metrics.
Teams made final presentations to a panel of judges who evaluated their strategy. This board of directors was composed of Robert G. White, CA, CMA, CPA, Independent Investor and Adviser (Telfer BCom 1992), Kristina Haakman, VP Finance at Brookfield Renewable Energy (Telfer BCom 2003), Salim Charabati, B.Arch. MBA, Consultant BuildGreen Solutions (Telfer EMBA 2016) and John Purkis, Senior Associate, The Natural Step.
Spherical Solutions (George Amidjinov, Kacey Cryan, Francis Desjardins, Alexis Harrison, Adam Khawas, Philippe Lafontaine and Vanessa Mangano) finished first in the “Industrialized Nations” category and “Eco-Impact Spheres” (Patrik Hashem, Andrew James Low, Olivia Le, Cassandre Pomerleau, Isabelle Trudeau and Jacob Sousa) finished first in the “Developing Nations” category. These teams developed the best overall strategy from a triple bottom line perspective.
“Speaking on behalf of the majority of participating students, the Green Business Lab is a real life, fast paced scenario involving tough decisions” said student Francis Desjardins. “This weekend simulation gave us the possibility to apply our acquired knowledge in a sometimes stressful, but always fun environment. We not only learnt multiple typical business lessons, for example the importance of profits and cash flow, but also the impacts of other bottom lines: the importance of the environment and of social awareness. I would like to thank our Green Business Lab facilitator, our professor, my class colleagues and the Telfer School of Management for this great experience.”
This in-class simulation was made possible with the support of the Telfer School’s Yersh Family Pedagogical Innovation Fund.
About the Green Business Lab simulation
The simulation tests the students’ leadership skills, knowledge of core management disciplines, as well as broader understanding of business’s responsible role in society. The Green Business Lab simulation has previously been run in well-regarded universities such as Cornell University, Georgia State University, Central Michigan University, Denver University, University of Michigan, Georgetown University, University of Iowa, Wayne State University as well as major multinational organizations such as General Electric, Rio Tinto and Chrysler Financial.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
The Best Possible Care
That first point—ensure patients can access high-quality healthcare services in their hometown—has been my highest priority right from the time I graduated from medical school decades ago. Since assuming the role of chief executive officer at The Ottawa Hospital in 2001, I’ve been able to broaden that mission from my own patients and their families to cover thousands of patients and families served by one of the largest healthcare organizations in the country. That’s where the teams of skilled and caring professionals come in. If some people consider me to be a successful leader, it’s because of the intelligence and dedication of others. That’s not false modesty. Since my student days, I’ve been guided by a phrase attributed to Harry S. Truman: “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.”
Another big part of the credit for my success at The Ottawa Hospital goes to the Telfer School. I graduated from the EMBA program—just weeks before assuming the top job—equipped with skills and knowledge in many disciplines of business. I’ve relied on that ability and understanding every day since. I never anticipated becoming CEO of a large research and teaching hospital: I was an anaesthesiologist, not an executive. But when the challenge presented itself, I was ready to seize it. More to the point, I was prepared to put together teams that enabled our organization to eliminate deficits, raise morale, and ensure patients and their families receive the best possible care. It turns out what matters most to me also makes a difference for others.
- Category: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The University’s Co-operative Education Programs and the Entrepreneurship Hub have teamed up with RBC Royal Bank to launch an innovative CO-OP program designed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Read the complete article in the Gazette »
- Category: Rising Stars
CEO x 1 Day is on the Hunt for Canada’s Top Students!
Stefan Sjöstrand, President of IKEA Canada, with 2016 CEO x 1 Day finalist, Maria Poonawala.
The CEO 1 x Day program, run by executive recruiting firm, Odgers Berndtson, matches Canada’s top students with CEOs from across the country. Today’s students are the leaders of tomorrow and the yearly program aims to uncover some of Canada’s most promising future talent by giving them an unforgettable real-world experience.
Launched in 2013, CEO X 1 Day has matched close to 50 third and fourth year undergraduate students from across Canada with leading Canadian CEOs from organizations like Purolator, IKEA, the CFL, Manulife Financial and Economic Development Canada. This year, we have another fantastic line-up of CEOs from organizations in the private, public and not-for profit sectors including Siemens, Campbell’s Soup, CBC/Radio-Canada, Germain Hotels, The Red Cross and the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Past CEO x 1 Day students who have taken part in the program say that they received valuable experience that equips them with the tools to start building their careers. Because the selection process has several stages, there is an opportunity for students to get feedback on their leadership and interview skills, even if they don’t make it to the final round. The different phases of the selection process include an online leadership assessment, as well as phone and in-person interviews and a half day with Odgers Berndtson recruiters.
The application process kicks off September 29th until October 28th and the actual day spent with the CEO occurs in February of 2017.
Why Should You Apply?
The program gives third and fourth-year students an opportunity to take in-class learning and apply it to a real-world situation while providing them with the tools and skills needed to start building their career.
What Are the Benefits?
There are many benefits of going through the CEO x 1 Day application process – even if you don’t reach the finals:
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2 out of 3 applicants will have the opportunity to receive a personalized leadership report from Hogan Assessments
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Semi-finalists will be considered for an interview with McKinsey & Company for a summer internship or full-time job
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Semi-finalists will spend a half day participating in group exercises and one-on-one interviewing which will strengthen their presentation and interviewing skills
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And ultimately, the winners will spend a full day shadowing a CEO (including one-on-one time), learning about his/her background, career path, and leadership approach
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You can also see first-hand what previous winners have to say about the program
Interested in applying?
Starting September 29, 2016, third and fourth-year students can apply at ceox1day.ca until October 28, 2016.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Congratulations to Ivy Lynn Bourgeault on becoming a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). Fellows elected to the academy are recognized by their peers nationally and internationally for their contributions to the promotion of health science. They demonstrate leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies and a commitment to advance academic health science. Professor Bourgeault and 35 other Canadian researchers were welcomed as CAHS Fellows at the induction ceremony in Montreal on September 15, 2016.
Ivy Lynn Bourgeault is a Professor at the Telfer School of Management and is the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair in Gender, Work and Health Human Resources. She has been a consultant to various provincial Ministries of Health in Canada, to Health Canada and to the World Health Organization. Her recent research focuses on the migration of health professionals and their integration into the Canadian healthcare system.
Professor Bourgeault is the Scientific Director of the Ontario Population Health Improvement Research Network and the Ontario Health Human Resource Research Network, both housed at the University of Ottawa with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. Professor Bourgeault also leads the Canadian Health Human Resources Network (CHHRN) with funding from Health Canada and the CIHR.
The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS)
CAHS provides timely, informed and unbiased assessments of urgent issues affecting the health of Canadians. These assessments, which are based on evidence reviews and leading expert opinion, provide conclusions and recommendations in the name of CAHS. More about CAHS
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Finding My Way
When I started at the Telfer School, I didn’t know where I was going in my life—let alone my future career. I was in school because I was expected to be there. My grandfather’s death in July 2005 began to change that. To celebrate and honour his life, I helped found a non-profit organization that went on to raise more than $150,000 for cancer research. Creating, organizing and propelling Typically Canadian inspired me to become an entrepreneur. It led me to realize that what matters to me is building things that impact people’s lives for the better. It showed me my way.
Their guidance and encouragement changed my life. It instilled me with the confidence to make my own choices about the things I wanted to spend my career building. It made me realize that neither youth nor inexperience nor lack of tenure was a barrier or limitation to business success and personal fulfilment. It gave me the power to launch a career in which I’ve created several successful companies, changed how a key aspect of healthcare is delivered, and impacted people’s lives for the better. Starting with my own. Barb and Alain’s support helped connect me with what matters most and, in doing so, enabled me to find my way.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Professor Samia Chreim’s research area is Organizational Theory, which she applies to a variety of fields. Her publications are making an impact in the field of health care management and business management. Two of her articles, published in A-journals, are ranked in the top 10 for the year 2015.
The first article, entitled Fix and forget or fix and report: a qualitative study of tensions at the front line of incident reporting, was published in the BMJ Quality and Safety journal, an international peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the quality and safety of healthcare. The article reports on a study led by Tanya Anne Hewitt, Professor Chreim’s former Ph.D. student in Population Health at the University of Ottawa. In a case study, the research explores how safety problems that health practitioners encounter are being addressed. The study reveals that most practitioners, when faced with a safety problem that they can resolve themselves, tend not to report it. Hewitt and Chreim argue that reporting of hazards and safety problems is important, as it helps establish a more preventive approach.
The second article is entitled The (non) distribution of leadership roles: Considering leadership practices and configurations. Published in Human Relations, a highly regarded peer-reviewed journal, it contributes towards a deeper understanding of leadership and social relationships at and around work. In particular, Professor Chreim’s study investigates the leadership configurations that are possible following mergers and acquisitions. The findings show that mergers and acquisitions bringing together previously autonomous work teams have a lot of ambiguity and variation in terms of their leadership configurations.
The journal Human Relations has published a lengthy discussion of Professor Chreim’s article by a renowned scholar in this area. Peter Gronn of Cambridge University writes that Professor Chreim ‘‘is to be commended for an invaluable contribution and for advancing knowledge in this field.’’
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Professor Samia Chreim’s research area is Organizational Theory, which she applies to a variety of fields. Her publications are making an impact in the field of health care management and business management. Two of her articles, published in A-journals, are ranked in the top 10 for the year 2015.
The first article, entitled Fix and forget or fix and report: a qualitative study of tensions at the front line of incident reporting, was published in the BMJ Quality and Safety journal, an international peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the quality and safety of healthcare. The article reports on a study led by Tanya Anne Hewitt, Professor Chreim’s former Ph.D. student in Population Health at the University of Ottawa. In a case study, the research explores how safety problems that health practitioners encounter are being addressed. The study reveals that most practitioners, when faced with a safety problem that they can resolve themselves, tend not to report it. Hewitt and Chreim argue that reporting of hazards and safety problems is important, as it helps establish a more preventive approach.
The second article is entitled The (non) distribution of leadership roles: Considering leadership practices and configurations. Published in Human Relations, a highly regarded peer-reviewed journal, it contributes towards a deeper understanding of leadership and social relationships at and around work. In particular, Professor Chreim’s study investigates the leadership configurations that are possible following mergers and acquisitions. The findings show that mergers and acquisitions bringing together previously autonomous work teams have a lot of ambiguity and variation in terms of their leadership configurations.
The journal Human Relations has published a lengthy discussion of Professor Chreim’s article by a renowned scholar in this area. Peter Gronn of Cambridge University writes that Professor Chreim ‘‘is to be commended for an invaluable contribution and for advancing knowledge in this field.’’
- Category: Latest News
Barbara Orser was the keynote speaker at Startup Canada’s Canadian Entrepreneurship Institute, which took place on September 1, 2016. The event, titled “Unlocking Feminine Capital: Canada and the World”, explored how public policy can be better leveraged to support women entrepreneurs in Canada. Barbara Orser currently co-chairs a grassroots committee, comprising 18 leaders from women’s enterprise centres, networks and SME support organizations. The mandate of the Ontario Women’s Enterprise Committee is to improve business support infrastructure for Ontario women entrepreneurs.
Full Professor/Deloitte Professor at the Telfer School of Management, Dr. Orser is the Canadian representative on a team of 13 international scholars examining SME policy associated with women’s enterprise. Collaborative entrepreneurship studies in development focus on financial literacy, technology literacy and the efficacy of public procurement policies. Professor Orser is the author, with Professor Catherine Elliott, of Feminine Capital (Stanford University Press, 2015).
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Make Missions Work
Telfer School of Management made it possible for me to take on this challenge. Because of the Telfer Executive MBA, I have gained skills, acquired knowledge, cultivated new ways of thinking, and I have reached a much higher level of contribution for my employer. Along with turning me into a high-performing communicator, thinker and strategist, Telfer also taught me to appreciate the advantages of diversity. Organizations are made up of people at different stages of their careers, and we collectively face the challenges of achieving the mission. We can rise up to the challenges because of our diverse skills, perspectives, capabilities and experiences. The Telfer Executive MBA equipped me with the awareness and ability to bring together teams whose members have specific blends of strengths and capacities.
These are the kind of teams that succeed in completing missions and improving how governments operate. Which is vital, because the status quo is no longer an option—for people and for organizations. People must always look to enhance their knowledge—just as I did—and government departments must always look to give their people opportunities to apply what they know to make missions work.
Five remarkable alumni, including David Adamson, will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the world of business, healthcare, community and their alma mater at the 2016 Telfer School of Management Gala of Excellence. The Gala will be held at the Shaw Centre on Saturday, October 15, 2016. This will also be an opportunity to collectively celebrate our alma mater and highlight the graduation anniversary of the classes of 1966, 1976, 1991 and 2006.
- Category: Rising Stars
With this prize, Al is being recognized for his extensive work experience in the minerals industry and his strong academic achievements. Since 2006, Al has worked for Ottawa-based Sander Geophysics Ltd., presently in the area of Operations Management. He brings this technical experience in mineral exploration and development to his current MBA studies.
Al cites his early interest in natural resources to having grown up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. His vision essay on the future of Canada’s mining industry focused on the opportunities that the Ring of Fire presents to his hometown and throughout the region of Northern Ontario. He has a particular interest in the socio-economic benefits responsible mineral activity can bring to Aboriginal communities in the area and how it can lead to deeper, long-lasting relationships between mining companies and Aboriginal peoples.
Congratulations Al!
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
2016 Robert Wood Johnson Award winners: (L to R) Anna Brown, Chang-Hung Yuan, Nico Miraftab, Katie Hollis, Sandra Racco-Cella and Olga Sawatzy
Katie Hollis, a recent MHA graduate, was named among six of Canada’s top emerging health-care professionals and awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Award. She accepted her award during a ceremony in Ottawa, as part of the Canadian College of Health Leaders and HealthCareCAN national conference, which is the largest national gathering of health system leaders in Canada.
Prior to starting the Masters in Health Administration (MHA) program at the University of Ottawa, Katie Hollis was a clinical pharmacist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario where she worked in paediatric haematology & oncology. On a daily basis, Katie witnessed the selfless dedication of healthcare providers to ensure a positive patient experience. However, her desire to gain further understanding into the complexity of healthcare delivery was fuelled by the belief that the responsibility to provide high quality, patient-centered care extends beyond that of the healthcare professional. Since completing the MHA program, Katie now works at the Queensway Carleton Hospital as the Pharmacy Manager of Clinical and Professional Practice and is responsible for ensuring safe, effective medication management practices for each patient throughout the organization. She is also actively involved with the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists occupying various roles on committees and councils at both the provincial and national levels. Recently, Katie joined the MHA Alumni Association’s Board as a member-at-large where she looks forward to giving back to the community that has inspired her throughout her studies and continues to inspire her each and every day.
Since its inception in 1956, the award has been presented to nearly 300 Canadian healthcare professionals. It is supported by Johnson & Johnson Medical Products in partnership with six leading Canadian universities, which offer a Masters’ program in healthcare administration, including: Dalhousie University, Université de Montréal, University of Ottawa, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta and University of Toronto.
- Category: Latest News
Exciting Projects That Produce Big Impacts
Two aspects of my rewarding time at the school stand out: a course in business law made clear to me the wide open possibilities of the world of business; and a summer job fair led me to obtain the first Triple A Student Painters franchise in my hometown, giving me my first valuable experience in running a business. I used all my courses and activities at Telfer as a springboard into a career that began as a corporate commercial lawyer. This profession enabled me to work closely with business leaders, take part in many transactions, and see firsthand the strategic decisions that go into successful companies. I especially enjoyed the thrill when deals and projects came together.
So much so that I left the certainty of a steady paycheque to get involved more directly in business as an entrepreneur and executive. I’ve never looked back. Granted, a life in business is never a straight path of uninterrupted success. But it has enabled me and my family to take greater control over our time, integrate sports, travel and philanthropy fully into our lives and, especially important for me, work on exciting projects that reach shared goals and produce big impacts. I can’t imagine a more fulfilling way to live.
Five remarkable alumni, including Myron Tetreault, will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the world of business, healthcare, community and their alma mater at the 2016 Telfer School of Management Gala of Excellence. The Gala will be held at the Shaw Centre on Saturday, October 15, 2016. This will also be an opportunity to collectively celebrate our alma mater and highlight the graduation anniversary of the classes of 1966, 1976, 1991 and 2006.
- Category: Latest News
We have received a generous donation from the funds raised in the 6th Annual National Bank One for Youth Bicycle Tour. The donation which was presented by the National Bank on July 8, 2016, will help fund the Entrepreneurs’ Club Elevator Pitch Competition.
The annual Elevator Pitch Competition showcases some of the University of Ottawa’s top talent. As a part of Global Entrepreneurship week, this competition allows young entrepreneurs to present their business ideas that are still in the early stages of development to a panel of judges and Rise to the Top. The winners are awarded with a generous cash prize that they can put towards furthering their business idea. The evening also includes a catered networking portion as well as a keynote speaker that shares their personal successes and struggles as an entrepreneur. This year we plan on making the competition the most competitive to date.
- Category: Rising Stars
From July 8 to10, 4th-year students from the bachelor of commerce participated in the Intopia Strategy Simulation. This competition was created as a component of the 4th-year Strategic Management class.
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world, known as Intopia, where students get immediate feedback on their decisions. This simulation gives the students a chance to test the knowledge they have accumulated over their 4 years at university.
Congratulations to the members of the winning team:
- Jean-Francois Lupien
- David May
- Fanta Sow
- Nikola Vucic
- Category: Latest News
Why do good people do bad things?
This is the question posed by Robert Prentice at a recent conference where he talked about Behavioural Ethics. The interesting point is that some studies have shown that business education increases rather than decreases unethical behaviour. Why might this be?
Behavioural ethics suggests that even the most well-meaning people can behave unethically in certain situations. This happens, according to Prentice, because of a few cognitive biases that include the following:
- Over-confidence bias - “I always behave ethically”;
- Conformity bias -“Everyone else is doing it”; and
- Respect for authority - “The boss says I have to”.
Business education might encourage unethical behaviour if the emphasis is placed on profitability above all. In other words, the MBA program might stimulate some of the biases mentioned above. Most MBA programs nowadays focus on a balance of results: people, profit and planet. In addition, many have introduced courses on ethics. The Telfer 2009 MBA grads went one step further to create an MBA Oath that outlines a set of values for how our MBAs will conduct themselves in the workplace.
All Telfer MBA grads sign off on the Oath prior to graduation, and many years later, Telfer MBA alumni can recall the ceremony that surrounds the signing and the commitment they made to ethical conduct. Harley Finkelstein, a member of the 2009 graduating class and a key proponent of the Oath points out that “other such Oaths were created in a number of American universities after the 2008 financial meltdown, but we wanted to create an Oath that would reflect Canadian values”. The focus is on “doing good” of course, but also on realizing that good people can do bad things if they are put in situations in which the ethical aspects are perhaps nebulous. Attaching one’s signature to a set of values instills a framework for making ethical decisions when faced with ambiguous situations.
MBA Director Greg Richards notes: “With the rapid changes in organizations these days, the proliferation of data, Internet of Things, and continual global connectivity, most of us now work in pretty fast-moving, complex environments. Sometimes, it’s not easy to maintain a focus on values in these situations. I think talking about ethics and values regularly and providing a framework, such as the MBA Oath, to help people focus their decision-making is a useful approach.”
Daina Mazutis, author of a number of papers on Ethical Decision Making and Endowed Professor of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability at the Telfer School of Management adds: “Many research studies have shown that making a public commitment to an issue can have a profound effect on individual behaviour. On top of anticipating, practicing and scripting responses in advance to the ethical dilemmas future managers are bound to face in the work place, the MBA Oath can serve as a sort of trip-wire that augments the moral intensity of the situation at the time a decision has to be made, especially if a visible reminder of the Oath is kept nearby.”
For more information on ethics in business, take a look at some of Professor Mazutis’s work in the Journal of Business Ethics or in Academy of Management Learning & Education.
Robert Prince and his colleagues at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin have created a series of videos and other educational resources at Ethics Unwrapped.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Create Opportunities for People to Become Healthy
I simply couldn’t function—let alone achieve any degree of professional success—without these skills and the frame of mind they inspire. My position as executive director of Ottawa Inner City Health has no piece of paper that tells me what to do and how to do it. Solutions are never plug and play. My job requires me to think what I call big thoughts about big problems and the big ideas and partnerships to solve them.
It only sounds daunting. My work connects me with people I like and actions I believe in. It gives energy and balance to my life. It enables me to do not merely what I want to do, but also what matters so much to me that I believe I was born to do it. There is no better feeling and no greater satisfaction than that—and the Telfer MHA made it possible.
Five remarkable alumni, including Wendy Muckle, will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the world of business, healthcare, community and their alma mater at the 2016 Telfer School of Management Gala of Excellence. The Gala will be held at the Shaw Centre on Saturday, October 15, 2016. This will also be an opportunity to collectively celebrate our alma mater and highlight the graduation anniversary of the classes of 1966, 1976, 1991 and 2006.
- Category: Latest News
The Telfer Executive MBA Class of 2017 has spoken and the candidates will be going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The votes were cast and decision was made during the week of June 6, 2016, after insightful presentations from 7 teams that form the cohort. The presentations focused on four key factors:
- Strategic importance of respective international market to Ottawa and Ontario.
- The number of Canadian organizations already invested in the market.
- Market interest or focus by local associations such as Export Development Corp and the Canadian government.
- The level of impact each respective international market would have on the cohort’s international market experience, careers and global resume going forward.
This was the final step of the International Market Evaluation & Selection course that started in March. In total 14 different international cities were evaluated and Kuala Lumpur was selected on June 8, 2016. The course mirrors the strategic approach that an organization would take when evaluating and making a decision on a specific international market on expanding its global footprint. The process forms the compelling nature of the Telfer Executive MBA program, a program that strictly focusing on a Global, Practical and Relevant curriculum by anchoring key learnings on the Signature Series of Six Business Consulting Projects. The program works with over 50 client organizations in addressing business challenges and market opportunities. The Class of 2017 will be working with Canadian companies on exploring the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market as it marches the client organizations to Kuala Lumpur in April 2017.
About Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia and is located in Southeast Asia bordering with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei. It is home to a diverse and multicultural population of 30 million, with over seven million located in its most populated urban centre. The country’s annual GDP growth for 2015 was down from their 2014 growth of 6% but exceeded economist expectations by closing at 5%, reported by Financial Times in February 2016. Malaysia’s growth and opportunity has caught the attention of several of Canadian international groups, including Global Affairs Canada that listed the region as a priority market for Canadian business. Export Development Canada recognized Malaysia as a key market and it is also listed on Ontario’s top ten Asian markets.
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the economic and business centre of the country and is considered one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in South-East Asia. KL is one-hour flight time from the highly-developed and dynamic business environment of Singapore. The frequency of business is evident by the over 30 daily flights between KL to Singapore.
This is the second time a cohort of Telfer Executive MBA program has chosen Kuala Lumpur as a market destination for their International trip. The Class of 1997 departed to Kuala Lumpur to pursue opportunities of Malaysia’s emergence as a high-tech hub of the Far East exactly 20 years ago.
The Next Steps for the Class of 2017
Over the course of the next eight months the Telfer Executive MBA teams will be engaging with seven Canadian organizations that are looking to increase their business footprint in the Malaysian market. This global component of the Telfer Executive MBA curriculum focuses on leveraging both primary and secondary sources to conduct a market and business analysis, and to validate the market potential prior to the teams traveling to KL. The Class of 2017 will be in KL in April 2017, respective teams will leverage other data gathering methodologies including in-country with key stakeholders to validate the market potential.
The Telfer Executive MBA consistently provides compelling business value to respective client organizations as each candidate learns international business is not difficult with solid planning and precise implementation.
- Category: Latest News
On June 9, 2016, an audience assembled to witness the University/Hospital Affiliation Agreement Signing Ceremony, signifying the renewal of a unique collaboration that recognizes and addresses the shared academic missions of its partners into one single agreement.
The agreement marks the continuation for another five years of the partnership between uOttawa’s Faculties of Medicine, Social Sciences and Health Sciences and Telfer School of Management, and the five teaching hospitals in Ottawa — Bruyère, CHEO, Montfort, Royal Ottawa, and TOH. The partner agreement covers the key areas of education, research, professionalism and the learning environment, the appointment of clinical faculty members, and joint appointments, empowering all to move as one affiliated entity to improve and innovate in health education and research.
Representatives from each partner organizations signed the University/Hospital Affiliation Agreement: Dr. Michel Laurier, Vice-President Academic and Provost, University of Ottawa; Mr. Daniel Levac, President and CEO, Bruyère Continuing Care; Dr. Hélène Perreault, Dean, University of Ottawa Faculty of Health Sciences; Dr. Lindy Samson, Chief of Staff, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario; Dr. Jacques Bradwejn, Dean, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine; Dr. Bernard Leduc, President and CEO, Hôpital Montfort; Dr. Marcel Mérette, Dean, University of Ottawa Faculty of Social Sciences; Mr. George Weber, President and CEO, The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group; Dr. François Julien, Dean, University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management; Dr. Jack Kitts, President and CEO, The Ottawa Hospital; Mr. Allan Rock, President, University of Ottawa (left to right in the photo above).
Photo credit: Andrea Campbell
- Category: Latest News
The Executive Committee of the University of Ottawa’s Board of Governors has approved the renewal of François Julien’s mandate as Dean of the Telfer School of Management. Dean Julien’s new mandate will be for a period of five (5) years and will begin July 1, 2016.
“On behalf of the University, I wish to congratulate François and express my appreciation for his leadership and commitment to the Telfer School of Management” said Allan Rock, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa.
François Julien has been a professor at the Telfer School of Management for over twenty five years. He was the Associate Dean (Programs) and Vice Dean of the Telfer School of Management from 2005 to 2010. Over his tenure, he oversaw the creation of the School's first two research-based programs, the M.Sc. in Management and the M.Sc. in Health Systems, led the curriculum revision of all programs offered by the School, and contributed significantly to the quality of the student experience through initiatives such as the creation of the Personal and Leadership Development Program. François Julien was named Acting Dean of the Telfer School on July 1, 2010 and named Dean of the Telfer School on January 1, 2011.
- Category: Latest News
Interested in organizing the next edition of the largest academic competition among French high schools in Ontario? We are currently seeking candidates for the Executive Committee for the 13th edition of Place à la jeunesse in November 2016. The event will host more than 200 high-caliber students in the field of business among dozens of high schools across Ontario. It's your turn to offer a unique and unforgettable experience to the next Telfer cohort, all while developing your strategic planning, team management, and financial management skills, among others. If you wish to apply for the presidency or for the three other positions available on the Executive Committee, submit your online application by Friday, June 17, 2016.
- Category: Latest News
In the spring of 2016, the Telfer School launched a video competition. With the intention of building a promotional video that would feature key aspects of our undergraduate program, we thought who better to unveil what we have to offer than our very own students?
Created by Sharanya Tharmarajan and Conor O’Doherty, both of whom are in their third year of Accounting in the BCom program, the winning video showcases our connection to our brand, to our student experience, and to our target audience. It also demonstrates the hard work and dedication of our students and is a prime example of what defines our student body at the Telfer School.
How does Telfer connect you to what matters? Let us show you.
The Student Services Centre
The Student Services Centre
- Category: Latest News
Teams from the Telfer Executive MBA Class of 2017 wrote about their experiences in Silicon Valley as a part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Business Consulting Trip which took place from May 14 - 20, 2016.
Anticipation Mounts as the Class of 2017 fly into San Francisco
Written by: Ashley Mascarenhas
Make Yourself Known
Written by: Adan Elsaadi and Mario Fowler
Video: Bringing a Canadian Perspective to Silicon Valley
Written by: Team Kentaurus- Michael Bell, Martin Chartrand, Kevin Jones, MJ Levesque, Glenn Moran and Derek Quesnel
Incremental Innovation vs. Invention
Written by: Team Capella – Mohamed Eldery, Daniel Feeny, Tanya Gracie, Kyle Taplay and Andrew Wright
Surviving in an Innovative Playground
Written by: Team Canopus- Amanda Bernier, Scott Johnston, Matt Lundie, Kimberley Marr, Ryan Peatt and Sukri Sharbini
Top 10 things Ottawa can learn from Silicon Valley
Written by: Amanda Dwyer, Team Sirius
Our Silicon Valley Outcome: Uniting as One Big Team
Written by: Team Arcturus - Abdul Ahmadzai, Ajay Bhandari, Isabelle Blondeau, Bernard Guité and Kurt Schweitzer
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
From left to right: Kyle Braatz, David Adamson, Dr Jack Kitts, Wendy Muckle, Myron Tetrault
Five remarkable alumni will be recognized by receiving Trudeau medals, the Young Achiever's Award and the Dean's Philos Award for their outstanding contributions to the world of business, healthcare, community and their alma mater at the 2016 Telfer School of Management Gala of Excellence. The Gala will be held at the Shaw Centre on Saturday, October 15, 2016. This will also be an opportunity to collectively celebrate our alma mater and highlight the graduation anniversary of the classes of 1966, 1976, 1991 and 2006.
Trudeau Medals
David Adamson, EMBA 2007
David is the Assistant Deputy Minister, Cloud Brokering at Shared Services Canada (SSC). He transferred there in 2016 to establish a new public cloud brokering business line to enable departments to access cloud services in a secure, economical and rapid way. Before his appointment at SSC, he had been the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Government of Canada at the Treasury Board Secretariat since 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he was the Chief Information Officer at Citizenship and Immigration Canada and between 2008 and 2011 he was the Chief Information Officer at Justice Canada. Prior to this he fulfilled a variety of Senior Director General roles at HRDC/Service Canada, including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Solutions Officer. He has also spent about a third of his career in private sector consulting and executive management.
Dr. Jack Kitts, EMBA 2001
Dr. Kitts received his medical degree from the University of Ottawa in 1980. He then completed a tour of duty with the Canadian armed forces prior to joining the medical staff of the Ottawa Civic Hospital. In 1998, he was appointed Vice President of Medical Affairs and led the medical staff during a complex restructuring of the Ottawa hospitals. After receiving his Executive MBA in 2001, he was named President and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital, a position he continues in today. The Ottawa Hospital is known as one of the largest and most important research and teaching hospitals in Canada. Dr. Kitts’ roots are firmly anchored in the Ottawa Valley and his wife and three children have all chosen careers in the health sector.
Wendy Muckle, MHA 1988
Wendy has been the Executive Director of Ottawa Inner City Health Inc. since 2001 and has been recognised as an expert in the field of poverty and the health of vulnerable populations. In addition to her work in Canada, Wendy has worked for more than a decade in Kenya writing university course curriculum in addition to volunteer work in the fields of primary education and community economic development. Wendy is involved in teaching and research in the fields of poverty, homelessness, harm reduction, mental illness, palliative care and leadership. Wendy has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in addition to her Master in Health Administration from the University of Ottawa.
The Young Achiever's Award
Kyle Braatz, BCom 2009
Kyle is the CEO and co-founder of Fullscript, a practice software that makes it easy for practitioners to dispense wellness. Launching in 2012, Fullscript has grown to service over 2,500 practitioners and hundreds of thousands of patients. Since 2009, Kyle has also made numerous achievements, namely; started and ran a not for profit and cycled 8200 km across Canada raising over $150,000 for cancer research; co-founded a charity called Noelle’s Gift in honour of his best friend which has raised over $650,000; co-founded Simple Story Videos, which was ultimately acquired; joined the board of the Ottawa Integrative Cancer centre and lastly, received the top 40 under 40 at the age of 28. Kyle received the Alterna Social Responsibility award during his studies at the Telfer School.
The Dean's Philos Award
Myron Tetreault, BAdm 1988
Myron is a successful lawyer and entrepreneur. After graduating from the University of Ottawa in 1988, where he was also a member of the Gee-Gee’s O.U.A.A. championship water polo team, he went to complete his studies in law, obtaining a juris doctor from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992. Following a brief career as a corporate and commercial lawyer with Bennett Jones LLP, Myron set out to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions and, during the last 20 years, he has been a founder, director and/or officer of numerous companies including PHX Energy Services Corp., Fitzroy Developments Ltd., Northern Vision Development Ltd., Petrolia, Inc., Total Energy Services Ltd., MicroPlanet Technology Corp., Webber Academy Foundation, Echo Merchant Fund Ltd. and others. Together with his wife, he established The Myron & Catherine Tetreault Foundation in 2007, which is a private charitable organization that supports programs related to sports, education and community development.
Click here for more information and to register to the Gala of Excellence.
- Category: Latest News
Nearly 700 BC business leaders and their guests gathered at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on Thursday, May 12, 2016 as Ian Telfer, Chairman of the Board, Goldcorp Inc., was one of the three newest members into the Business Laureates of British Columbia (BLBC) Hall of Fame, hosted by JA British Columbia.
The BLBC Hall of Fame was created by JABC in 2005 to honour and recognize the outstanding BC business leaders who have shown a vision unique amongst their peers, provided leadership to motivate others to achieve their goals, demonstrated integrity throughout their lives, and built a legacy in the province that will enrich all those who follow. Prerequisites for induction include outstanding business achievements, enduring contributions to the province and country, as well as deep commitments to diverse and niche communities.
Jan Bell-Irving, President and CEO, JABC, says: “This year’s inductees have dedicated their lives to building and supporting a flourishing business community for our province. They have left behind a powerful legacy that continues to inspire future generations of business leaders and entrepreneurs.”
Mr. Telfer has been recognized many times for his contributions to the mining industry and in 2013 was named one of Canada’s top 25 most powerful business people and listed in Canadian Business Magazine’s “The Power 50.” In 2015, he was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.
In addition to his impressive business accomplishments, Mr. Telfer is known for his philanthropic endeavors. In 2007, he donated $25 million to the Telfer School of Management. He is a Patron of the Special Olympics Canada Foundation and generously supports many local causes personally. In November 2015, he and with his wife Nancy Burke were recognized at 10th Annual Global Forum on Human Settlements held at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York with an award for "Innovation in Green Energy" for a technology project that will take waste and make power in West Africa.
Mr. Telfer is a Fellow in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Canada and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa. He was awarded an honourary doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 2015.
The original press release was published on the Business Laureates BC website [This link is no longer available].
Photo credit: Business Laureate BC
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Among this years’ nominees, thirteen are alumni of the University of Ottawa, from which two studied at the Telfer School of Management. For this achievement, the Telfer School would like to congratulate:
Ben Lalonde, EMBA 2016
Ben Lalonde is the President of Orleans AutoPro. Ben has been part of the automotive service industry since 1995. He received his interprovincial Automotive Service Technician license in 1999, and went on to become the shop manager for Ottawa’s largest tire and service center in 2005. Ben purchased his first service center in 2008 and recently acquired a second location in 2013.
Click here to read more on Ben Lalonde.
Chad J. Saikaley, BCom 2004
Chad Saikaley is a Partner at Ginsberg Gluzman Fage & Levitz, LLP. He works with a diverse client base and provides a wide variety of services to businesses and business owners in countless industries. Chad joined GGFL in 2013 after spending much of his career with an international accounting firm. He was named partner in 2015.
Click here to read Chad’s profile on the GGFL website.
The Telfer School would also like to congratulate James Baker, Jason Bellefleur, Alexandre Benay, Christopher Harder, Safeena Kherani, Jonathon Moody, Nicolas Moyer, Jeffrey Saikaley, Andrew Scott, Fayer Thawer, Graeme Webster who all graduated from the University of Ottawa and made it on the list.
This year's Forty Under 40 awards gala will take place at the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel on June 16, 2016. The event will feature cocktails, fine food, music and dancing and is in part sponsored by the Telfer Executive MBA. Click here to register for the 2016 Forty Under 40 Gala.
Click here to view the full Forty Under 40 list on the OBJ website.
- Category: Rising Stars
On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, the Enactus uOttawa team was in Toronto to defend its National Champion title at the 2016 Enactus Canada National Exposition, in front of a 65-person panel of judges comprising top Canadian CEOs. Each participating team was scored on its ability to enable social, environmental and economic progress through entrepreneurial action.
The Enactus uOttawa team made it all the way to the finals, along with three other teams: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Ryerson University, and Saint Mary's University. The Memorial University of Newfoundland team was named the 2016 Enactus National Champion, and will advance to represent Canada at the Enactus World Cup taking place in Toronto in the fall of this year.
The team’s President, Corey Ellis, a 3rd year Management student at the Telfer School, commented on their most recent success by saying his team “started with a mainly new team this year and launched a new portfolio of projects. We’re extremely grateful for all the support from faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader community that have helped us along the way. We’re all very excited for what’s ahead this year for our organization.”
The Telfer School was awarded the University Administration of the Year Award by Enactus Canada for its support of youth entrepreneurship. This award, which recognizes the university administration which did the most outstanding job of supporting their Enactus team on their campus, was accepted on behalf of the school by Stephen Daze, Telfer Entrepreneur in Residence and one of the mentors of the Enactus uOttawa team.
Additionally, just last week, one of the projects presented at the 2016 Enactus Canada National Exposition by the uOttawa team, the Northern Innovation Hub in Iqaluit, was awarded $30,000 by the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. This project aims to solve two problems at once by collecting unused sea shipping containers that litter the local coastline and repurposing them to provide badly needed commercial and residential space. The goal is for the Northern Innovation Hub to become a catalyst for further change in Iqaluit, which needs a space to facilitate the planning required to adapt to increasing local urbanization.
Congratulations to the Enactus uOttawa team for their achievements!
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
We are proud to announce that the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa is the recipient of a $250,000 major gift from alumnus Louis Gagnon, President, Service and Distribution at Intact Financial Corp.
The donation will go towards the establishment of the Louis Gagnon Executive Pedagogical Innovation Fund. The announcement was made at the Executive MBA Alumni Association’s Annual General Meeting, where Mr. Gagnon was the guest keynote speaker.
"We are very grateful to Mr. Gagnon for his generous gift," stated François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School. "This investment will allow us to align ourselves with the ever changing learning modes of executive education and to transform how we learn – one of the 5 priorities we have set for our fundraising campaign".
The new fund will financially support the transformation and innovation of the Telfer School of Management’s executive program structures, content and delivery to be aligned with evolving learning modes. This includes researching, creating and implementing alternate, flexible and adaptable content and delivery methods, as well as creating or commissioning integrative cases that would be used across more than one course.
“The Executive MBA program has been a turning point in my career", said Louis Gagnon. “From the math prep course to the Organizational Behaviour courses and the summer consulting project, the experience prepared me to seize opportunities that I did not know existed and propel my career forward. With this donation, I’m pleased to support others in realising their own ambitions.” Focusing on pedagogical innovation will help transform learning inside and outside the classroom, with an eye to accelerating the career progression of our graduates.
The other priorities of the Telfer School’s fundraising campaign are: investing in globalisation, generating new knowledge, fostering experiential learning, and supporting scholarships and strategic initiatives.
After working several years in banking and consulting, Mr. Gagnon began his insurance career in 1992.
Before his current role, Mr. Gagnon was President and Chief Operating Officer of Intact Financial Corporation for two years. He was also President of Intact Insurance from 2008 to 2011. He joined Intact Insurance as Senior Vice-President, Québec Division in January 2007. Before joining the company, he was heading a brokerage firm, with offices in Québec and Ontario, and was active within the provincial and national brokers’ associations.
Mr. Gagnon is a past President of the Regroupement des cabinets de courtage d'assurance du Québec (RCCAQ) and Director of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada. In addition to his Executive MBA from the Telfer School, Mr. Gagnon earned a B.A. in Economic Science from the Université de Montréal.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
James Yersh (BCom 1996), Chief Financial Officer at Blackberry and 2016 Donor of the year, speaks at the Telfer Alumni Breakfast in November 2015.
Alumni week is upon us and we would like to take the time to recognise the recipients of this year’s Telfer Donor Awards. The recipients will be recognised at a private event on May 7, 2016. We invite you to read their personal accounts of the positive impact their contributions have made, not only on the Telfer School, but on their own lives too.
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
“The Power of Modesty” - André Cardinal, BCom 1969
Loyal Donor of the Year
“Find a Path to Giving” - Patrice Marceau, BSc 1981, MBA 1985, LLL 1985
Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Find out how you can donate to the programs and projects that matter most to you.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Find a Path to Giving
Patrice Marceau - Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Alain and I had many discussions leading to the idea of the Friends of uOttawa Hong Kong Foundation. The thinking was: a foundation would provide a platform for the university in Hong Kong, as well as give a way to thank donors through tax-deductible receipts. In our view, the tax advantage would encourage not only alumni but also others to contribute money to support the Telfer School and uOttawa.
For the last several months, my office and I have been in discussions with the tax authorities in Hong Kong to ensure the structure and governance of the proposed foundation complies with the legal requirements for charitable organizations in Hong Kong. Our efforts are bearing fruit: the Friends of uOttawa Hong Kong Foundation should receive its official designation as a charitable organization by the end of June.
I am grateful for the recognition the school is extending to me for my work in helping set up the foundation. Hopefully, my contribution can show others there are different ways of giving back to the Telfer School. Focused time and targeted effort can sometime do just as well as a monetary contribution. Think about it next time Alain or another member of the Telfer External Relations team comes calling.
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
“The Power of Modesty” - André Cardinal, BCom 1969
Loyal Donor of the Year
Find out how you can donate to the programs and projects that matter most to you.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
The Power of Modesty
André Cardinal - Loyal Donor of the Year
My second reason for giving is equally straightforward. Imagine the difference we as alumni could make if every one of us gave just a little bit to our school? My giving to the Telfer School is modest compared to the big corporate gifts the school receives. For many years, I have made a financial contribution each month via regular deductions from my bank account. It’s easy, convenient and becomes a routine I hardly ever notice. Now just think of the great things our school and its students could achieve if every Telfer School alumnus did the same?
I started giving to the Telfer School many years ago while I worked at RBC. I’m retired now after working some 40 years with the bank. I held many positions there, including executive responsible for employment and training. That’s when I became acutely conscious of the needs of schools and started making my loyal contribution to the Telfer School and the University of Ottawa. Again, my giving is modest, but it’s also consistent. And just imagine the powerful difference we alumni could make together if each of us gave just a little bit each month?
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
“Find a Path to Giving” - Patrice Marceau, BSc 1981, MBA 1985, LLL 1985
Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Find out how you can donate to the programs and projects that matter most to you.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
A Culture of Giving
Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips - Young Donor of the Year
The scholarship I set up in my name goes to the incoming student who demonstrates financial need and has a track record of community involvement. I stress being involved in the community because it plays such a significant role not only in improving the lives of those around you, but also making superior students. I’m living proof. The scholarships I received made it possible for me to contribute to the Telfer community and Ottawa, and this contribution made me a better student and person.
My decision to set up the scholarship was also inspired by the example of Ian Telfer’s gift and major contributions from the Desmarais family and other prominent Telfer School alumni. These donations are helping build a culture of giving at our school. Giving should be a natural part of alumni life because each of us has something to give—whether it’s our time, our money or our skills, or all three. I want to be part of that culture, and do even more in the years to come to help it grow. I have an obligation to contribute to it—to pay it forward so today’s students can experience the full richness of life at the Telfer School just as I did.
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“Winning Giving” - James Yersh, BCom 1996
Donor of the Year
“The Power of Modesty” - André Cardinal, BCom 1969
Loyal Donor of the Year
“Find a Path to Giving” - Patrice Marceau, BSc 1981, MBA 1985, LLL 1985
Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Find out how you can donate to the programs and projects that matter most to you.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Winning Giving
James Yersh - Donor of the Year
At the same time, when we at BlackBerry see new employees come in fresh from university, we recognize a knowledge void. Most graduating students have plenty of what I call book smarts. Yet they need more practical business smarts. The donation to the Telfer School that my family has made through the Yersh Family Pedagogical Innovation Fund is essential in helping narrow that gap between the theoretical and applied. By putting money toward developing new teaching techniques and programs, as well as revamping some existing ones, my family’s giving will equip Telfer School students with more practical business knowledge and make these students more workplace-ready.
I think of this giving as a win-win-win. Companies win by getting graduating Telfer students armed with book smarts and practical smarts. Students win because the programs and techniques will give them a leg up on others in getting the kinds of jobs and careers they want. And the Telfer School itself wins because these new teaching techniques and programs will differentiate the school from others when competing for top talent. This kind of winning giving is also a lesson for other Telfer School alumni: Find something worthwhile from your own real-life experience and translate it into a donation that moves everyone ahead—especially the Telfer School and its students.
We invite you to read other examples of the positive impact that our other Donor Award recipients have made:
“A Culture of Giving” - Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips, BCom 2005
Young Donor of the Year
“The Power of Modesty” - André Cardinal, BCom 1969
Loyal Donor of the Year
“Find a Path to Giving” - Patrice Marceau, BSc 1981, MBA 1985, LLL 1985
Fundraising Volunteer of the Year
Find out how you can donate to the programs and projects that matter most to you.
- Category: Rising Stars
Kevin Smiley is a full-time MBA student at the Telfer School of Management and a strong believer in social entrepreneurship. This year, he founded SuraiTea Inc., a social enterprise tea shop which employs mostly Syrian refugees in order to provide them with job opportunities in Canada, all while also raising money for settlement efforts.
Being in the Right Place at the Right Time
Having previously studied in environmental engineering at Queen's University and worked in renewable power and sustainable real estate development, and being actively engaged with the Professional Engineers Ontario / Ontario Society of Professional Engineers' Engineering Innovation Ecosystem, Kevin was inspired to create a sustainable business model which would benefit all parties involved.
In early February 2016, Stephen Daze, Telfer’s Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence, informed Kevin about uOttawa’s Start-Up Weekend which carried the theme of refugee resettling. It was then that he shifted his focus to creating a business that would help with the Syrian resettling effort in Canada. “After seeing and reading many stories about the enormous strain on limited resources which not-for-profit organizations were experiencing, I began to think that there may be something that I could do to help,” he says.
The Project
SuraiTea Inc. is a corporation that uses the power of the markets to create positive change for the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Canada. It hopes to create high value employment for refugees and establish a sustainable source of corporate donations to the organizations that are active in the refugee resettling effort in Canada. SuraiTea Inc. is a social enterprise and a ‘Pending B Corp’ (start‐up) with B Lab Canada.
Why tea? Jasmine is the unofficial national flower of Syria and Damascus, the capital city of Syria, is also known as ‘The City of Jasmine’.
Kevin contacted a wholesale tea supplier in Toronto, which uses 100% USDA and Canada Organic certified organic ingredients and Ecocert certified facilities. He then reached out to World Skills Employment Centre, an Ottawa organization that finds jobs for recently-arrived immigrants and refugees and then put the two together. So far, SuraiTea Inc. has 20 Syrian refugees working on the project. “The more our customers support us by signing on to our online store and purchasing our teas, the more positive social change for refugees we can create,” he says.
Sustainability and Business
Kevin’s long term goal for SuraiTea Inc. is to eventually grow the corporation and add additional lines of teas from other areas of the world which have humanitarian issues, such as East-Africa, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. “The areas which produce some of the best teas, also unfortunately have some of the worst problems,” he says, “Syria has over 20 million refugees currently but there are actually over 55 million total refugees in the world so it’s not just a Syrian problem.”
Kevin says that the Telfer MBA program has helped him gain the knowledge needed in order to create his business from the ground up. “Telfer has truly been a transformational experience for me,” he says, “Telfer is where I learned about B Corps, where I learned that the truly successful business are the ones that solve problems, where I learned about intrinsic motivation and where the entrepreneurial fire was lit inside me.”
CBC News has covered SuraiTea Inc.’s story. Read the news article, or watch the TV clip (starts at 43:30 minutes).
- Category: Rising Stars
Each year, students in the 4th-year class Case Studies in Accounting (ADM 4340) participate in a case competition in which they analyze a real company and report on accounting issues being faced by the company.
This year, a total of 72 students took part in the competition, and the best groups presented their cases in front of a panel of judges on April 13.
We would like to congratulate the winning team:
- Arya Farahani
- Dylan Humphries
- Vishwa Rachamalla
- Martina Reabel
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to Professor Sheldon Weatherstone, as well as Matt Prime, Lee Tessmer, and David Albers, who were all members of the judging panel.
- Category: Rising Stars
Each year, students in the 4th-year Equity Valuation class (ADM 4350) take part in a case competition in which they estimate the value of a real company and propose recommendations to improve performance.
This term, the ADM 4350 students did an excellent job analyzing Blackberry Limited.
We would like to congratulate this year’s winners:
First place:
- Alexandre Richard
- Sadaf Naziri
Second place:
- Wenjun Tian
- Zhuohang Yu
Third place:
- Xu Zheng
- Yaozong Zhou
“Best Poster” Award:
- Patrick Joseph Murphy
- Spencer Robert O'Brien
We would also like to thank the judges: James Yearsh, Cassy Aite, Jivan Maharaj, Bart M. Bagrowicz, Evan Johnson, Kailin Araujo Noivo, Pouya Safi, and Allan Riding.
- Category: Rising Stars
From March 18 to 20, 4th-year students from the bachelor of commerce participated in the Intopia Strategy Simulation. This competition was created as a component of the 4th-year Strategic Management class.
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world, known as Intopia, where students get immediate feedback on their decisions. This simulation gives the students a chance to test the knowledge they have accumulated over their 4 years at university.
Congratulations to the members of the winning team:
- Sijia Yang
- Yichen Zheng
- Yuying Cai
- Mingguang Zou
- Ramin Rafiaie
- Category: Latest News
We are now accepting registrations for the second offering of the "LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INTENSIVE - THE INNER WORK OF LEADERSHIP”.
In February 2016, the first offering of the Leadership Development Intensive (LDI) engaged a very diverse group of 12 senior leaders in a program that has been experienced by hundreds of participants around the world. The program is led by best-selling author and inspirational leader Dr. John Scherer and co-facilitated by Telfer Executive Programs associates Jean Ogilvie and Dr. Ingrid Richter. Based on the tremendous success of the launch of this program in Ottawa this past winter, the LDI is now a foundation in the our portfolio of leadership development programs that is offered to clients in this region.
The LDI is a highly experiential journey of self-discovery based on Scherer’s book Five Questions that Change Everything. The program is an intensive, short and focused leadership development experience designed to engage senior leaders and executives in making a leap in their ability to deliver extraordinary results in the face of obstacles and resistance. The participants in the program have likely already invested in their leadership development and who want to dive even deeper to refresh their energy for continuing the journey.
The program begins with pre-work and a one-on-one call, then includes a 3½-day “deep-dive” in-class session and two follow-up teleconferences with the facilitators. The program is designed with an individualized coaching approach to leadership development, but also features the special magic of a group dynamic that John and Telfer’s co-facilitators create with each cohort.
The next opportunity to be part of this leadership development experience will be from June 22-25, 2016 - the registration deadline is May 31, 2016. For further information about the Leadership Development Intensive and to register for the program you can visit the LDI webpage.
- Category: Latest News
Ranked as one of Russia’s top universities, the Higher School of Economics is a leader in Russian education and one of the top economics and social sciences universities in eastern Europe and Eurasia.
Professor Calof was also named Extraordinary Professor at the North-West University in South Africa, in their School of Business and Governance, to work on an African research program in competitive intelligence.
North-West University is one of South Africa's biggest universities, with three campuses in two provinces. It upholds the promotion of multilingualism as a core practice, with key innovations in place to meet the needs of its diverse student body.
More information about North-West University
- Category: Latest News
On Tuesday, March 29, the Telfer School of Management held the 12th annual Beta Gamma Sigma induction ceremony. The 2016 cohort was the University of Ottawa Chapter’s largest yet, with 96 newly inducted members, proof of Telfer students’ commitment to academic excellence and achievement.
This year, 27 MBA students and 69 undergraduate students were inducted by Chapter President, Dean François Julien, who presided over the ceremony. Also inducted were faculty member Professor Barbara Orser and 2016 Chapter Honouree Stephen Daze.
Beta Gamma Sigma is the global honour society of AACSB International whose mission is to encourage and honour academic achievement in the study of business, to foster personal and professional excellence, to advance the values of the Society, and to serve its lifelong members.
- Category: Rising Stars
Dasha also spends a lot of her time being one of the Event Directors of the Telfer Business Law Association. She was involved with planning the club’s Mooting Competition, Wine and Cheese and Third Annual Speaker Series. “Getting involved in a club allows you to engage with amazing people, organize and participate in various activities,” she says, “It’s a really fun way to make long lasting memories!”
Dasha feels like she belongs at the Telfer School of Management. With it being located in the heart of the Nation’s capital, she likes getting to meet other bright students coming from around the world. “The Telfer School has allowed me to broaden my horizons and meet an enormous amount of incredible, like-minded people. It’s a fulfilling place to learn,” she says.
What matters the most to Dash is being true to herself, proactively facing herself with new challenges, embarking on new opportunities, and saying “yes” to things outside of her comfort zone. She recently applied to study in France next year though the Telfer's International Exchange Program. “Living and learning away from home, in a foreign country, is definitely outside of my comfort zone, however it would be an amazing experience that I would remember for the rest of my life,” she says.
Dasha’s company, Parcelly, has been featured in other articles on campus, such as The Fulcrum and Her Campus and has also appeared in Kidbacker.
- Category: Rising Stars
The University of Ottawa Enactus team just competed in the regional competition rounds of the Enactus Canada championships, and received distinguished awards among a gathering of over 25 different universities and colleges for their excellence in entrepreneurial action and community leadership. Enactus, Canada’s largest entrepreneurship focused student organization, fosters today’s youth to advance the economic, environmental, and social growth of their communities.
Hosted at the Hilton Meadowvale in Mississauga, Ontario, the Enactus Canada regionals for the Central Canada category endorsed the entrepreneurial achievements of over 500 students across the region. With the additional help of professionals, academic advisors, and organizers, it was a two-day event filled with competitive spirit, collaboration, and celebration. Students competed in live presentations that demonstrated their positive outreach in both their local and international communities - all within the categories of entrepreneurship, environmental issues, youth empowerment, and financial education.
Enactus uOttawa, now a group of over 116 motivated young leaders from seven different faculties at the University of Ottawa, competed in all four categories. In recognition of the amazing impact they made through a variety of innovative and impactful projects, the team was awarded as the first place Runner Up in the Scotiabank EcoLiving Green Challenge, the Capital One Financial Education Challenge, and the Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge, and was the winnner of an Impact Award in the TD Entrepreneurship challenge. In addition to these achievements, VP Project Management Shevaun Ensor-Harrison was awarded the 2016 HSBC Woman Leader of Tomorrow for Central Canada, in recognition of her contributions to Enactus and her commitment to improving the livelihood of people in her community through entrepreneurial action.
The Enactus University of Ottawa team will now move on to compete in the Enactus Canada National Exposition taking place from May 2nd to 4th in Toronto, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, striving to retain the title of Team Canada once again for 2016. Follow the team’s progress on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Enactus uOttawa would like to thank all of their supporters and advisors, and would like to congratulate all participating teams on their positive impact on their communities.
- Category: Latest News
The Francophone MBA team from the Telfer School of Management has won first place in the 2016 HEC Montréal Sustainability Challenge. The competition was held on Friday, March 18, 2016 at HEC Montréal.
The Telfer team consisted of Jean-François Claveau, Mathieu Daoust, Majid Fassi Fehri, Hala Migahed and their coach, Mathias Kouassi.
This was the seventh time HEC Montréal has organized this event. The Sustainability Challenge is an international case competition that affords MBA students from across Canada and abroad a unique opportunity to put their managerial and analytical skills to the test, as well as expand their professional networks.
The objective for each team is to develop concrete solutions that apply to a current issue and present them to a jury made up of executives from large international corporations.
"I am very proud of this accomplishment by the Telfer MBA Team", says Mathias Kouassi, the team's coach. "This is a high level competition that includes many MBA programs from Canada and around the world, in which participants are invited to show originality and analytical thought to ponder emerging issues on sustainability and offer concrete solutions to these issues."
He adds: "Thank you to our champions for being such great ambassadors of our MBA program and to our professors and staff who contribute to students' well being and to the Telfer MBA program on a daily basis."
Congratulations to our team on this win!
- Category: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Given the recent surge in entrepreneurial activity on the University of Ottawa campus, it is appropriate to recognize and celebrate the culmination of each annual cycle of teaching, competitions, workshops and hard work that lead to exciting start-ups.
In the fall of 2015 and early 2016, we conducted the 2nd annual search for the Top 5 Start-ups on the uOttawa campus. This is a collaborative effort between the Telfer School of Management, the Faculty of Engineering, Startup Garage and the uOttawa e-hub.
“Each year the quality of start-ups on campus is improving” says Stephen Daze, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School. “Student interest, faculty programming and an increasing culture of entrepreneurship is contributing to this rise in quality and it’s encouraging to see our next generation of leaders creating their own opportunities”.
The Top 5 uOttawa start-ups, in no particular order, are:
Helix (Powered by MicroMetrics)
- MicroMetrics is a software company with a focus on customer experience innovation. Working together with TripAdvisor, they’ve developed Helix – a robust guest experience management platform that empowers hotel staff to conduct real-time service recovery. Since its introduction, Helix has helped brands like Starwood and IHG deliver memorable guest experiences, improve occupancy rates and outperform their competitive sets at premier properties across North America.
GymTrack
- Gymtrack is a platform that brings personal training to all exercisers through their gym and impacts the $80BN gym industry. Gymtrack provides gyms with virtual coaching that automatically tracks everything in an exerciser’s workout, from weight lifting to cardio and helps gyms reduce churn.
Go Give-Back
- Go Give-Back (GGB) is providing a solution for charitable causes by offering a mobile donation platform that accepts donations, catering to the “in-the-moment” factor. GGB will include detailed demographics for the organization with “on the go” analytics used to retain and engage donors.
TruReach:
- TruReach provides instant access to scientifically proven cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It eliminates the stigma associated with mental illness and helps people get better, faster. TruReach cuts costs associated with the management of mental illness and their analytics give organizations data to prove it.
Spectrafy
- Spectrafy has reinvented the way we measure sunlight and the atmosphere. Spectrafy’s solution, the SolarSIM, combines simple hardware and breakthrough software to slash the cost of measuring sunlight and the atmosphere by over an order of magnitude.
How were the Top 5 start-ups on campus selected?
A working committee of the 4 leaders on campus who run the various entrepreneurship activities select possible candidates from the start-ups they see in their programs. In addition, a public web-based call for nominations allowed start-ups to show their interest. The nominees were then evaluated by the committee and an initial long list of top start-ups was selected.
Feedback from various alumni and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley was obtained before a final list of five “Top Start-ups” is selected. From the Top 5, selected start-ups will be invited to visit Silicon Valley for a learning and business development experience. The exact number of start-ups who are invited to go to Silicon Valley will be a function of available funding.
Photo: Liora Raitblat, Go Give-Back cofounder, at Startup Weekend 2015 (Feb 27 - March 1)
- Category: Latest News
The 24th edition of Happening Marketing (in French only) took place at the Université du Québec à Rimouski – Levis Campus on March 18-20, 2016. The Happening Marketing, which includes more than 10 universities and brings together more than 500 students, is the largest inter-university marketing competition in eastern Canada. This competition includes several components: academic, athletic, social and participation.
Our students took home five trophies:
Social - 1st place
Dominic Piscopo, Victoria Obeid, Natasha Heinz, Sarah Pétrin-Perron
Social Queen: Natasha Heinz
Sports - 3rd place
Curtis Lu, Sophie Nadeau, Mike Shaheen, Myreille Chouinard, Mathieu Brunet, Emily Potvin, Qusai Saleh, Michèle Marchand
Coach: Ross Dilks
Marketing Strategy - 3rd place
Holly Todd, Samantha Rao, Maral Elliott
Coaches: Hantz Prosper and Germain Aoun
Member + (MVP): Maral Elliott
Full Campaign (“Le contrat”) - 3rd place
Tarek Mansour, Marie-Pier Harvey, Maxime Trépanier, Sarai Castrejon
Coach: Michael Guolla
Member + (MVP): Maxime Trépanier
Surprise case - 3rd place
Richard Laberge, Maria FitzPatrick, Camille Porier
Coach: Jesse Dunn
Relationship Marketing
Member + (MVP): Roma Stepanchenko
Congratulations to our students for these great results!
- Category: Latest News
On Saturday, March 5, 2016, the Telfer Finance Society held its annual case competition. For the second year in a row, the competition had TMX CDS as its title sponsor. It was a stock pitch competition incorporating the use of the Bloomberg terminals and a real world simulation. The competition concluded with a gala where the top 3 teams were awarded cash prizes and all participants were able to network with professionals.
Overall, there were 4 judges and 6 teams that participated, all representing various institutions and companies. The delegates came from John Molson School of Business, University of Waterloo, Nipissing University, University of Toronto and the Telfer School of Management.
The judges were Jean Desgagné (President and CEO, Global Enterprise Services, TMX), Ray Yuen (Director of Corporate Strategy, The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited), Vincent Robitaille (Executive Director, Treasury Board of Canada), and MJ Qurashi (Chair Tax Committee, CPA).
The University of Toronto was crowned as the winner of the competition, the John Molson School of Business came in second, and Telfer came in third.
The TMX CDS Financial Case Competition would not have been possible without the support of all of the sponsors, the judges, and volunteers who kindly gave their time.
- Category: Rising Stars
Testimonial written by Jia Li, 4th year BCom in Accounting student
My name is Jia Li, and my dream is to become one of tomorrow’s leaders.
The Futures Fund recognizes the accomplishments of 10 university students, each from a different school of management across the country. I am honoured to have been selected by Telfer to receive this prestigious scholarship. It gave me the opportunity to represent Telfer at an exclusive gala in Toronto, and I received a $7,500 bursary to support me in my studies. When I learned that I was selected last November, I was ecstatic. I felt an overwhelming sense of joy that the efforts I had made throughout my four years at Telfer had been recognized this way. I knew the gala in Toronto was a high-profile event, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that it would be an experience that would change my life forever.
The Toronto event was held over two days, February 9 and 10, 2016. The first day, the recipients were invited to a reception at the Bennett Jones office, where we were each interviewed by BNN. In addition to us students, some 50 business leaders also attended the reception. It was not until I was shaking the hand of a man who was six and a half feet tall that I began to realize the significance of the event. The man was George Cope, the President and CEO of Bell Canada, and next to him was Jim Balsillie, the co-founder of BlackBerry. We had some fascinating discussions and shared a few anecdotes.
The second day, we attended the “Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year” gala celebrating the success of Mr. Cope and of Bell Canada over the past few years. Over 400 of our country’s most prominent leaders attended this event at the Royal Ontario Museum. To name just a few, I met the Honourable Bill Morneau (Minister of Finance), Frank Vettesse (Managing Parner of Deloitte Canada), Hugh MacKinnon (Chairman and CEO of Bennett Jones), William Downe (CEO of BMO) and Kevin O’Leary (Chairman of O’Leary Financial Group). I had the opportunity to speak with some of the most distinguished executives in Canada about their journey to the top, and here is a summary of what I learned:
- Regardless of the hand you are dealt, follow your passion; the money will follow.
- Be genuine and kind; the most powerful people are also the most considerate.
- Be humble; the most fortunate, most successful people are also the most modest.
- Networking is crucial to your success. The most powerful people all seem to know each other.
In short, this event was an incredible life lesson that truly opened my eyes. Meeting these individuals helped me to understand that the magic formula to success is often universal; with perseverance, strength and long-term relationships, we are all capable of reaching the top.
In the photo, from left to right: George Cope, Bell Canada; Jia Li; Hugh MacKinnon, Bennett Jones Toronto
- Category: Rising Stars
The Redefine Conference took place from March 4th to March 6th, 2016 at the University of Waterloo. Delegates were required to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to present their solutions to real-world business cases to industry professionals. Competitive events included: Marketing Management, Fashion and Retail Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, and International Business.
DECA uOttawa sent a delegation of five students to this competition, three of which came home with first place medals. Congratulations to Zach Zhang (1st place in the Pitch Competition), Anna Halawa (1st place in Fashion and Retail Marketing), and Andy Yu (1st place in Finance).
DECA uOttawa would like to recognize all of the participants at the Redefine Conference: Jordan Monaghan, Eva Lin, Anna Halawa, Zach Zhang and Andy Yu. The DECA uOttawa executive team would also like to extend a huge thank you to Matt Archibald, Diane Mugeni and the Telfer School of Management for their involvment and support. Lastly, the chapter’s competitive success would not have been possible without the immense dedication, member empowerment, training and mentorship provided by this year’s President, Eva Lin.
What’s next for DECA uOttawa? The chapter is sending delegates to Montreal next week for the final competition of the school year, DECA McGill’s Spring Invitational. The executive team and the entire chapter wish all delegates the utmost success.
- Category: Latest News
Ethics and deontology are the heart of the concerns of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. Their public protection mandate forces them to require a behavior that meets the highest ethical standards and codes of deontology applicable to the practice of engineering by their members.
This book is intended primarily for engineers who wish to know the ethical requirements and other standards that affect and govern their professional activities. It also aims at helping students in their admission process to Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and/or the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. It lists the official, bilingual versions of laws and regulations in strengths in Quebec, Ontario and Canada pertaining to ethics and professional conduct in the practice of the profession of engineers. The laws and regulations are presented intuitively in a format easy to navigate.
Paula Sauveur, C.Med, LL.M-ADR, LL.M, J.D., LL.B., MBA, MEng, BSc, is a lawyer, mediator and arbitrator with a bi-juridical legal education (civil law and common law). She teaches the course Engineering Law at University of Ottawa where she is a part time professor at the Faculty of Law (Civil Law Section, Common Law Section), Faculty of Engineering and at Telfer School of Management. She is also a PhD candidate in Law at the Law Faculty of Université de Montréal as well a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at the Computer Vision and Systems Laboratory of Laval University.
- Category: Latest News
(From left to right: Carl Burlock, Export Development Canada; HEC team, Ben Mansoura, Amandine Michaud, Niki Parassidis, Abdelghani Zniber; Michel Brazeau, Deloitte)
On March 4th and 5th 2016, the Telfer School of Management, in partnership with Export Development Canada and Deloitte, hosted the first annual Diversity and Inclusion MBA Case Competition.
The rationale for this event, which addressed a topic not often found in typical MBA case competitions, was that despite the advances being made in promoting and integrating diversity in organizations, the fear of being different is still a common occurrence. This case competition was conceived to highlight and explore current issues and potential solutions related to Diversity and Inclusion in contemporary organizations.
The MBA case competition included the following teams:
- DeGroote School of Business McMaster University
- HEC Université de Montreal
- John Molson School of Busines Concordia University
- Lazaridis School of Business & Economics Wilfrid Laurier
- Odette School of Business University of Windsor
- Ted Rogers School of Management Ryerson University
- Telfer School of Management University of Ottawa
The team from HEC Montreal took home first place (pictured). Wilfred Laurier’s Lazaridis School of Business & Economics came in second and McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business third.
“Given our global mandate, having a diverse and representative workforce is a strategic business advantage that is critical to EDC's success – now and in the future,” says Justine Hendricks, Vice President Loans Value Stream Transformation, EDC. “Sponsoring this competition provides an opportunity to demonstrate to future business leaders that diversity is critical for a trading nation like Canada, and therefore critical for its companies.”
Kate Morican, Partner, Ontario Lead for Human Capital Services and National Lead for Strategic Transformation and Change Services at Deloitte, adds: “At Deloitte, our vision is to lead by building a culture through commitment and mutual accountability. A culture where all our people feel like they belong, feel free to live and work openly and understand that inclusion is core to who we are. Our Diversity and Inclusion journey is key to achieving this vision, and developing inclusive leaders is a key component of our journey. We commend our partners, Export Development Canada and the University of Ottawa for recognizing the importance of Diversity and Inclusion and taking the steps required to create a more inclusive and diverse community within their own organizations, while taking the time to educate others on diversity and inclusion and the tangible benefits which can be realized when one adopts a diverse and inclusive culture."
Abdelghani Zniber, member of the winning team from HEC Montréal, says: “This competition deals with a subject that has been getting traction recently. A competition on diversity and inclusion is a great initiative to further raise awareness about a topic that is unfortunately not taught in schools, but that MBA students will surely have to manage during their career.” Amandine Michaud adds: “The Diversity & Inclusion case competition hosted by the Telfer School of Management is one of its kind. It focuses on a strategic aspect of management that is oft forgotten and it prepares tomorrow’s leaders to help companies to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.”
In addition to the team competition, the event included a workshop on Unconscious Bias and a keynote by Bank of Montreal Senior Vice-President Justine Fedak on the practical issues along with her personal reflections related to Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace.
We thank all the schools for sending along excellent representatives for this competition.
- Category: Rising Stars
Written by Paulo Guedes Moreau, 2nd year Telfer BCom (International Management) student
I consider myself fortunate to have participated on Junior Team Canada (JTC) on behalf of the Telfer School of Management. In October, I was looking for a scholarship which reflected the growing importance of multiculturalism in business. At the time, I was applying for the Ontario Global Edge scholarship with the help of Kimberley Barclay, a professional Relationship Manager at the Telfer Career Centre. We had an interesting chat about the importance of understanding the interconnections among nations in today’s business world. She suggested I speak with Amy Giroux. Amy as it turned out was the head of an organization called Global Vision.
Global Vision is a national not-for-profit, registered charitable organization that provides youth with real world experience to make meaningful connections between business, government, and community. JTC is the flagship program of Global Vision. Each year a delegation of 20-30 Canadian youth leaders are selected through a nationwide competition to promote Canadian industry and culture abroad through a JTC trade and development mission. JTC Ambassadors are representatives for their communities, province and country.
After two hundred letters, one hundred cold calls and fifty meetings in January, I received my total sponsorship amount. Obtaining the funds was difficult, but worth it as it allowed me to experience an international business mission and to apply the concepts taught in my International Management program.
Being a dual citizen of Canada and Peru, Global Vision further appealed to me when I found out that its upcoming mission was to Peru, a country in South America and a trade partner to Canada in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Further, Peru will be hosting the APEC summit this year. These trade agreements require an understanding of the growing importance of multiculturalism in business. This mission allowed me to gain valuable insight about cross-cultural teamwork, a value I strongly believe in.
The courses at Telfer have a professional focus on “Unlocking the Value of Globalization” – the Telfer School’s fifth Learning Objective. My courses prepared me to grasp the intricacies of international trade and developing business relationships. For example, prior to leaving for Peru, the CEO in Residence speaker Nick Quain encouraged me to read Dale Carnegie’s novel for better business communication. As well, the concepts taught by Matthew Archibald about the works of Geert Hofstede provided excellent insights. The cultural dimensions theory by Hofstede gave me further understanding into communicating in Latin American culture. As we had many networking events to secure our mandates in Peru, I was prepared to adjust to the different schedule of Latin American culture.
The Telfer Career Centre’s training events enforced the notions of how much first impressions matter in business. We were able to meet many key officials in Peru’s public and private sectors through our networking events. I am grateful to have participated in the etiquette workshop by Julie Blais-Comeau and the professional attire workshop by Alyssa Beltempo was very useful in maximizing my networking abilities.
I look forward to thanking both the Telfer School of Management and the Career Centre team at their celebration reception in March 2016.
The following video provides a brief summary of my memorable experience.
- Category: Latest News
On Thursday, March 3, we hosted our annual leadership discussion with the Ottawa Business Journal CEO of the year, Bernie Ashe (BAdm 1978), Chief Executive Officer of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).
Bernie Ashe was awarded the CEO of the Year award, a joint initiative of the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, on November 18, 2015.
“Bernie Ashe is most deserving of this honor as CEO of the Year – and, as a Telfer alumnus, a great example for our students,” said François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School of Management. “Thanks to his incredible leadership, OSEG has remarkable momentum following the successful development of Lansdowne Park and TD Place. The changes he initiated and implemented have and will continue to have a lasting impact on the socio-economic development of our city.”
Before joining OSEG, the organization that owns the Ottawa Redblacks, he was Chief Executive Officer at KOTT Group, a lumber supply company, and at AiT (now 3M-AiT). From 1991-1997, he was Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Ottawa Senators.
- Category: Latest News
Co-chairs William Yeoh (Deakin University, Melbourne) and Gregory Richards (Telfer School of Management), in collaboration with Randy Messina from IBM in Chicago, host the first annual Global Watson Analytics Case competition, with 130 teams from 33 universities participating.
The global competition pits a global group of universities using IBM Watson Analytics to explore complex data sets. The top ten finalists will be selected July 1, 2016. The top two finalists will be invited to present their solutions at the IBM Insight 2016 event in Las Vegas in October 2016.
Participating Universities include:
- Brigham Yong University
- California State University
- Carleton University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Central Connecticut State University
- Covenant University
- Dakota State University
- Dalhousie University
- Deakin University
- EGADE Business School
- Fairfield University
- Federation University
- Fordham University
- Georgia State University
- Hawaii Pacific University
- Jacksonville State University
- Northwestern University
- Oklahoma State University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- University at Buffalo
- Texas A&M University
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- University of Connecticut
- University of Illinois
- University of Ljubljana
- University of Maryland
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- University of Ottawa
- University of West Florida
- University of Colorado
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Benedictine University
- Western Kentucky University
- Category: Rising Stars
(Left to Right: Dmitry Shorikov, Yufei (Ethan) Zhang, Rabbi Kazi, Alejandro Fiszman)
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition hosted by the CFA Institute that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. The competition starts with local rounds in October, followed by a regional round in April, and ends with a global final in one of the global financial centers. Students work in teams to research and analyze a publicly traded company - sometimes even meeting face-to-face with company executives and conducting conference calls.
In the local first round hosted by CFA Society Toronto, the Telfer School of Management team competed with eleven undergraduate teams from other Canadian universities such as Queen’s, the University of Toronto and Western University. Teams were tasked with the creation of an equity research report on Canadian Tire Corporation’s class A shares and providing a buy/sell/hold recommendation on the shares based on their analysis. Following evaluation and feedback from industry experts and investment professionals, the top four teams would enter the local final to present and defend their recommendations.
Ethan Zhang, Portfolio Manager of the student managed Telfer Capital Fund (TCF), is leading the Telfer Team with Rabbi Kazi (Portfolio Manager, TCF), Alejandro Fiszman (Analyst, TCF) and Dmitry Shorikov (Analyst, TCF). As a part of the challenge, Aaron Sapelak was the designated mentor for the team and Pouya Safi, Finance Lab Manager, the faculty advisor. During a two-month research period from October to December, the team dedicated upwards of a hundred hours to produce a top quality 30-page equity research report and its complementing financial models.
Only in its first participation in the competition, the Telfer team has been selected to be one of the top four finalists qualified to the local final. The team is scheduled to present their investment recommendation on February 25, 2016 in Toronto to a panel of judges. Only one of the four teams will be selected to advance to the Americas regional round on April 13, 2016, taking place in Chicago. Finally, winners from regional rounds will advance to the Global Finals on April 14, 2016, where one team from each region (Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); Americas) will compete to become the 2016 CFA Institute Research Challenge Champion.
For more information about the CFA Institute Research Challenge, please visit: https://www.cfainstitute.org/community/challenge/Pages/index.aspx
- Category: Latest News
The Telfer School of Management sent two students to the Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (IPADE) case competitions held in Mexico City on February 5-6, 2016. Sponsored by Deloitte and Novartis, this competition is unlike any other. Students from a number of universities around the world are invited and placed onto teams. MBA students Mark Stuckless and Tavis Weigand were the Telfer representatives.
According to Mark Stuckless (second from the right), a member of this year’s winning team: “It was a wonderful experience in Mexico City. The campus was beautiful, the students were friendly and the sun was shining! Working with such a diverse group proved challenging, but interesting. Learning about different school's approaches to solving problems really opened my eyes and widened my perspective. Winning topped off an incredible couple of days and I am grateful for this opportunity to have come my way.”
It’s the second year in a row that our MBA students have done well in this international competition. Last year, MBA students Germain Aoun and Scott Bridgeman also took first place honours.
- Category: Rising Stars
Article written by team member Brandon Larochelle, BCom Finance
January 14, 2016 marked the first time Telfer School of Management had been invited to the annual CFA Ethics Challenge held in Toronto. As a newcomer, there were obvious expectations set on us, as a school, to do well and to showcase the strengths and skills that can be gathered through our four-year undergraduate Finance program.
The third event of its kind was hosted by Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the participants, albeit small in numbers (four in total), were very high in quality and consisted mostly of graduate students. The participating schools were:
- Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto)
- Schulich School of Business (York University)
- Smith School of Business (Queen’s University)
- Telfer School of Management (University of Ottawa)
The Competition
The CFA Ethics Challenge spanned from mid-October until mid-January. The purpose of the challenge was to read and identify underlying ethical problems in the provided case, as well as provide viable solutions to solve the issues moving forward for all parties involved with guidance from a Faculty Advisor (Pouya Safi). On January 14, 2016, all teams were required to present their findings in front of a panel of four judges, in addition to an audience filled with colleagues of CFA members, event organizers, and even friends and family of other teams. In the end, the three-month process dwindled down to a two and a half hour event filled with four ten-minute presentations and ten-minute question periods.
The Environment
As Telfer had been granted the honour of first presenting group, the reality of competition sunk in. There was also an additional intimidation factor that we, as a group, had not taken into account. Where all of the students from our team were fourth year undergraduates, every other team had been composed of Masters’ students who had already made their way into the financial markets. However, we did not let change our confidence going in.
After our presentation and question period was over, we had the luxury of sitting in to watch the remainder of the event. After listening to the next three presentations, we remained confident in our team’s chances to win based on the feedback we had gotten during the competition compared to the three other teams. We felt that as a group, we adequately demonstrated Telfer School of Management’s ability to cultivate outside the box thinking in its students, and it seemed to impress!
When the results were finally announced at the networking event that had taken place after the presentation period, we took the loss with pride fully knowing that we had just marginally been beaten out by Rotman School of Management. Judges and audience members alike came to congratulate us on our content, presentation skills, and team unity. I could not be more proud of my group, and to be a part of Telfer School of Management.
Photo caption - Left to Right: Eric Goneau, Jeanne St-Louis, Riccardo Najem, Brandon Larochelle
- Category: Latest News
The uOttawa Enactus team hosted their annual rendition of the exemplary Strat 24 Case Competition this past weekend, Ottawa’s premier opportunity for Engineering and Commerce students to work together and showcase their intellectual and creative talents.
Twelve teams, consisting of 2 students from the Telfer School of Management and 2 from the Faculty of Engineering each, were given a live case, created in collaboration with Strat 24 sponsor Hydro Ottawa. With only 24 hours allotted to crack the case, the teams worked tirelessly overnight to find innovative and unique solutions. They then presented their solutions to a panel of judges, and the winners of each pool advanced to a final round of presentations.
Thanks to the support of Hydro Ottawa and the competitive spirit of 48 hardworking uOttawa students, the fifth edition of this annual event was a great success.
The winning team, comprised of uOttawa students Roma Stepanchenko, Katya Berezovskaia, Amanda Godin and Barry Li, proposed that Hydro Ottawa connect Smart Grid technologies via an app, allowing Hydro Ottawa to support residents in reducing their energy consumption and carbon footprint without impacting the company’s bottom line. Their solution earned the top prize at the competition, a $4,000 cash award.
Congratulations go out to all participants for their work and their creative solutions! Stay tuned for next year’s event online at www.strat24.com [This link is no longer available] or on Enactus uOttawa’s social media.
Contact
Enactus uOttawa
(613) 562-5800 ext. 3700
- Category: Rising Stars
The 10th edition of Omnium financier took place from January 29 to January 31, 2016 at Université Laval in Quebec City. The Telfer School of Management sent a delegation of 30 BCom students to compete in eight different cases in finance and accounting. The competition is the biggest of its kind in Canada and welcomes over 350 students and volunteers from eleven Canadian universities.
This year our students took home the first place in the Managerial Accounting Case. Congratulations to Sonia Alb, Patrick Tumbas, Jianyi Li (Coach: Marc Tassé)
The Omnium financier Telfer executives wish to extend a thank you to the entire delegation (Financial Accounting - Joshua Ayer, Kristjan Luik, Maxim Goldenberg; Managerial Accounting - Sonia Alb, Patrick Tumbas, Jianyi Li; Taxation - Mélissa Iskandar, Caroline Dupéré Tremblay, Julie Séguin; Personal Finance - Elliott Foley, Patrick Kaminski, Frank Lixin Lu; Market Finance - Andy Chen Yu, Dmitry Shorikov, Zach Zhang; Corporate Finance - Steven Benoît Ménard, Margaret Omodu, Felipe Izquierdo; Financial News Quiz - Alexandre Blais, Jiazhe Li, Claudtzlie Desormes; Stock Simulation - Robert Millan, Philip Niwinski, Cameron Hayes, Andrew Nzomo; Volunteers - Anne Armstrong, Mathilda Murray, Serge Kuiya Lajoie) for their devotion in the various pre-competition practices and their continuous motivation. The executive team also wants to thank the godfather of the delegation, Samuel Soucy, for his support throughout the entire weekend and the coordinator, Kim Angèle Vallières, for her hard work throughout the school year towards making this project happen. The committee finally wants to thank the coaches on behalf of all teams for their great help.
A special thank you is extended to the organizational committee of this event who has done incredible work towards the organization of this competition and who demonstrated great professionalism throughout their mandate.
- Category: Rising Stars
DECA is a professional development organization, with chapters spanning various countries across the globe. It develops young leaders, putting to the test students’ presentation skills and business knowledge in intense competitions with both a written and an oral component, in categories across many areas of business.
On January 15 and 16 in Toronto, University of Ottawa’s DECA Chapter shone onstage at the annual DECA U Provincial Competition at the Sheraton Centre. Of the chapter’s 148 members, 81 competed. Rivalry was strong, with delegations from 20 universities and colleges attending, and certain delegations reaching well over 100 competitors. However, for uOttawa the results of many months of intense training were evident with the following achievements:
Miranda Taing and Olga Koppel: 1st Place International Marketing Role Play
Miranda Taing and Olga Koppel: 1st Place International Marketing Overall
Aayush Shah: 2nd Place Travel and Tourism Role Play
Andy Yu: 2nd Place Role Play Business Financial Services Role Play
Sonia Alb and Anna Halawa: 2nd Place International Marketing Overall
Maxim Goldenberg: 3rd Place Accounting Role Play
Catherine Li: 3rd Place Human Resource Management Written
Josh Wamanga and Dustin Gao: 3rd Place PMI CASE BOSS Special Event
Neekita Bhatia and Divya Mehta: 3rd Place Business-to-Business Role Play
DECA uOttawa wishes to thank Matt Archibald, Diane Mugeni and the Telfer School of Management for providing the chapter with academic training and unwavering support over months of preparation. It would also like to recognize the dedication of Eva Lin (President) and Anna Halawa (Vice President), as well as Maxim Goldenberg, who spearheaded this year’s training program. What is more, the delegation’s immense success would not have been possible without the countless hours of work put in by the rest of the executive team: Aayush Shah, Shivdeep Pal, Nikita Gupta, Bobbi Nguyen, Andy Yu, Carissa Wong, and Rula AlHalbouni.
What’s next for DECA uOttawa? The chapter will be sending delegations to upcoming invitational competitions this semester at various universities across Ontario. It also has a chance to participate in the International Career Development Conference in Washington, DC.
DECA uOttawa has set high expectations for next year, but the chapter is confident that the soon-to-be-selected executive team will be up to the challenge.
- Category: Rising Stars
This winter, the University of Ottawa's Co-operative Education Programs achieved the milestone of placing its 40,000th student.
After dropping a few hints on social media, the details of the 40,000th placement were unveiled in a ceremony at Deloitte's office in downtown Ottawa. To mark the occasion, a plaque was awarded to Robyn Smith, an accounting student at the Telfer School of Management, and Erica Newman, a recruitment specialist with Deloitte.
"I'm proud to work at Deloitte and surprised to be the 40,000th placement. If I had any advice to give to students, it would be to get involved early in their time at university. Not just to stand out from others, but to create opportunities and gain the confidence they need to approach leaders like Deloitte."
“For the CO-OP program, the 40,000th placement is a significant accomplishment. However, behind this large number are 39,999 other experiences that are just as significant,” says Gaby St-Pierre, director of CO-OP and the Career Development Centre at the University of Ottawa.
“Thanks to CO-OP, students eager to learn both theory and practice have had impressive careers all around the world. Since the program began in 1980, hundreds of employers acting as mentors have dedicated over 20 million hours to train the next generation and pass on their knowledge,” adds St-Pierre.
In short, CO-OP is partnership between the University, students and employers. It’s a real example of intergenerational communication and assistance, of knowledge management and transfer. Most of all, it’s about over 40,000 experiences that have made a difference.
Did you know?
Deloitte has partnered with the University of Ottawa for more than 30 years.
It has offered nearly 200 CO-OP placements over the past 15 years.
It has hired 10% of accounting students for winter 2016.
It offers CO-OP placements and jobs for new graduates of various programs in many Canadian cities.
The University of Ottawa CO-OP summer placement process has begun. Over 1700 of our brightest students are ready to contribute to the success of your team. Click here for more information.
This article was originally published in the uOttawa Gazette.
- Category: Business Analytics and Performance
Telfer MBA Conferences series explores how talent is not enough
When recording industry icon Quincy Jones brought 40 of the world’s top artists together to record “We Are the World” for Ethiopian famine relief, he famously put this sign at the studio entrance:
“Check your ego at the door.”
Jones knew that to pull this off, he needed people who were accustomed to being in the spotlight to look past themselves and focus on the broader vision of what they were there to achieve. They had to appreciate that this was a team effort.
What makes a great team great? That’s what the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management will explore in January through its MBA Conferences series.
“We will explore why some teams function really well, while others don’t, even if they have talented people on them,” said Richard Clayman, Sessional Professor, Leadership and Team Development, at Telfer. “This conference will focus on those critical ingredients that make teams perform at a high level, and why pure talent and the money to acquire it is not enough.”
The ingredients of a great team
For an individual’s talents to flourish and fully benefit the team, Clayman said there must first be:
- Shared values that foster an openness to accepting a common purpose (without political or personal agenda conflict)
- Mutual respect, made all that much easier to attain with shared values and a commitment to a common goal
- Honest, open and selfless communication that can improve the team dynamic and fuel healthy and constructive debate
- Lastly, the growth of trust, reinforced by personal accountability and dependability, derived from each team member consistently performing and delivering as they’ve committed to do
Telfer will explore these themes and others, with a panel of respected academic and industry experts.
“What Makes Great Teams Great?" takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 30. All MBA Conferences are open to students, alumni and the community at large. Best of all, they are free of charge. To learn more or to register, call 613-562-5800 ext. 7019 or visit www.telfer.uOttawa.ca/mbaconferences.
- Category: Latest News
This year’s MBA Games were held from January 2 to 4, 2016 in Toronto. Fifteen of Telfer’s finest MBA and MHA students travelled to York University to participate in academic case competitions focused around finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, and strategy. They also participated in sports, cultural and spirit activities, displaying excellence in teamwork, leadership, and engagement in every division.
"Being part of the MBA Games was a unique experience that none of us will ever forget,” comments the Marketing Team. “It was an honour representing Telfer and going head to head against some remarkably talented people. Bringing the trophy back home with us was the icing on the cake!"
Other achievements at this year’s Games:
- The Spirit Team (Mariam Iqbal, Abeer Sami, Michelle Navarro) won one of the spirit events, in which they had to build a maze out of cardboard boxes with the theme of Outer Space for kids from the Ronald McDonald House Charity.
- The Dodgeball Team (Ella Cooper, Lianne Davies, Uyen Ta, John Lachapelle, Ihor Brydun) made it to the quarter finals.
“The MBA games is an annual competition of some 500 MBA students from across the country,” says Greg Richards, Director of the MBA program at the Telfer School. “I'm incredibly proud of the MBAs and MHAs who participated this year. We were a small team but made up in spirit what we lacked in size. Congratulations to all students who participated and to the marketing team for a great performance.”
Meet some of the members of this year’s delegation:
Mariam Iqbal was Telfer’s team captain for the MBA Games, which is her main task as one of the MBA Coordinators on the MBA Student Association (MBASA). She says she decided to participate in the sport section of the MBA Games because to her, it represented a great opportunity to meet and network with students from other universities. “It also allows us to display the skills we have learned, representing Telfer,” she says. Mariam says she chose to study at the Telfer School of Management because: “the faculty comprises of experts and well versed professors and mentors, allowing for maximum growth of [her] network and learning beyond classrooms.”
Julio Cam is also one of the MBA Coordinators on the MBASA. He wanted to take part of the MBA Games because he likes to take advantage of every opportunity he gets during his MBA experience to meet new people, to learn new skills and to have fun. Julio says his most memorable experience at Telfer so far has been taking a Marketing class with Professor Michael Mulvey as he says that his classes were not only interesting, but that he always tried to bridge the gap between theory and practice by giving students real life examples.
Uyen Phuong Ta joined the MBA Games to represent her team and school but most importantly, she says that she wanted “to make new connections, think critically and start the new year with a BANG!” Uyen’s five year goal is to work in the healthcare industry as an administrator and making a difference to Canadians by improving the system delivery.
This year is Michelle Navarro’s second year competing in the MBA Games. She says she signed up again, in the Strategy Case Competition, because she had so much fun competing last year. Michelle says that what matters to her is being able to conduct business in an ethical way, and in a way that benefits all stakeholders and employees: “Telfer has managed to show me that you can have a successful business or segment of the public service and maintain moral and ethical integrity at the same time!”
Hala Migahed took part of the MBA Games because she wanted to learn from and share ideas with other students across Canada with similar aspirations. She chose to do her MBA at Telfer because it is offered in French, because teachers have the practical and theoretical knowledge, and the schedule allows her to maintain her full time job. What matters most to Hala is learning from experience to improve herself on a personal and professional level. She says: “The school has helped me learn not just from a book but from real people with real stories and priceless experience.”
Congratulations to whole team for their determination and valiant efforts throughout the MBA Games!
- Category: Latest News
The JDC Central (JDCC) competition took place January 8-10, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario, hosted by the Canadian Association of Business Students. The JDCC competition is one of Canada’s largest business school competitions that brings together 700 delegates from 14 universities across Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes to compete in academic, sporting and social events.
Congratulations to students for winning the following:
Team Awards
- 3rd place overall, School of the Year
1st place trophy:
- Entrepreneurship (Alamin Mollick, Elliott Foley and Osman Wais)
Coach: Sara Valentino
3rd place trophies:
- Accounting Case (Jenna Curran, Regina Melnyk, Sui Qu)
Coaches: Sheldon Weatherstone, Sylvain Durocher, Nadia Daskalova - Sports – Futsal (Victor Delage, Philip Kijek, Sunny Khorugdharry, Jeff Davies, Maurizio Ferme, Selena Saikley, Madison Cunha and Samantha Mikhael)
Coach: Justin Sweeney
- Category: Latest News
The 28th edition of the Jeux du commerce took place January 8 to 10, 2016, at the University Laval in Québec City, Québec. The Jeux du commerce competition is an interuniversity event that brings together over 1,000 delegates from 13 Eastern Canadian universities to compete in academic, sporting and social events. This year, our students placed 3rd overall and took home the following trophies:
Team Awards
- 3rd place Overall Standing
- Recognition Award – Diane Mugeni
2nd place trophies:
- Strategy (Jaclyn Tokarewicz, Drew Morash, Jesse Dunn)
Coach: Alan O’Sullivan
- Sport – BroomBall (Andre Caissie, Adnan Shaikh, Austin St.Pierre, Cassandra Perrier, Claudine Soucie, Jean-Manuel Turcotte, Joel St-Denis, Mike Shaheen, Myreille Chouinard)
Coaches: Max Hébert and Cameron Harvey
- Sport - DBL Ball (Jordano Gonzalez, Alexander Hannoun, Fadi Azzi, Max Frost, Michèle Marchand, Mathieu Brunet, Sophie Nadeau, Qusai Saleh, Mira Azzi and Lucas Ghosn)
Coaches: Carl Lafleur and Michel Bédard
3rd place trophies:
- Debate (Sonia Alb, Roy Atallah, Joshua Ayer, Sarah Morin)
Coach: Matt Archibald and Jed Cross
- Recruit Case (Vicky Wang)
- Social Team (Dominic Piscopo, Natasha Heinz, Channing Junor, Marie Beaupré-Olsen)
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management has received EQUIS re-accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). The Telfer School remains one of only two business school in Canada to achieve the triple crown of business school accreditations. There are only 73 schools worldwide, as of September 2015, that have obtained this prestigious recognition.
The Telfer School of Management was initially awarded the accreditation in November 2009 and it was renewed in December 2015 for a period of 5 years.
“As Dean of the Telfer School of Management, I am delighted and proud that our School has been conferred the EQUIS accreditation label for a further period of five years. This is a remarkable achievement which confirms that our triple-accredited School meets the highest international standards of excellence,” said François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School. “I am grateful to EFMD for the advice and guidance they have provided since we were first accredited in 2009 and which allowed us to develop and improve.”
“We owe this success to the outstanding work of our professors, the dedication of our academic leaders and administrative personnel as well as the quality of our students and the commitment of our alumni and members of the community at large who have supported the School on its path towards continuous improvement and excellence,” he adds. “Congratulations and thank you to all for this accomplishment!”
EQUIS is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration. EQUIS is managed and run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and its fundamental objective, linked to the mission of the EFMD, is to raise the standard of management education worldwide.
Institutions that are accredited by EQUIS must demonstrate not only high general quality in all dimensions of their activities, but also a high degree of internationalisation. With companies recruiting worldwide, with students choosing to get their education outside their home countries, and with Schools building alliances across borders and continents, there is a rapidly growing need for them to be able to identify those institutions in other countries that deliver high quality education in international management.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
The clinic was co-founded in 2008 by Dr. Steve Pelletier and Dr. Harry Jones, who have combined experience of over 60 years in the field. They recognized that there was a lack of health care centres between Ottawa and Hawkesbury and also a lack of efficiency with regular health care providers’ business model. “Providing top notch health care is not that complicated and requires three ingredients; well-designed space, the right people and the right technology. If you are missing one ingredient the benefits of the other two cannot be realized,” he says.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
While the media are considered to play an influential role in business, very little research has been done on the relationship between firm-specific media coverage and corporate decision making. The Telfer School’s Shantanu Dutta is helping to change that with a new study on how business reporting shapes firms’ merger and acquisition decisions.
“Our preliminary evidence suggests that the media do influence deal outcomes, independently of the market’s response to a given M&A play,” notes Dutta, an associate professor of finance at the Telfer School. “In particular, the press has something of a ‘corporate governance’ role, one that has not been explored much empirically.”
Dutta and his team seek to understand better how reporting in reputable newspapers might affect the probability of making a deal – and the degree to which negative coverage has a restraining effect. But they are also looking into the impact of coverage on other strategic decisions in M&A, “such as the acquiring firm’s payment method, and the impact on future acquisitions.”
The 2008-2009 global financial crisis sparked interest among finance researchers in the role of the press. After the financial crisis, traditional measures of firm performance no longer appeared adequate. In response, some finance researchers began to examine how verbal information contained in media reports provides information over and above the traditional performance measures.
The findings from the study will encourage a better understanding about the linkages between media coverage and M&A decision making processes among investors and managers, says Dutta.
“We recognize that business reporting is not the only factor that influences major corporate decisions, but it certainly has the potential to play a significant role in shaping managers' and investors' perceptions.”
- Category: Rising Stars
A total of 87 students divided in groups were responsible for analyzing a case involving a real-life local or Canadian company and report on accounting issues being faced by the subject company. The best teams had to present in a live case competition that took place on December 9th, 2015. The winners received the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA) Case Competition prize for Case Studies in Accounting.
We would like to congratulate the winners:
First Place:
- Yassine Benidir
- Caroline Carrière
- Jesse Dunn
- Brandon Graham
- Brenda Lim
- Alexandre Sauvé
Second Place:
- Angela Clark
- Jenna Curran
- Nikola Karajovic
- Alison Lantos
- Taylor Anastasia Murray
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to our judges: Valerie Carey, Matthew Prime and Stefka Zaharieva.
- Category: Rising Stars
We held the fall 2015 Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition on December 8, 2015 at the Desmarais Building.
We would like to congratulate the winning team (Natasha Mieka Loepp, Liora Raitblat, Kelsy Sullivan, Jessica Verbruggen and Irene Zourdos), who provided the best pan-Canadian strategy for the Department of Canadian Heritage to engage Canadians in the Give Back Campaign for the 150th Anniversary of Confederation.
The winning team received a cash prize of $1,500 and Kelsie Zielinski, the student with the best presentation skills, received a $600 prize.
- Category: Rising Stars
All students in ADM4350 (Equity Valuation) and ADM4750 (Évaluation d’entreprises) took part in a case competition where they had to estimate the value of a real-life company and propose a course of action that the company should take to solve its problems. This term, the mandate was to analyse the valuation of Hydro One.
We would like to congratulate:
First place winners:
- Zachary Baldelli
- Wei Gao
Second place prize:
- Connor Flack
- Brandon Larochelle
Third place prize:
- Rose-Lornah D’Or
- Charmarke Omar Omar
- Sara Saddiki
Best poster Award:
- Xinglin Li
- Chuqiao Liu
We would like to thank all judges: Kash Pashootan, Homam Alattar, Danika Chilibeck, George André Skaff and Miguel Jutras and Mike Reynolds.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Dominic Franchi and Emily Hsiung, both Telfer School of Management BCom 2015 alumni, have ranked amongst the highest 52 scores in the country on the Common Final Examination (CFE). The CFE is a three-day examination requiring candidates in accounting to demonstrate depth and breadth of competency development in accordance with the CPA Competency Map.
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Dominic and Emily say they are good friends and would often study for the CFE together.
Click here to view the full Ontario honour roll list. Note: To view the national list, click on the “National Honour Roll” link at the end of the page.
- Category: Rising Stars
On December 7, 2015, our CASCO students took to the stage at the Delta Ottawa City Centre and raised $58,023 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). The theme this year was “Learning to fly” and had the audience travelling around the world to watch musical performances, fashion shows and high energy dance numbers.
Each year a CHEO family is represented at the Gala to share the evening, as well as their story. This year Devon and his family joined CASCO to share with the audience how they have benefited from the great work that CHEO can do thanks to the support of the community.
For the past 16 years, CASCO has been a major event for the Telfer School of Management that is entirely choreographed, organized and executed by like-minded Telfer School students. In recent years, students from other faculties have joined, as performers, in what became a spectacular show of talent and philanthropy that brings together over 500 people including prominent community leaders and ambassadors for CHEO.
In preparation for this event, CASCO students spent countless hours auditioning, choreographing, and organizing this annual gala show to raise money for CHEO. The Telfer School of Management and the wider University of Ottawa community remain very proud of students who decide to commit time and energy on this event every year for the positive impacts that they leave on our community.
- Category: Rising Stars
In November 2015, 10 teams of students participated in a case competition as part of their Case Studies in Accounting course.
The winning team and the team that ranked second were respectively awarded $2,000 and $1,200. These prizes are courtesy of CPA Ontario and PME Performance + Croissance Inc. All members of both teams also received a gift certificate of $100 from Logan-Katz.
The judges of the competition were Denis Chainé, CPA, CA, partner at Logan-Katz; Marie-Geneviève Bégin, CPA, CA, Chief of Internal Controls at Justice Canada and Jean-Philippe Aubé, CPA, CA, owner of PME Performance + Croissance Inc., as well as Professor Sylvain Durocher, CPA, CA.
We would like to congratulate the winning teams, from left to right:
1st place: Justin Bélanger, Jia Li, Tania Fécu Dupuy, Joël A. St-Denis, Kristjan Johannes Luik
2nd place: Rebecca Bradley, Jérémy Boileau, Marie-France Bougie, Michelle Farley
- Category: Rising Stars
Felipe Izquierdo is a 4th year BCom Finance student who takes social entrepreneurship to heart. He was selected to attend One Young World Summit in Thailand’s capital city on the week of November 18 to 21. “Attending the One Young World summit in Bangkok is like being able -- in only a few days -- to travel the world and learn about the global problems directly from youth leaders that are working at the front lines in their countries and communities,” he says. Felipe was able to discuss solutions and projects about human rights, the environment, global business and entrepreneurship, peace, security, leadership and government with other student leaders. He admits that the atmosphere in a room where people from 196 countries all come together to be united by humanity and passion for tackling world issues is overwhelming and “hard to put into words.” He had the opportunity to attend as part of the student organization Enactus uOttawa.
Additionally to Enactus, Felipe is involved with the Legacy Conference, an entrepreneurship-focused event founded by a group of students with a goal to cultivate new ideas and kickstart business endeavors, as well as Omnium Financier Telfer, as the Director of Community Involvement, where he organizes volunteer events for finance and accounting students. He is also a Community Advisor for the University of Ottawa Housing Services. Felipe says that his favourite class taken at Telfer so far has been Stephen Daze and Hanan Anis’ new course, “Entrepreneurship Foundry”, because of the hands-on aspect of it. Felipe enjoys having the opportunity to - with other entrepreneurs from uOttawa - work on a start-up throughout the semester with the support of very successful mentors.
The One Young World Summit will be held in Ottawa in 2016. Click here for more information.
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- Category: Latest News
Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle, Washington that brings people together for weekend-long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.
Now in its 2nd edition, Startup Weekend will be held at uOttawa in February 2016 and is geared for current uOttawa students and recent graduates. The objective is to connect students across all faculties to encourage and promote entrepreneurship regardless of discipline of study. We look forward to seeing the different types of innovative ideas that can come to life when students branch out and connect with those around them with different skill sets and areas of expertise.
The event will be held February 26-28, 2016.
Details and registration information to follow
Please contact Stephen Daze,
A can’t miss event for students interested in entrepreneurship
“Startup Weekends are an international phenomenon being held in the most innovative cities around the world” said Stephen Daze, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School of Management. “The Telfer School and the University of Ottawa are bringing this event on campus to provide our students an opportunity to learn, network, start a business, meet potential co-founders and much more.”
Entrepreneurs, innovators, makers and those curious about starting a new venture that attend this event will benefit from 54 hours of fast-paced start-up experience working with a team of like-minded students, mentored by seasoned veterans from the local start up community.
“Nowhere else can you experience entrepreneurship/start-up in a more concentrated and curated format” said Stephen Daze. “This venue brings together business students, coders and designers, and provides training and mentoring in a cool atmosphere targeted at creating start-ups.”
The Telfer School’s commitment to Entrepreneurship
We are committed to helping students succeed. For many, success will be starting a new venture or contributing to one as co-founder or team member. We provide the tools and resources you’ll need to learn, network and build your innovation and entrepreneurship skills. In addition to hosting Startup Weekend uOttawa, here are some of the other initiatives that are available:
Entrepreneurship Bridges Speaker Series – Co-hosted with the Faculty of Engineering, this 5-part annual speaker series is targeted at students looking to or considering entrepreneurship. The speaker series features local young entrepreneurs who tell their start-up stories and act as a source of inspiration, education and mentoring. The series is also the home for other entrepreneurship-related announcements and competitions such as the final pitches in the Entrepreneurs' Club Elevator Pitch Contest. The series averages 150 students per session and includes the formal talk or panel, as well as networking and refreshments.
Entrepreneurship Foundry Course - The Entrepreneurship Foundry is a new Telfer-led initiative that brings together collaborators from across campus to build, manage and deliver a semester-long, for-credit course that sees participants apply for entry in order to start a venture over 13 weeks. Working in multi-disciplinary teams, students will learn from experts in lecture and workshop environments and complete evaluated work leading to the start of their new venture. It is anticipated that the course will see 25 students in the first session scheduled for Fall 2015.
Telfer Business Traction Competition – Now in its second year, this business competition is a new take on traditional business plan competitions. It's open to full-time undergraduate students at the Telfer School of Management and/or teams comprised of at least 50% Telfer students. It is not about ideas and proposed business plans, it’s about traction. Contestants will demonstrate the achievement of real milestones towards starting, or validating their business ideas as well as realistic goals moving forward. Applicants can be at any stage of their business idea but must be able to demonstrate real milestones completed and future goals. External judges will determine the winner based on actual work to date and planned milestones. $10,000 in prize money is available to be won.
- Category: Latest News
The Telfer uOttawa team took first place in the Social Media contest at the Degroote Case Competition, which was held November 13 and 14 at McMaster University in Burlington.
The DeGroote Case Competition, which was inaugurated in 2015, is an event focused around business transformation and digital innovation. MBA students from top Canadian business schools are challenged to adapt, collaborate and innovate in different ways, including a video contest, a unique competition and a formal business case.
Team member John Lachapelle notes that, "Our experience at the Degroote Case Competition was fantastic. The theme of Transformation in Business truly applies to the ever-changing landscape of business today. Innovation is rendering proven business models obsolete, while entire industries are being forced to transform due to disruptive technologies such as Uber and Air BnB. The Telfer MBA promotes understanding of this new paradigm in business and our team feels proud to have represented Telfer in Burlington."
The Telfer team had been practicing under the supervision of case competition professor Hantz Prosper.
Students (left to right)
Ihor Brydun (MBA Intensive program)
Sara Lag (MBA-JD Intensive program)
Hala Migahed (MBA professional program, French cohort)
John Lachapelle (MBA Intensive program)
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Telfer School of Management and the Ottawa Network for Education (ONFE) Junior Achievement (JA) program have signed an agreement for the promotion of youth entrepreneurship. The objective of the agreement includes fostering community engagement and enhancing the offering of experiential learning in Ottawa schools.
The JA program inspires youth to start a business, make better financial decisions and chart a career path, while engaging community volunteers from local businesses and post-secondary institutions to provide hands-on learning opportunities for Grade 5-12 students. The program is offered free of charge to local area schools with the support of volunteers, community partners and sponsors.
“JA has been a pillar of this community and many like it across the country for several years”, says Matt Archibald, Assistant Director of the Student Services Centre at the Telfer School. “We are pleased to be connecting students with this organization to assist in the development of skills in the areas of entrepreneurship, career planning, and financial literacy.” He adds: “This is a great experiential learning opportunity for our Telfer students as it allows them to give back in a meaningful way and teach other younger students about the skills that they have developed over their academic post-secondary careers.”
One of the benefits of the JA programs is that it gives students opportunities to get access to help and funding for launching their own business. A great example of this reach is Guillaume Auger of Garneau High School, who was one of two recipients of the 2015 JA Next Generation Leadership Forum scholarship at the JA Company Celebration in June of this year, for which the Telfer School was one of the presenting sponsors. Guillaume is the president of the Tie or Dye JA Company, a business with which his team placed second in the 2014 Enactus uOttawa Perfect Pitch competition, a Dragon’s Den-style competition which gives students the opportunity to join a day full of workshops on entrepreneurship-related topics and to experience a pitch simulation first-hand.
“What better way to inspire our young leaders of tomorrow with our young leaders of today?” says Albert B. Wong, Director of JA Ottawa. “JA Ottawa inspires young people to startup businesses, make better financial decisions and chart a career path, and Telfer JA Volunteers are enthusiastic, positive role models for our next generation. Junior Achievers, like Guillaume Auger, develop soft skills and an entrepreneurial mindset which lift the trajectory of their career paths. The Telfer JA partnership is a win-win for Telfer students and Junior Achievers, some of whom aspire to attend Telfer like Guillaume.”
The partnership with the JA Ottawa program is just one of the many initiatives supported by the Telfer School to connect with high school students; other examples include the Perfect Pitch competition, hosted by Enactus uOttawa, which provides students with an opportunity to practice their entrepreneurship skills in a fast paced pitch event based on Enactus-led training, and the Place à la jeunesse academic competition, an initiative from the University of Ottawa’s Jeux du Commerce (JDC) delegation, which give high school students a taste of the business world and promotes post-secondary education in French.
PHOTO (from left to right):
François Julien, Dean, Telfer School of Management
Kathy McKinlay, President and CEO, Ottawa Network for Education
Albert Wong, Director, JA Ottawa
- Category: Donations / Fundraising
We are proud to announce that the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa is the recipient of a major gift from alumnus James Yersh. The donation, contributed over the next 5 years, will go towards the establishment of the Yersh Family Pedagogical Innovation Fund.
This announcement was made at the Telfer Alumni Breakfast Speaker Series on November 25, 2015.
"We are profoundly thankful to Mr. Yersh for his generous gift," stated François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School. "This investment will allow us to align ourselves with the ever changing learning modes of students, and to transform how we learn– one of the 5 priorities we have set for our fundraising campaign".
The new fund will support improvements to program structures, content and delivery. These improvements could include researching, creating and implementing alternate, flexible and adaptable content and delivery methods, as well as creating integrative cases that would be used across more than one course.
Focussing on pedagogical innovation will help transform learning inside and outside the classroom, with an eye to increasing the career potential of graduates.
The other priorities of the Telfer School’s fundraising campaign are: Investing in globalisation, Generating new knowledge, Fostering experiential learning, and Supporting scholarships and strategic initiatives.
James Yersh is Chief Financial Officer at Blackberry, in Waterloo, Ontario, where he is responsible for all aspects of the company's financial operations and investor relations. James previously served as the Senior Vice President, Controller of BlackBerry and has more than 15 years of experience in the technology and telecommunications industries. Prior to joining BlackBerry in 2008, he held various senior positions at Cognos Incorporated and Deloitte.
James Yersh is one of many alumni who continue to stay connected with and give back to the Telfer School of Management to support the programs and projects that matter most to them.
Photo Caption: James Yersh with some of the students who attended the Alumni Breakfast Speaker Series on November 25.
- Category: Rising Stars
Cameron has managed to tie his love and knowledge for technology with business into every role he has held. In addition to CASCO, he has also been involved with the Telfer Marketing Association (TMA) and Management Information Systems and Analytics (MISA). He says: “I specifically enjoyed being able to come into the clubs with a different view on how to utilize technology in ways that other clubs were not yet doing.” Cameron implemented a new email marketing system for TMA which provided statistics on member engagement regarding their newsletter and also created an online database of course notes for MISA, which helped drive their first year of membership sales. In his spare time, he runs a small web development and hosting business, where he rents out space on his web server to clients that are looking for high quality, personable service for their website. Prior to Telfer, Cameron was completing the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at West Island School in Hong Kong in 2009-2011.
Come support Cameron and his team at the CASCO Gala, taking place on December 7, 2015 at 5:30 pm. Click here for more information about the CASCO Gala.
- Category: Latest News
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation is an exciting and integrative learning opportunity for BCom students, as part of their 4th year Strategic Management class, and for MBA students.
From November 11 – 15, 2015, 39 BCom teams and 9 MBA teams participated in this simulation at the Telfer School of Management’s Desmarais Building.
Congratulations to the members of the winning BCom team
- Brandon Brown
- Euan Smith
- Kelsie Throop
- Andrea Howland
- Filipus Tjong
Congratulations to the members of the winning MBA team
- Alexandre Beaudoin
- Wendy Hopkins
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation has been a component of the BCom’s 4th year strategy course for close to 20 years. It aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world known as Intopia. The simulation allows students to practice their skills in a concentrated amount of time where they can get immediate feedback on their decisions.
This capstone activity has recently been renamed to recognize CPA Ontario’s comprehensive contribution of $370,000 to the Telfer School to support students, teaching and research.
- Category: Rising Stars
Overall Winners
- 1. Patrick Kaminski
- 2. Nhung Vu
- 3. Dmitry Shorikov
- 4. Daniel Shannon
- 5. Roma Stepanchenko
- 6. *Tie* Carson Luo / Daniel Kirshner
Case Winners
- Social Outcry: William Amoi
- Liability Trading: Patrick Kaminski
- Options: Tsoi Yuen (Jack) Lau
- Equity Valuation: David Wilkie
- ETF Pricing Arbitrage: Patrick Kaminski
- Algorithmic Market Making: Tsoi Yuen (Jack) Lau
The 4th semi-annual Telfer Trading Competition (TTC) was a considerable success here at the Telfer School of Management with over 100 students registered. Held on October 17th 2015, students were given a chance to show off their trading savvy, competing against each other for standings, cash prizes and a chance to compete in the prestigious Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC). The Telfer Trading Competition is hosted twice a year in preparation for the RTIC, which the University of Ottawa plans to send some of its brightest students to compete on an international stage. Hosted in Toronto, the RITC will pit some of the top business schools from around the globe against one another, and the Telfer School of Management hopes to display its caliber.
Beginning at noon on the 17th, the Telfer Trading Competition was launched with the students gathering in one of Telfer’s largest conference rooms located in the Desmarais building where the first case was set to begin. Upon arrival they were greeted, each receiving their own nametag and given an introduction to the competition. Soon afterwards, it was straight to the first case, the social outcry. Gathered in the Camille Villeneuve Conference room, the students we given a single index, the TELFER-500, which they could attempt to buy or sell at any price they chose, provided they could find another competitor who was willing to buy or sell it to them at the price they were offering. The index’s price was driven by the release of multiple news events throughout the case, which were projected on multiple large screens around the room. This gave insight to the competitors about the possible direction of the TELFER-500 price movement. Additionally, there was no electronic assistance in their transactions, so competitors we required to go about the group searching and competing for each other’s orders in almost all ways possible creating a very vibrant and dynamic trading pit setting à la 1980’s. The social outcry was a means to simulate the first markets, which existed prior to the largely electronic ones that are found today giving the students a fundamental understanding of the transaction and supply and demand process that drives the value of markets around the globe on a daily basis. Next the students transitioned to the Financial Research and Learning Lab to begin the core cases of the competition. There were four cases to compete in consisting of Liability Trading, Options, Equity Valuation, ETF Pricing Arbitrage and a bonus Algorithmic Market Making for those competitors really trying to display their trading prowess.
The students competed in these cases using the Rotman Interactive Trader, an order-driven market system which they had been practicing and preparing vigorously for the weeks leading up to the competition date. Each case was run one at a time, with individual cases being run three times with a few minutes in between each round allowing students to collect themselves, and make any adjustments needed to their strategies before the next round. From the start of the first case, the room was abuzz with the furious input of orders and the emotion that came with the rapid execution of each transaction. Each moment was different from the last as one second traders would be celebrating soaring profits and the next rushing to recover losses. The leaders of each case were being projected on large screens so that competitors were always aware of their performance relative to their peers. Each case was constructed unique and throughout each of the remaining cases, a variety of creative strategies were employed to maximize their capital gains, from the clicking intensive ladder trader to script filled excel run algorithms. Similarly, as the competition progressed from one case to the next, so did the emotions of the competitors. At any given moment the uproar from a sudden market spike or the groans as prices would barely budge could be heard from across the room recreating the dynamic environment of a trading floor.
Students were given an extended break halfway through to recuperate before the continuation of the cases. At the end of the last case, the competitors gathered in the conference room one last time for food and drinks as well as the announcement of the case and overall winners. Over $900 worth of prizes were distributed amongst the best performers with prizes going to individual case winners as well as overall standings. The overall top 12 performers were given a chance to apply for the Rotman International Trading competition in hopes of representing the University of Ottawa on the international stage.
The 4th semi-annual Telfer Trading Competition was the largest to date and was a massive success, giving students of all years a chance to dive deeper into the financial industry, whom many are so passionate about. From the hustle of the social outcry to the technical expertise of the algorithmic trading, students had the opportunity to learn and grow in various skills as they provided simple solutions to complex financial problems and adapted on the fly throughout this dynamic environment. A huge thank you also goes out to the Finance Society, University of Ottawa Student Investment Club (OSIC) and all of the volunteers that helped throughout the planning and preparation as well as the execution of this event, as this event would not be made possible without them. We also welcomed a visit from Alumni Alex Tyutyunnik, Brian Chan and Cassy Aite who had a big part in growing the competition to what it is today. As we closed out this iteration of the TTC, we look forward to both the Rotman International Trading Competition as well as the next semi-annual Telfer Trading Competition in early 2016.
- Category: Rising Stars
BCom Finance Student Receives “Volunteer of the Month”
Neekita’s favourite position, however, was leading an Alternative Student Break project with the Office of Campus Sustainability. “We conducted waste audits for DMS and MRT [Pavillons], analyzed the data, and made reports on it. I learned so much about sustainability in that week that I use every day including good recycling practices,” she says. Neekita also recently joined Enactus.
When asked what matters to her, Neekita responds: “I greatly value my networks. […] With my diverse background, I tend to appreciate the individual experiences of every person I meet. It is amazing how different people’s beliefs and personalities are, even within Canada. And I believe Telfer connects me to amazing people through the diverse student body, opportunities in student clubs, speakers at events and a professional and comfortable environment.”
Neekita was awarded the Volunteer of the Month for the month of October with the Centre for Global and Community Engagement.
- Category: Latest News
For more information on the subject, we invite you to attend our next Telfer MBA Conference on November 21, 2015.
Register at telfer.uOttawa.ca
Gregory Richards, MBA, PhD, FCMC
Director, Telfer School of Management MBA Program & the Centre for Business Analytics and Performance.
A recent study by McKinsey Global Institute suggests that governments around the world can unlock $3 trillion in economic value by leveraging data more effectively. But most government organizations will tell you that they struggle with sharing data, with working through privacy issues, and with finding the time and skills to actually use data effectively. In this short article, I will address some of the successes and challenges facing public sector organizations. I’ll conclude with a brief overview of a case study demonstrating how to solve one of the core problems: integrating analytics into the “way we do business” in a public sector organization.
In terms of successes, some organizations have established analytic offices to crunch through data. In Canada, many organizations such as the Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada for example, have fairly strong analytic practices in place. In the US, a variety of organizations have developed analytic approaches that improve program effectiveness and efficiency. The IBM Centre for the Business of Government in Washington has chronicled many of these efforts. These organizations have managed to solve data sharing issues and have been able to partner with universities and other analytic institutions to leverage data in new and interesting ways.
Despite these pockets of success, one of the key challenges is to mainstream analytics as a core process within organizations. Cultural resistance is still strong. Part of the issue of course, is that it is difficult to trust data if we are not sure of the source, and if we don’t understand how the data have been transformed. Furthermore, books such as How to Lie with Statistics have demonstrated that it is possible to confuse analysis with interpretation and tell almost any story with a particular data set.
So how might an organization overcome cultural resistance to integrate analytics as a core operational process? One provincial organization accomplished this task long before the term Big Data become popular. Here’s the important point: they did not set out to launch a Big Data program; they set out to improve program effectiveness and efficiency and found that evidence-based decision making helped. There were three keys to success. First, the organization had a clear mandate from the deputy head who insisted on measurable strategic goals. Second, the organization had reams of data with which to make informed decisions, but they made a significant investment in getting the data right. Third, the focus was on learning not on finger pointing.
The organization in question (who asked not to be named), was able to weed through the mission statements and other required planning documentation to focus on 3 high-level measureable goals. Clearly, a number of subordinate targets contributed to these goals, so the first step was development of a clear network of measures for each responsibility centre across the organization.
The next step was a bit of stumbling around realizing that the data they had were either not up-to-date and often contradictory. An investment of millions of dollars over a 12-month time frame helped to clean the data and install practices and procedures for managing data quality and data validation. Along the way, decision makers were provided education on the data stores, the use of data, and some of the analytic techniques. The organization was not naive enough to think that they could or should transform managers into analysts. But they knew enough to provide basic information so that their managers became data savvy. The managers understood enough to know how to critically examine reports and when to call in experts.
Finally, and this is a most important point because it speaks to the human aspect of the organization, the outputs of all this number crunching was used to stimulate learning and change. When a problem or opportunity was noted, managers would commission studies, conduct benchmarking exercises, and disseminate learning widely throughout the organization so that any action to be taken was fully understood by those who had to take it. It is easy to create toxic environments if we use analytics programs to point fingers at things that are going wrong. People will feel that they are always under scrutiny. They can become fearful of making mistakes and therefore, the analytics program could have the opposite effect of what was intended. When the program is focused on learning, however, the spirit of the organization emerges as a group intent on making things better and not being afraid to own up to mistakes and to learn from them. This does not mean that accountability is compromised, but it does mean that the hard number crunching side of these programs is wrapped within a more humanistic context.
In this brief article, I’ve highlighted some of the challenges, but I’ve also pointed out some of the successes being noted in the use of analytics in government organizations. Many departments and agencies have pockets of analytics, but it’s now time to think about embedding evidence-based decision making across the organization. The keys to success include a strong mandate from the top, ensuring high data quality, and wrapping analytics within an appropriate culture that balances accountability with learning and growth.
- Category: Latest News
Dr. Michael Fung-Kee-Fung received the Provincial Leadership Award for Public Service from the Government Technology Exhibition and Conference (GTEC).
Dr. Fung-Kee-Fung is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Surgery at the University of Ottawa, cross-appointed to the Telfer School of Management.
The award recognizes his exceptional contributions as Chief of Cancer Transformation and Strategy at the Ottawa Hospital.
- Category: Latest News
Related links
The uOttawa Enactus team just competed in the semi final round at the Enactus World Championships, and was named one of top 16 teams among 1,700 other universities and colleges worldwide.
After their humble beginnings of starting as a group of 12 tight knit members, Enactus uOttawa has grown to be a team of 116 highly capable and innovative students, spanning across 7 different faculties at the University of Ottawa in just four years. In recognition of both the local and international impact they’ve made through a variety of projects, the team, after having been crowned National Champions in Toronto this past May, represented Team Canada at this year’s World Cup - taking place for the very first time on the continent of Africa
A 3 day event of competition, collaboration, and celebration, the Enactus World Championships are an opportunity for representatives from 36 different countries to showcase the social impact they’ve made through presentations of up to 17 minutes. Enactus uOttawa showcased 2 of their 12 projects which have empowered countless individuals, created many jobs, and effectively eliminated waste in their local community - the most notable being a project by the name of CigBins. CigBins, a cigarette butt and recycling service, provides meaningful job opportunities to individuals with mental illness. It has thus far diverted over 183,000 cigarette butts off the city streets, and generated $129,000 in revenue.
In addition to the competition rounds, the Championship’s events also consisted of two Action Leaders Forums (covering the topics of Food, Water, and Energy Security) in addition to a Women’s Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Forum - which were supplemented by various guest speakers. Featured performances included African Footprint, The Soweto Gospel Choir, and DJ Reactagirl.
With last year’s Enactus World Cup taking place in Beijing, China and this year’s competition in South Africa, a country in which every public university is involved with the organization, the championship moves internationally from city to city each year, and will be taking place in Toronto, Canada for the 2016 rounds.
Contact
Enactus uOttawa
(613) 562-5800 ext. 3700
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Directors Education Program (DEP), flagship course of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, is now being offered in Ottawa at the Telfer School of Management.
The first module will begin on April 24, 2016 and the application deadline is February 4, 2016.
"We are proud to host the DEP Program to help better equip directors serving on the boards of corporations and community institutions in Ottawa," said François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. "This partnership with the ICD offers us an invaluable opportunity to support Ottawa's economy through building strong governance and leadership."
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Telfer MBA has been ranked in second place in the 2016 Canadian Business Value Ranking, which ranks the ten best MBAs in the country on the value they offer and the return on investment they provide. Programs included in the ranking combine a few key traits: a recognizable brand name on your degree; a diverse mix of bright people in the classroom; affordable tuition; and a shorter duration so that you're not out of the workforce for long.
“This ranking attests to the hard work of a lot of people at Telfer who are focused on delivering exceptional value to our MBA students. We’ll continue this tradition as we add even more features to our program over the next few years,” says Greg Richards, Director of the Telfer MBA.
The Canadian Business Value Ranking’s methodology is based on a point system that awards points to schools based on a weighted ranking, including: 33.5% reputation, 20.5% classroom experience, 13% average GMAT scores, 13% tuition, 13% required work experience and 7% program length. The ranking only includes full-time MBA programs.
For full ranking, head over to the Canadian Business website
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Telfer School of Management has once again been recognized as an outstanding business school by The Princeton Review. The organization has featured 295 leading business schools internationally. This recognition highlights the Telfer School’s international outreach and its strong world-wide reputation.
Read the 2-page profile of the Telfer school in The Best 295 Business Schools [This link is no longer available]
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Gilles LeVasseur was awarded the Ordre du mérite des caisses populaires de l’Ontario 2015, which recognizes the remarquable contributions of an individual to the franco-ontarian cooperative movement.
« I am very happy to have received this prize. Especially since I have had a passion for the cooperative system for a long time! », Professor LeVasseur said when receiving his prize. « [Cooperatives] are vital to the Canadian development.»
- Category: Rising Stars
Marina Kidisyuk, BCom student and co-president of the uOttawa International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) program, is happy to announce that their team has won a gold medal at the 2015 Giant Jamboree held in Boston on September 24-28. “Our tireless work has paid off and the judges loved our policy project aimed at creating a stronger link between industry and the iGEM's BioBrick Registry to which we submit the genetic parts,” she says.
The uOttawa iGem team consisted of:
- Alex Ross (Biomedical Science)
- Erin Nguyen (Engineering)
- Ashna Parbhakar (Biomedical Science)
- Martin Hanzel (Computer Science)
- Marina Kidisyuk (Accounting)
The team also got to see many other exciting and inspiring projects, ranging from bacteria-producing music to oil filtration systems.
More than 2700 participants were present this year from schools from all around the world to test their knowledge of synthetic biology by showcasing their unique genetically-engineered systems. Often times, the competition leads to many winning projects and teams forming new companies that quickly make an impact across the global marketplace.
- Category: Rising Stars
Being a Coach, I see international students every day. We make individual or group appointments to talk about anything and everything. A student may show up with a specific question about a course or can learn about student sport clubs. I am like their “Google” because I answer their questions and refer them to resources that can help them.
In addition to these daily meetings, my team and I organize academic workshops and social events for our students. We often plan lunch meetings where we talk with students while enjoying a good pizza. We also give learning techniques workshops and review sessions throughout the year. As well, we organize outings such as skating on the Rideau Canal or visits to supermarkets. These outings allow international students to be more easily integrated into society and to perform better at school.
I became an International Student Coach two years ago. I want to help new students because I was in their position a decade ago. I am an immigrant from China and I went through what these international students are going through now.
I landed in Canada for the first time on a muggy night in June 2002. I was eight years old when I came here with my parents. I did not know what to expect in my new life because I was unfamiliar with my new country’s culture and language. Integration into a new environment is certainly exciting, but can sometimes be a bit intimidating. I therefore understand that it takes a lot of courage for newcomers to open up to the new people they meet. My role as a Coach is to guide you along your road to integration so that together, we can enjoy this incredible experience that the University of Ottawa has to offer.
- Jia Li
International Student Coach
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Thank you to all the participants, sponsors and volunteers who joined us for the Telfer Golf Tournament on September 18, 2015.
With their help we raised over $24,000 for the Laurie Strano Memorial MHA Scholarship Fund!
Congratulations to our winning team! Stuart Whiston, Sean Mullen, Simon Whiston and Jay Strano (left to right).
- Category: Latest News
We are pleased to announce a new partnership for our International Exchange Program with the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), accredited by EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB.
With about 23,000 students from Austria and abroad, WU is Europe's largest educational institution for business and economics, business law, and social sciences.
WU is ranked as one of the best 200 Business and Economics School in the world by ARWU. Their Master in Management is ranked in the 13th spot in the Financial Times. They are also ranked as the 42nd best European School and 62nd best EMBA in the Financial Times.
WU’s research focuses mainly on the following key areas:
- Applied economics and socioeconomics
- Business and economic law
- Empirically-focused research on management, marketing, finance, and accounting
- Information systems, computing, and supply chain management
- International business, especially CEE regional studies
- International business taxation
To learn more about their programs, please visit their website: www.wu.ac.at/programs.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Congratulations to Bernie Ashe, CEO of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, who was awarded the CEO of the Year award, a joint initiative of the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ashe will receive his award at the 2015 Best Ottawa Business Awards at the Shaw Centre on November 18.
“Bernie Ashe is most deserving of this honor as CEO of the Year – and, as a Telfer alumnus, a great example for our students,” said François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School of Management. “Thanks to his incredible leadership, OSEG has remarkable momentum following the successful development of Lansdowne Park and TD Place. The changes he initiated and implemented have and will continue to have a lasting impact on the socio-economic development of our city.”
Before joining OSEG, the organization that owns the Ottawa Redblacks, he was Chief Executive Officer at KOTT Group, a lumber supply company, and at AiT (now 3M-AiT). From 1991-1997, he was Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Ottawa Senators.
To read the full announcement on the Ottawa Business Journal, click here.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Thursday, September 17th marked a very important day for the 2015-2016 academic year. Telfer launched its newly expanded Financial Research and Learning Lab as well as its new student-managed fund entitled the Telfer Capital Fund. Faculty, alumni, industry partners and students, totalling over 70, gathered in the new space in order to kick-off both initiatives. The new lab is triple the size of the original and is a fully enabled teaching and learning facility with all the top financial research tools and databases, including Bloomberg, as well as new technologically advanced interactive learning tools. The lab has been integrated into many Telfer classes which will use its resources for assignments, and bridging the gap from theory to practice. These classes include Equity Valuation, Portfolio Management, Marketing Management and Finance, Ethics and Social Responsibility. The manager of the space, Pouya Safi, acted as the event’s emcee and introduced Francois Julien (Dean of Telfer), Leslie Weir (University Librarian), and Tyson Rigg (TCF Portfolio Manager Leader) to say a word about the lab and its impact for the University, Telfer and the students. The lab expansion was as a result of the very successful collaboration between the Library and the Telfer School of Management. Marc Albert and Pouya Safi planned and oversaw the project but everything was collaborated with Faculty, uOttawa Library, the Career Centre, AV, IT, Physical Resources, Facilities, Protection and the school’s Project Manager, Sylvio Miron. Everyone played an integral goal in making sure the project was completed in time for the school year. The goal of the space has always been to bridge the gap between theory and practice and provide the students with an avenue to excel.
The Telfer Capital Fund (TCF), which also launched, will manage a real value based investment portfolio and will also call the lab their home for their weekly stock pitches, sector updates, and portfolio and company analysis. The fund will start with an initial seed capital of $50,000 to $100,000 and will aim to grow to $500,000 in principal within the next 5 to 10 years, so that each incoming year of students can continue to invest with new capital. The TCF will allow students to gain real hands-on experience in order to help them land internships and eventual employment with major firms in the capital markets. Students will be part of the program for 3 years and start as Analysts and work their way to Portfolio Managers all while completing their CSC and first level of the CFA. Tyson Rigg, one of the Portfolio Manager Leaders for this years’ cohort said “This program and lab have given me opportunities to grow and develop my skills in finance that I would have not otherwise known or been privy to had it not been here. I’ve used this lab to its fullest, and spent much of the last two years learning through my peers and courses. Now I’m really seeing the results through better internships and job opportunities.” The TCF has been something that has buzzed around students’ ears for many years. With the help of the International Dean’s Advisory Board and Pension and Treasuries group of uOttawa, Pouya Safi was able to develop the details of the fund and the governing Terms of Reference and Investment Policy and help ensure that it finally launched alongside the new lab. Alumni Jean Desgagné, President and CEO of Global Enterprises Services at TMX, was also present for the launch and made a generous donation to the fund.
- Category: Rising Stars
Being a CO-OP student at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, it doesn’t take much deep thought to realize all of its benefits. I am given the opportunity to explore different work environments, meet key people in the job market, create a network, develop my professional skills and learn more about myself and what the future could potentially hold for me. I have gained confidence, new skills and took care of my own projects during only my first work term. Students usually do four work terms during the 4-5 years of their studies and even get the option of finding a work term abroad! Can you imagine all of the possibilities?
An important part of the success of CO-OP is the willingness of companies and organizations to take students in for a short period and have faith that they will work hard and do a good job. Why do companies hire students? It’s not only the students who benefit from the CO-OP program, employers do too!
CO-OP students at the Telfer School of Management and the University of Ottawa are available year round, which gives employers flexibility and the ability to hire students during peak times to meet the needs of the season. Since students change from one session to the other, the diversity brought into the organisation is maximised. Each student’s varied strengths and interests bring something new to the table which eliminates employee tunnel vision. Employers get the opportunity to work with many different students and assess their capabilities which gives them a good chance of recruiting future full-time employees that could have a positive impact in their organisation.
At the University of Ottawa, there are CO-OP students in almost every field of study to fill multitudes of different positions. Students at the Telfer School of Management have a diverse set of skills. There are students in marketing, information technology, accounting, finance, management and more. These students are learning new concepts about not only their specialization, but multiple business facets every semester. Since it is still fresh in their minds, there is a higher chance of them bringing these theorized skills into the workplace.
It is also common for younger people to feel like they must prove themselves by showing employers that they can go above and beyond. This phenomenon influences them to be very motivated and enthusiastic which boosts the level of productivity. This eagerness also encourages creativity and has a positive effect on the motivation and morale of other employees.
To make things even better, an enhanced corporate image and a stronger connection with the University of Ottawa occur when employers hire CO-OP students. This is because they are helping the student community with their education and development as professionals entering the work force. It’s very rewarding to contribute to the training of future employees. After all, it can determine the future success of an organisation.
Thanks to the CO-OP Program at the University of Ottawa and all of the great organizations and companies that participate in the placement process, both students and organisations benefit. Not only do organisations get flexibility, diversity and productivity while maintaining good relationships in the community and setting a good example, but more students graduate from university with more than a diploma. I will graduate ready to start my career with experience already on my resume and the skills I really need to take on the world.
Now that is the power of CO-OP.
- Category: Business Analytics and Performance
Dr. Yeoh will be visiting from October 20 to 30, 2015 and will be engaged in BI research in collaboration with Greg Richards.
To contact Dr Yeoh during his stay, please contact Greg Richards at
- Category: Rising Stars
Marina Kidisyuk, co-president of the uOttawa International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) program, will be in Boston with the rest of her team presenting their synthetic biology project at The Giant Jamboree.
This year, the team will be creating a tri-stable switch, modelling cell differentiation in yeast that can ultimately lead to improved regenerative therapies using stem cells while the business outreach team will be exploring the fair use of genetic material between industry and academia via a policy paper all the while using art to create a platform for public engagement.
The uOttawa team typically consist of 20-25 undergraduate students with varying levels of experience, and 3-4 graduate and faculty advisors who work on aspects of one or more specific projects.
“I was always interested in innovative ideas and I saw iGEM as an opportunity to get involved in a project that is pushing the boundaries of future technology. The field of synthetic biology is still relatively new, but I find it exciting that it could hold many sustainable and non-invasive solutions to unanswered environmental and medical problems today,” says Kidisyuk. This is her second year involved in the program.
Marina, having a particular interest towards the biotechnology industry, chose to study at the Telfer School of Management for its focus on innovation and Ottawa’s multitude of biotechnology companies. She enjoys her field of study as she says: “It [Accounting] is the language of business, and business has the power to turn a creative idea into a real world application which can drastically change our future for the better.”
The class that has left the biggest impression on Marina so far has been Business Law with Gilles LeVasseur. “The biggest lesson I learned from him is to plan for and cover every single step in business no matter how trivial you think it is at first, which has served to be invaluable in my experience as someone who is interested in entrepreneurship and intellectual property,” she says.
Marina’s future goals are to bridge the gap between industry and academia. She hopes to be able to connect to students and industry leaders in science so that through collaboration, creative ideas can become reality. She says: “Today biotechnology is at the forefront of leading innovation, and as a business student I want to be involved in making sure that the right inventions can create solutions to unsolved real-world problems.”
Last year, the iGEM uOttawa team received the Silver Medal at the 2014 iGEM Giant Jamboree from among 245 universities world-wide. The Giant Jamboree is taking place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston from September 24 – 28, 2015.
- Category: Latest News
Harley Finkelstein, JD-MBA 2009, will join the cast of the CBC’s Next Gen Den, as one of their new Dragons. Next Gen Den is an online show spun off from CBC’s Dragon’s Den, which looks to invest in young, up-and-coming entrepreneurs pitching start-ups and early-stage businesses. The new season that will feature Harley Finklestein premieres online on October 7 alongside the broadcast premiere of season 10 of Dragons’ Den.
Harley is an entrepreneur, lawyer, and the Chief Platform Officer (CPO) at Shopify. He started his first company when he was 17 and has been building startups ever since. Harley completed his law degree as well as his MBA at the University of Ottawa, where he co-founded the JD/MBA Student Society and the Canadian MBA Oath. Harley serves as a mentor and advisor to a number of accelerators of startup organizations, including FounderFuel, ExtremeStartups, InvestOttawa & CIPPIC.
- Category: Latest News
Cheryl McWatters, the Father Edgar Thivierge Chair in Business History, received the Journal of Operations Management’s Associate Editor Service Award for outstanding service from 2010-2014. McWatters, in addition to serving as associate editor of the JOM, is Editor of the Accounting History Review and Associate Editor of Accounting Perspectives.
An award-winning author and editor, Professor McWatters has published widely in accounting, operations management, and accounting and management history. Her most recent publication, with Jerold Zimmerman, Management Accounting in a Dynamic Environment (Routledge), will be published in October.
- Category: Latest News
Caitlin Champion, candidate in the M.Sc. Health Systems Program, was awarded a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship. Her thesis research will apply systems analysis to understand the health system interrelationships impacting colorectal cancer screening access in the NWT. A primary aim of the study is to build a foundation for future health system modeling to guide cost effective colorectal cancer screening initiatives with the goal of optimizing access to care.
Caitlin Champion completed a BSc (Honours) in Environmental Science from Acadia University and her MD at the University of Toronto in 2012. She is currently a resident physician in General Surgery at the University of Ottawa, and is pursuing graduate studies though the General Surgery Surgeon Scientist Program (SSP) and University of Ottawa Clinician Investigator Program (CIP).
- Category: Latest News
Dean François Julien and Doug Dempster, Executive Director of the Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership, are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ingrid Richter PhD as Executive in Residence at the Centre.
The Centre for Executive Leadership is part of the Telfer School of Management and is focused on delivering innovative executive development programming for our clients. Our clients consist of organizations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in the National Capital Region, across the country and internationally.
Dr. Richter is highly respected for her work in the design and facilitation of leadership development, complex change and organization transformation programs for a diverse spectrum of client organizations and their senior leaders. Over the past 18 months Ingrid has been serving as Academic Director and as lead consultant on several of Telfer’s customized leadership programs for our flagship clients across Canada. In this capacity, she has demonstrated an inter-disciplinary approach and a keen focus on creating high-quality learning experiences that are designed to serve the diverse needs of individual learners and their organizations.
Ingrid brings 30 years of experience as a management consultant and part-time academic, working in a variety of contexts. Her background includes serving as an executive in the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services as well as the Ministry of the Solicitor General. She also served as a Senior Fellow with the Canada School of Public Service (International Programs). In the last 10 years Ingrid has designed and delivered in-depth, large-scale (multi-country) programs involving over 600 senior public and non-profit sector leaders from across Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
Ingrid is also a leading organizational development professional. As the co-founder of the Canadian Organization Development Institute, she helped establish a first peer review and accreditation process for organization development professionals in Canada. She has also designed and taught programs at the post-graduate level in leadership, social innovation and organization development for Royal Roads University, the University of Toronto and Waterloo University.
Ingrid received a PhD in Management Learning from Lancaster University in the UK. She also holds a Masters in Workplace Learning from the University of Toronto and a BA in Psychology from McGill University.
- Category: Rising Stars
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation is an exciting and integrative learning opportunity for BCom students as part of their 4th year Strategic Management class and MBA students.
From July 24 – 26, 2015, there were teams from the BCom program as well as the MBA program participated in this simulation at the Telfer School of Management’s Desmarais Building.
Congratulations to members of the winning BCom team:
- Charley Wang
- Chuqiao Liu
- Hareesh Watson
- Jun Wang
- Naima Toqeer Israr
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation has been a component of the 4th year strategy course for close to 20 years. It aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world known as Intopia. The simulation allows students to practice their skills in a concentrated amount of time where they can get immediate feedback on their decisions.
This capstone activity has recently been renamed to recognize CPA Ontario’s comprehensive contribution of $370,000 to the Telfer School to support students, teaching and research.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Professor Silvia Bonaccio is the new Chair of the executive committee of the Canadian Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology (CSIOP). The Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology is an official section of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). Members consist of faculty from both Psychology departments and Business schools, consultants from various organizations, and students from numerous universities.
Professor Bonaccio earned a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Purdue University. She also holds a M.Sc. from Concordia University's John Molson School of Business and a B.A. in Psychology from McGill University. Professor Bonaccio is an expert on advice giving and taking during decision-making. Her research focuses on the factors that promote positive advising interactions, such as characteristics of advisors, decision-makers, and the framing of advice. She also studies the consequences of taking (or not taking) advice. Her other research interests lie in the investigation of individual differences commonly used in employee selection. She is specifically interested in whether and, if so, how non-cognitive individual differences (e.g., personality, test anxiety, emotions) influence the assessment process and outcomes. She has previously served as the Organizational Behaviour Division Chair, Program Chair and Academic Reviewer for the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada.
- Category: Rising Stars
Vikas Gill is not only a third year BCom Finance student, he is also a member of the Gee-Gees varsity men’s basketball team. Vikas is part of an elite group of only 300 varsity student-athletes on the uOttawa campus, and of only 34 studying at the Telfer School.
Even though Vikas was recruited by the Gee-Gees to play basketball, he first chose to study at uOttawa because of the Telfer School’s reputation. “ I’m from Ottawa and wanted to stay in the region and the more research I did, the more I saw how many great things Telfer has to offer. Choosing to study here was an easy choice for me, and lucky for me, it also allowed me to keep pursuing my passion for basketball.”
Being a student-athlete and having to juggle a full course load along with the demands of playing a varsity sport does not leave much time for Vikas for much else. When he does find himself with a spare moment, this self-proclaimed “nerd” enjoys analytics. “I like to look at sports statistics and draw comparisons. Statistics are more than just numbers, they really do tell a story and I love discussing it.”
Vikas has grown especially fond of the BCom program over the last year now that the class sizes are smaller. As a result, he has been able to forge close friendships with some of his classmates and professors. “My favourite class to date is the Business Decision Models (BDM) class. The way the professor presented the course content really left a lasting impression with me. He did not leave anything to assumption or chance, including simple things like doing additions in Excel. That is a style of teaching that I really appreciate and respect.”
For Gill, what he loves most about the Telfer School is the genuine interest that his professors show for him as a person both in the classroom and on the court. “It’s very humbling for my Profs to recognize my contribution to the University beyond the classroom. They have been extremely understanding of the reality of the being a student-athlete and by being so accommodating on the academic side, they’ve allowed me to excel athletically as well.”
What matters most to Vikas is to give back to his community and he does so by volunteering in inner-city schools and by motivating youth to stay in school and follow their passion. For Vikas, uOttawa has allowed him to do just that – study in a program that he is passionate about and play a sport he loves. “Even though uOttawa and the Telfer School may seem big, I would tell any prospective student not to be intimidated. There is a great sense of community here at Telfer. The Profs and students are great and there’s a wide variety of clubs and associations to peek everyone’s interest. My advice would be to get involved and take advantage of your journey here.”
Vikas has done just that during his three years at uOttawa, having been part of the three highest ever finishes in the history of the 94 year old Gee-Gees men’s basketball program.
In five years from now, Vikas plans to have a Telfer degree in hand working either in investment banking, or perhaps working for a sports entertainment group in a finance position.
- Category: Rising Stars
Kathleen has positively impacted the community in many ways through her entrepreneurial endeavours and is a testament to leadership and passion. Among these endeavours is her involvement as President of Enactus uOttawa, a social enterprise project focused on creating businesses revolving around the community's most pressing problems and her volunteer initiatives regarding mental health. She began her work in the community by starting a project aimed to empower at-risk youth, and help integrate them into a high school setting. Kathleen then ran a Nationally recognized non-profit organization called the Mental Health Project, which was designed to provide youth with the resources to access mental health care in their communities. In her role as President of Enactus uOttawa, she has contributed over 2,000 volunteer hours, empowered over 1,000 people, helped divert over 6,000 pounds of waste from landfills, and has helped raise over $90,000 in funding. Kathleen has grown and started several projects that work with at-risk youth, high school entrepreneurs, the homeless, marginalized immigrant women and individuals with mental illness. Her social enterprises include; EcoEquitable boutique, a fashion boutique that sells women's accessories made from repurposed fabric, which diverts harmful textile waste from landfills, and employs women, and CigBins a business that collects and recycles cigarette butts while providing meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with mental illness. Kathleen has secured multiple customers for CigBins and is projected to have over $100,000 in revenues in 2015, provide at least 5 jobs for individuals with mental illness and recycle hundreds of thousands of cigarette butt waste collected from city streets. Kathleen is a true leader and continues to inspire other young people around her to utilize their skills to have a social impact in the community.
Read the full article [This link is no longer available]
- Category: Rising Stars
Throughout the weekend, we welcomed a new cohort of Telfer alumni and hosted two main events around convocation. Students first gathered at the New Graduate Reception to listen to inspiring keynote speeches from Ian Telfer, who also received his honorary doctorate this week, and Harley Finkelstein from Shopify.
After convocation, we welcomed some of our best students for our post-convocation award ceremony. Congratulations to:
Dominic Antonio Franchi (University Gold Medal, KPMG Award for Excellence, Highest Achievement in Accounting)
Jivan Maharaj (University Silver Medal, Highest Achievement in Finance)
Daniela Angarita (David Litvack Memorial Prize, Highest Achievement in Marketing)
Brendon David Campbell (Highest Achievement in Management Information Systems)
Maude Normand (Highest Achievement in Human Resource)
Angela Karr (Highest Achievement in International Management)
Adam Lyle Rouleau (Highest Achievement in e-Business)
Rally Stanovea (Highest Achievement in Entrepreneurship)
Linda Mouhamou (Alterna Social Responsibility Leadership Award)
Gabrielle Rochon-Sabourin (Highest Achievement in Management)
Rémi Nicolas Kévin Gregoire (Christian Navarre Strategic Management Award)
Renée Leduc (Christian Navarre Project Management Award)
Photo: Dominic Antonio Franchi, Dean François Julien
- Category: Rising Stars
Kathleen Kemp and Ajmal Sataar have a nose for business and their heart set on making a difference in their community. Since 2013, the fourth-year students have combined studies in management and finance at the Telfer School of Management with running a business called CigBins, a cigarette butt collection and recycling service.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Pouya Safi was recently recognized for his excellent work at the Telfer School of Management. He was awarded an award for service excellence by Allan Rock.
Pouya has played a vital role in supporting the Financial Research and Learning Lab (FRLL) since its inception. He has collaborated with various professors to better integrate the new resources and tools available in the lab in finance classes. His efforts have greatly enhanced the learning experience of more than 800 finance students. On top of his duties, he acts as a judge for student competitions and helped create a student investment fund.
Read a full article in the Gazette about this year’s winners.
- Category: Rising Stars
This blog post was submitted by Linda Mouhamou, BCom student.
Leave everything you know about conferences at the door, including a dress code, because when it comes to C2 Montreal’s international conference you can certainly expect them to defy the conventional. Imagined by the Sid Lee creative agency and founding Partner Cirque du Soleil, C2 brings a sensational avant-garde approach connecting intellect with immersive experiences through the dynamic interaction of commerce and creativity.
From May 26 to 28, I was able to represent the Telfer School of Management as one of 100 student delegates from across Canada at this prestigious event. My stimulating experience commenced as I was greeted by a large artistic display of hanging doors that guided me into the contemporary “Innovation Village”, a completely transformed industrial warehouse. C2 exclusively created a mesmerizing venue to ooh and ahh the crowd of ambitious visitors. There were clothing boutiques, exhibits fusing art and technology, activities, scrumptious and artsy food displays, creative seating arrangements, and of course, the always impressive C2 Labs. The labs were out-of-the-box workshops that used virtual reality, a gigantic nest, a fog-filled igloo, and chairs suspended over an 5 meter high net. But it didn’t end there. Making my way outdoors, the circus-like decorum, complete with a Ferris wheel and ship container booths for VIP sponsors instantly made you feel like a big kid. This made it the perfect location for the evening social networking, performances, and the massive final celebration.
All the activities, including over 37 keynote speakers and 30 workshops, were devised around this year’s central theme: choices. Each day conversations took place around food, health, and energy by examining how innovation, social entrepreneurship, investment and technology are shaping our future as a society. The key takeaway of the conference seemed to be the importance of instrumenting projects by building eclectic teams, from strategists to musicians, creatively driving change.
On day one, it quickly became evident that despite setting the bar very high, this year’s C2 had missed the mark in terms of instilling inspiration and delivering valuable content. Nevertheless, being surrounded by 5,000 executive attendees representing 42 countries was enough to give me an adrenaline rush. I wanted to meet everyone! Thus, the biggest lesson that I learned was how rewarding it can be to adapt and turn unfavorable situations into even bigger opportunities. ‘What matters’ to me, as the new Telfer brand goes, is personal development and expanding my network. So, I quickly turned my disappointment around in time for day two by re-strategizing and re-focusing my energy on drawing inspiration and content from dating – ‘brain-dating’ that is. ‘Brain-dating’, the buzzword of the conference, is like your typical online matchmaking tool designed to connect people together to share their life experiences, with one key difference: it’s done platonically.
Now, I should note that I was attending this conference alone, an intimidating feat even for an outgoing person. But it presented a clear benefit: I would be pushed to approach more people, and I could do so at my preferred pace. First, I did my homework. I spent hours every day searching through the participant profile database to find my ideal matches, get to know more about them, discover where sponsors were located, and which attendees were attending what workshops. The next step was reaching out to people I wished to meet. I either requested a ‘brain-date’ on the C2 portal, via social media or I simply approached the keynote speakers at the end of their presentations. Finally, it was time to have fun networking! I had the chance to ‘brain-date’ the CMO of Deloitte Canada in the VIP container, the President of Sid Lee Toronto, the Innovation Leader at PwC, and the Senior Insight/Strategy/Innovation Director at Marriot International.
Although I had the privilege of meeting with these high profiled individuals, I made a point to value each attendee, from students to strategists, equally. Everyone has something to offer, be it as a new friend, business contact, or an opportunity to be exposed to that person’s network. Leaving my resume at home gave me the power to expose my vulnerabilities while paradoxically demonstrating my know-how to these truly fascinating human beings. This resulted in genuine open-minded conversations about career and life paths, and facilitated the exchange of ideas, insight and knowledge.
Post-conference, I find myself with potential business partners for my consulting work, mentors, “ins” in my job pursuit, more ‘brain-dates’ and opportunities waiting to happen. I entered C2 Montreal expecting to have my mind blown with its grandiose approach, but at the end of the day, it was the conversations I shared through networking that evoked the powerful effect. This conference proved to be exceptionally invaluable for ‘what matters to me’. I can’t wait to return next year as a volunteer!
N.B. Presale tickets are on sale for 50% until September 30, 2015. Next year, Martha Stewart and Dr. David Suzuki have already been confirmed as keynotes.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
On October 17, 2015, we will recognize five remarkable alumni at our 2015 Gala of Excellence. Our alumni make outstanding contributions to the world of business, the community and their alma mater. Each year we celebrate these contributions and create valuable connections with our alumni, their business associates, family and friends. The Trudeau Medals, the Young Achiever's Award and the Dean's Philos Award will be presented at the Shaw Centre.
The selection committee for the Trudeau Medals and the Young Achiever’s Award is comprised of representatives from the Telfer Alumni Association and the MBA, Executive MBA and MHA alumni chapters. The recipient of the Dean’s Philos Award is selected by the Dean.
Trudeau Medals
Established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, OMI, former director of the University's Commerce department from 1950 to 1965, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour that we give to our alumni. It recognizes leadership, initiative and contributions to the business world, the community and their alma mater. This year's recipients are:
Greg Fougère, MHA 1987
Anne-Marie Hubert, BAdm 1984
Jean Laurin, BAdm 1980, BCom 1981
The Young Achiever's Award
The Young Achiever's award was created to honour the individuals (under 40) who have been able to achieve greatness in their lives within an exceptional period of time. This year's recipient is:
Greg Matthews, EMBA 2012
The Dean's Philos Award
The Dean’s Philos Award recognized individuals who have demonstrated outstanding philanthropic achievement and social commitment. This award was established in 2004 on our 35th Anniversary. This year's recipient is:
Geneviève Bonin, MBA 1996
- Category: Donations / Fundraising
The University of Ottawa is proud to announce that Ian Telfer has committed a $2 million planned gift to the School of Management that bears his name. In 2007, Mr. Telfer contributed $25 million to the University, the largest private naming gift ever made to a Canadian business school.
“Making a planned gift is something all alumni can do to help future generations of students,” stated Ian Telfer. “Being a donor is very rewarding and it really keeps you connected to your alma mater.”
François Julien, Dean of the Telfer School of Management, stated: “At the Telfer School, we strive to create relevant management knowledge and develop influential leaders who transform lives, organizations and communities. His future contribution will help us to maintain strong connections with businesses and the community in order to continuously enhance our programs.”
Mr. Telfer also became a member of the University of Ottawa’s “Defy the Conventional” Campaign Cabinet. This campaign, the largest fundraising effort in the university’s history, has set a lofty goal of raising $400 million, which will enable the University to continue its unparalleled teaching and research activities.
“Ian Telfer understands the positive and transformative impact of philanthropy,” said Allan Rock, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa. “His ongoing support for our university is demonstrative of his generosity and a desire to help his alma mater continue to advance as a competitive research university that offers students the best quality learning environment possible.”
More information on planned giving
About Ian Telfer
Ian Telfer has served as Chairman of the Board of Goldcorp since November 2006, and President and Chief Executive Officer of its predecessor, Wheaton River Minerals Ltd., since 2001. He also served as Chairman of the World Gold Council from 2009 to 2013.
Mr. Telfer has over 30 years of experience in the precious metals business. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and has served as a director and officer of several Canadian and international companies. He graduated from the University of Ottawa with an MBA in 1976.
He has received numerous awards including being named Ernst & Young’s Western Canada Entrepreneur of the year in 2007 and being elected to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2015.
- Category: Latest News
On May 9, 2015 candidates from the Class of 2016 travelled to Silicon Valley as a part of Telfer Executive MBA's Innovation and Entrpreneurship Trip and Consulting Project.
Over the duration of the week, the teams of candidates will finalize their findings and will submit their final recommendations to their San Jose-based start-up client. The objective of the report is to address a business problem as well as to understand the challenges and opportunities of doing business in a highly innovative environment.
In addition, candidates will also visit several of the world's leading technology companies, attend private executive briefings with senior Silicon Valley leaders and see first-hand previews of the future technology and innovation. Technology companies on the agenda for this year include IBM, AVAYA Inc., Stanford University, Rocketspace, Google, Aruba Networks, and US Market Access Centre.
Teams will be contributing to a daily blog which will be featured on the Telfer Executive MBA webpage as well as the Ottawa Business Journal.
Anticipation for the trip
Published on Monday, May 14, 2015 by Salim Charabati, Telfer Executive MBA candidate
The return of Silicon Valley North?
Published on Tuesday, May 15, 2015 by Deepali Bhatt, Telfer Executive MBA candidate
Lessons learned on day one
Published on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 by Taylor Bildstein, Telfer Executive MBA candidate
Touring IBM and more
Published on Thursday, May 21, 2015 by Mathieu Leduc, Telfer Executive MBA candidate
- Category: Rising Stars
globalnews.ca
Enactus National Competition Winner
The University of Ottawa has been named the 2015 Enactus National Champion by this country’s largest student leadership development organization, Enactus Canada, and a 72 person judging panel comprised of top Canadian CEOs, for their ability to enable social, environmental and economic progress through entrepreneurial action.
The team from the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management took home the Tim Hortons Cup in recognition of the impact made at home and abroad through a variety of projects, one of which is providing meaningful job opportunities to individuals with a mental illness.
The winning team included:
- Kathleen Kemp
- Ajmal Sataar
- Sam Thumm
- Hannah Behzadi
- Sayem Reza
- Timmy Guo
“Winning Nationals has been the most amazing ending to my university career. It’s surreal to see that the work that our team has accomplished over the past few years has made such an impact that we’ve been crowned the National champion” said Kathleen Kemp.
“Championing and empowering young people is as important to Tim Hortons as it is with our Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, which shares so many key values with Enactus,” said David Clanachan, President and Chief Operating Officer, Tim Hortons Canada. “Tim Hortons is proud to support Enactus and the entrepreneurial spirits of the young Canadians participating in this competition. We wish them continued success as they make a true difference in their own lives and in that of their communities.”
Enactus University of Ottawa stood victorious with their project CigBins, a cigarette butt and recycling service that has diverted 100,000+ cigarette butts off city streets and generated $73,200 in revenue.
“The Enactus team from the University of Ottawa greatly improved the quality of life for individuals by creating and implementing innovative and forward-thinking community projects,” said Nicole Almond, Enactus Canada president. “We are eager to see Enactus University of Ottawa compete and represent Canada at the Enactus World Cup.”
The National Champion team took home the Tim Hortons Cup and now advances to represent Canada at the Enactus World Cup taking place in South Africa in the fall of this year.
More than 1,200 delegates including the country’s brightest university and college students, academic professionals and top business leaders witnessed the crowning of the National Champion at the 2015 Enactus Canada National Exposition held in Toronto.
In addition, the financial Literacy team placed 3rd in their category. Congratulations to:
- Mieka Loepp
- Wendy Liang
- Faraz Malik
About Enactus Canada
Enactus Canada, this country’s largest student leadership development organization, is shaping generations of entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 2,400 entrepreneurial postsecondary students led 250 community empowerment projects and business ventures this past year in communities coast to coast. As a global network of 36 countries, Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. For more information, visit enactus.ca.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Entrepreneurship Foundry is a new Telfer-led initiative that brings together collaborators from across campus to build, manage and deliver a semester-long, for-credit course that sees undergraduate participants apply for entry in order to start a venture over 13 weeks.
The Entrepreneurship Foundry Course will focus on helping students move beyond the discovery and planning stages of starting a company to the possible launch of an actual venture in a structured, for-credit learning environment.
"The course is open to all Faculties" said Stephen Daze, Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence. Basically, "students will have the option to either pitch an idea and build a team around their concept or enter the course simply willing to contribute as a team member to another business concept".
An interview and acceptance process will ensure only those most committed to real entrepreneurship will be accepted.
The course will run this fall on Mondays from 7-10 p.m. and space is limited to 25 students.
- Category: Latest News
Rachel Ozer was named among six of Canada’s top emerging health-care professionals and awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Award.
Rachel recently completed her Master of Health Administration at the University of Ottawa including a residency project at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. She is currently the Community and Long Term Care Coordinator for the Champlain Regional Stroke Network. The purpose of this position is to improve the process of recovery for stroke survivors through outpatient rehabilitation and community services. She was previously employed as a project manager at the Almonte General Hospital, working on accreditation preparation, patient safety and an electronic learning system for the CASH group of small hospitals. Rachel completed two research projects during her M.H.A. studies. Working with the Centre for Business Analytics and Performance at UOttawa, the projects focused on utilization and service optimization in the Community Diabetes Education Program of Ottawa and at a rural hospital. The latter project is described in the Journal for Healthcare Quality. Rachel is trained as a biochemist and holds a Ph.D. from the Scripps Research Institute and a B.A. in Chemistry from Harvard University. She began working in pharmaceutical manufacturing and continuous improvement at Bristol Myers Squibb Company in 2004.
Since its inception in 1956, the award has been presented to more than 280 Canadian health-care professionals and is offered in partnership with six leading Canadian universities which offer a Masters program in Health Care Administration, including: the University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, University of Toronto, University of Ottawa, Université de Montréal, and Dalhousie University.
- Category: Latest News
Once a year, the Ottawa Business Journal nominates professionals for their business achievements to be in their Forty Under 40 list.
Among this years’ recipients, eleven are University of Ottawa’s alumni from which three studied at the Telfer School of Management. For this achievement, we would like to congratulate:
- Gyneya Dicks, BCom 2000
- Charles-Antoine Rozon, BCom 2002
- Stephan May, EMBA 2013
We would also like to congratulate Ian Capstick, Ian M. Charlebois, Michael Crichton, Neil Kennelly, Paul Lem, Aydin Mirzaee, John-Philippe Smith and Martin St-Onge, who all graduated from the University of Ottawa.
This year's Forty Under 40 awards gala will take place at the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel on June 18, 2015. The event will feature cocktails, fine food, music and dancing and is in part sponsored by the Telfer Executive MBA.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Construction has already started in the Financial and Learning Lab located on the 2nd floor of the Desmarais Building. When the expansion is complete, the lab will be a state-of-the-art facility, better equipped to meet the increasing demands for its learning, research, and teaching resources. The expanded lab will be about three times the size of the original, contain seating for 64 students in the main room, with additional capacity for 10 students in two enclosed private-study rooms. This new space will allow for full classes to be taught in the lab.
From May 1st, Bloomberg terminals will be accessible in DMS 2130 until the construction is over.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
On April 24, three alumni from the Faculty of Business Administration at Université Laval were honoured for their exceptional careers at the 37th Edition of the Hermès Awards in Quebec City.
Gilles LeVasseur, part-time professor at the Telfer School of Management, is one of the laureates.
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- Category: Rising Stars
All students in ADM 4350 (Equity Valuation) took part in a case competition where they had to estimate the value of a real-life company and propose a course of action that the company should take to solve its problems. This term, the mandate was to analyse the valuation of TMX Group limited.
We would like to congratulate:
First place winners (Tie):
Group 1:
- Stephanie Boucher
- Alexa Lebel
- Bruno Levesque
Group 2:
- Cassy Aite
- Daniel Julien
Third prize:
- Ramy Saikaly
- George Andre Skaff
- Mikolaj Adam Kurman
Best poster Award:
- Sepideh Ghorbani
- Aryan Habib
- Justin Mancni
Creativity Award:
- Justin Au
- Graeme Eastwood
We would like to thank all judges: Ray Yuen, Bryan Lunch, Stephen Kavanagh, Carly Shier, Pouya Safi, François-Éric Raciot, Allan Riding, and Michael Reynolds.
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- Category: Rising Stars
A total of 79 students divided in groups were responsible for analyzing a case involving a real-life local or Canadian company and report on accounting issues being faced by the subject company. The best groups had to present on April 14th in a competition. The winners received the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA) Case Competition prize for Case Studies in Accounting.
We would like to congratulate the winners:
First Place:
- Amanda Dai
- Saqib Mehmood
- Jordan Pronko
- Connor Snider
- Mohamed Hassan Youssouf
Second Place:
- Idiris Guudle Aden
- Erin Akerley
- Nicholas Chretien
- Elaheh Heidari-Garmesh
- Julianne Selci
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to Professor Sheldon Weatherstone, Peter Brennae, Jessica Zhang, Sylvain Durocher, Debbie Rofner and Robert Collier for being judges.
- Category: Rising Stars
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation is an exciting and integrative learning opportunity for BCom students as part of their 4th year Strategic Management class.
From March 20 to 22, there were 51 teams that participated in this simulation at the Telfer School of Management’s Desmarais Building.
Congratulations to members of the winning team:
- Daniel Julien
- Emma Radloff
- Julien Kang
- Zach Allen
- Danika Chilibeck
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation has been a component of the 4th year strategy course for close to 20 years. It aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world known as Intopia. The simulation allows students to practice their skills in a concentrated amount of time where they can get immediate feedback on their decisions.
This capstone activity has recently been renamed to recognize CPA Ontario’s comprehensive contribution of $370,000 to the Telfer School to support students, teaching and research.
- Category: Latest News
Highlighting outstanding alumni
Get to know the six recipients of the 2015 Alumni Association Awards of Excellence.
Whether it’s the wood-panelled walls of the Supreme Court, the hushed sounds of a piano studio, or the buzz of a hospital or a CEO’s office, the six recipients of the 2015 Alumni Association Awards of Excellence come from very different worlds.
Nevertheless, what they have in common is remarkable achievements and strong ties to the University of Ottawa, along with determination, daring, a taste for pushing limits and the desire to make things better, qualities that are part of the DNA — and highlighted in the new brand — of their alma mater.
- Category: Latest News
Graduating students, this is your chance to have lunch with Mr. Ian Telfer!
Mr. Telfer has invited all of you to take part in a #telfieselfie contest. Take a picture on campus with something that represents Telfer. Mr. Telfer will choose his 5 favorite entries and invite you to have lunch with him on June 13, 2015. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2015.
For your photo to count, please use the following hashtag, and make sure to tag our account (on Twitter or Instagram) #telfieselfie @telfer_uOttawa.
This contest is open to all graduating students at the Telfer School of Management.
- Category: Rising Stars
Throughout its 30 editions, the Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition has played a key role in bringing students closer to the business community by working on a real business case presented by a sponsoring organization. It was originally introduced by the late professor and Associate Dean, Michel Cloutier, in 1986. The competition was renamed in his honour in 1991.
This year, the sponsor of the competition was Canadian Heritage. It challenged students to fuse a variety of communications tools into a cohesive pan-Canadian strategy to engage youth in the 150thAnniversary of Confederation.
The judges enjoyed all three presentations and think they will use elements from each of them when Canadian Heritage develops the actual communications strategy for the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Congratulations to team #2:
- Swanie Desjardins
- Fannie Jo Lehoux Duval
- Rachel Lagacé
- Emilie Mueller
- Antoine Bégin
Antoine Bégin was also recognized as the best presenter of the evening and received a cash prize from the Marc Roy Fund.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Nominations are welcome for students who demonstrate outstanding Social Responsibility Leadership. This award is open to BCom students who will be returning to complete their 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of study as a full-time student.
The prize consists of $2,000 towards the recipient’s tuition fees.
Social responsibility projects undertaken by nominees do not have to be associated with the Telfer School of Management and can be pursued at large in the community. Nominations can come from staff, faculty, alumni and members of the business and local community. Nominations can be made by completing the Nomination form and sending it via email to Susan Redmond at
Nominations are due May 15, 2015. The selection committee will make a choice by May 28. The award will be presented at the Telfer School of Management Post-Convocation Awards Lunch on June 14, 2015.
Click here to download a copy of the nomination form.
- Category: Latest News
Happening Marketing is the most important marketing competition in Eastern Canada; more than 10 universities are represented by more than 500 students. The 23rd edition of Happening Marketing took place at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières on March 20-22, 2015. This competition includes several components: academic, athletic, social and participation.
Our students took home two trophies, as well as a special award.
Integrated Communication Marketing (1st place): Kristen Ingham, Kseniya Stogniy and Sara Valentino
Coach: Professor Michael Guolla
Surprise Case (3rd place): Richard Laberge, Diana Kolesarova and Adam Young
The Executive Committee would like to thank all the sponsors, coaches and volunteers that contributed to the delegation’s success at Happening Marketing 2015.
- Category: Rising Stars
Management student Barbara D. Robertson distinguished herself in many ways during her fall 2014 placement at Elections Canada. In addition to her outstanding academic record, Barbara far surpassed expectations during her placement, particularly through her strong sense of initiative. She showed her ingenuity by developing her own tool to let everyone know their roles and responsibilities when timelines overlap, making practical use of her management skills.
Barbara’s tool is still used as a template by her team and other senior department managers. She also takes part in extracurricular activities, holding various positions and helping to promote her faculty, while maintaining an outstanding grade point average.
Throughout her BCom, Barbara was very involved at Telfer and joined several clubs. In addition to her involvement in the Telfer Marketing Association, she was president for CASCO in 2014 and won first place in Business and Strategy at JDC the same year.
- Category: Donations / Fundraising
We are proud to announce that the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa is the recipient of a principal gift of $1.5 million from alumnus Camille Villeneuve. His new support includes $350,000 towards the Camille Villeneuve Fund for Entrepreneurship, $150,000 towards the existing Camille Villeneuve Student Activity Fund and a one million dollar bequest that will be allocated to the Dean's Strategic Priorities Fund.
"We are profoundly thankful to Mr. Villeneuve for his generous gift," stated Allan Rock, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa. "This investment will help to enhance one of our strategic priorities - the student experience - by providing Telfer students with the means to make a difference in our community and beyond."
The Camille Villeneuve Fund for Entrepreneurship will grow existing and new programs, providing students with enterprise start-up support and linking them to entrepreneurs through competitions, workshops, speaker series and sharing of best practice.
The Camille Villeneuve Student Activity Fund offers financial support to student delegations representing the university as they attend or host events, including case-competition teams, academic conferences, seminars and workshops.
"These funds allow us to connect students with what matters to them while they learn alongside leaders, executives and entrepreneurs as brilliant as they are inspiring" said Dean François Julien. "We are delighted to name our multi-purpose event room (DMS 4101 in the Desmarais Building) the Camille Villeneuve Room in recognition of his loyal, lifelong giving to the Telfer School. His success as a local entrepreneur who is known for his integrity can serve as an inspiration to our students."
“I started university with a firm belief that I would succeed in business,” said Villeneuve, a 1967 uOttawa management graduate. “And as far as that goes, I can say without hesitation that the University of Ottawa gave me the theoretical knowledge needed to succeed, but that it also enabled me to build a network of contacts that was decisive throughout my more than 40 year career. That’s why it seemed completely natural for me to reaffirm my sense of belonging to the Telfer School of Management as a donor, in support of its pursuit of excellence.”
Mr. Villeneuve's donation will support the Telfer School's Entrepreneurship initiatives. "We are committed to helping students succeed" said Stephen Daze, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School. "For many, success will be starting a new venture or contributing to one as co-founder or team member. We provide the tools and resources students need to learn, network and build their innovation and entrepreneurship skills."
This new pledge brings Mr. Villeneuve's lifetime giving to the School to nearly $1.85 million. While he has given back to Telfer students through his philanthropic support as well as his membership on the Dean's Advisory Board from 2005-2011, his contributions extend beyond uOttawa. His leadership and commitment to the environment earned LEED platinum certification on a 2014 Multivesco construction project.
Alumni and friends who choose to make a planned gift in addition to giving during their lifetime can leave their legacy at the Telfer School by allowing it to respond to emerging needs today and tomorrow. University budgets are tightly restricted and gifts offer deans a degree of flexibility that would not otherwise be possible.
“Making a planned gift is a way to ensure that future students will succeed” adds Mr. Villeneuve.
Mr. Villeneuve is one of many alumni who continue to stay connected with and give back to the Telfer School of Management to support students and the overall objectives of the school.
About Camille Villeneuve (BCom 1967, DU 1996)
Camille Villeneuve, president of Multivesco, is a proud Telfer School of Management alumnus and an Outaouais entrepreneur whose success in the business world can serve as an inspiration to Telfer students. He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1967 and was award an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 1996.
Over more than 40 years, he has developed numerous real estate projects locally and in the U.S. His values of perseverance, patience, respect and integrity have driven his relationships with clients and employees alike.
- Category: Latest News
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This country’s largest student leadership development organization, Enactus Canada, hosted their 2015 Regional Exposition – Central Canada in Mississauga on March 8 and 9, 2015. The event inspired and celebrated the entrepreneurial action of student teams and student entrepreneurs across Central Canada who are sparking change in communities across Canada and beyond.
The Regional Exposition brings together over 500 student leaders, academic professionals and top executives and entrepreneurs from Central Canada around the shared cause of transforming lives through entrepreneurial action.
During the event, post-secondary students competed for prestigious regional championship titles by showcasing their community outreach projects and business ventures to judging panels composed of business professionals.
Three team-based competitions focused on entrepreneurship, environmental issues and financial education, as well as an individual-based competition for full-time students operating full-time businesses, took place during the Regional Exposition. Combined, this showcased the hard work of student leaders across the Central Canada region.
The entrepreneurship team consisting of Sam Thumm, Hannah Behzadi and Dhriv Gupta placed first in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge. The financial literacy team of Corey Ellis, Wendy Liang and Faraz Malik placed first in the Capital One Financial Education Challenge. Finally, Rohin Sondhi, Tanveer Moustafa and Alida Burke, on the environment team were the first-runner up for the ScotiaBank EcoLiving Green Challenge.
Regional champions move on to the national level of competition taking place May 11-13 at the 2015 Enactus Canada National Exposition in Toronto, Ontario, in addition to the four presenters who will represent the team as they strive for the Tim Hortons Cup and National Champion title.
To learn more about Enactus uOttawa’s community projects, visit www.enactusuottawa.ca
- Category: Latest News
Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle, Washington that brings people together for weekend-long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.
An exclusive edition of Startup Weekend was held at uOttawa from held February 27 to March 1, 2015. The event was geared for current uOttawa students and recent graduates. The objective was to connect students across all faculties to encourage and promote entrepreneurship regardless of discipline of study.
Telfer BCom student Liora Raitblat blogged about her experience at Startup Weekend for the uOttawa Gazette, read her blog post: A 54-hour marathon for aspiring entrepreneurs [This link is no longer available].
The Telfer School’s commitment to Entrepreneurship
We are committed to helping students succeed. For many, success will be starting a new venture or contributing to one as co-founder or team member. We provide the tools and resources you’ll need to learn, network and build your innovation and entrepreneurship skills. In addition to hosting Startup Weekend uOttawa, here are some of the other initiatives that are available:
Entrepreneurship Bridges Speaker Series – Co-hosted with the Faculty of Engineering, this 5-part annual speaker series is targeted at students looking to or considering entrepreneurship. The speaker series features local young entrepreneurs who tell their start-up stories and act as a source of inspiration, education and mentoring. The series is also the home for other entrepreneurship-related announcements and competitions such as the final pitches in the Entrepreneurs' Club Elevator Pitch Contest. The series averages 150 students per session and includes the formal talk or panel, as well as networking and refreshments.
Entrepreneurship Foundry Course - The Entrepreneurship Foundry is a new Telfer-led initiative that brings together collaborators from across campus to build, manage and deliver a semester-long, for-credit course that sees participants apply for entry in order to start a venture over 13 weeks. Working in multi-disciplinary teams, students will learn from experts in lecture and workshop environments and complete evaluated work leading to the start of their new venture. It is anticipated that the course will see 25 students in the first session scheduled for Fall 2015.
Start-up Tools Workshops - The 4-part workshop series is designed to teach students the tools and resources available for start-ups. Each session focuses on a specific theme and students and external resources are relied upon for content within the curated environment. Themes include: Tools of Validation; Web Design; Marketing and Analytics; and Software and Productivity. Each session is attended by approximately 25 students.
Telfer Business Traction Competition - This new business competition is a new take on traditional business plan competitions. It's open to full-time undergraduate students at the Telfer School of Management and/or teams comprised of at least 50% Telfer students. It is not about ideas and proposed business plans, it’s about traction. Contestants will demonstrate the achievement of real milestones towards starting, or validating their business ideas as well as realistic goals moving forward. Applicants can be at any stage of their business idea but must be able to demonstrate real milestones completed and future goals. External judges will determine the winner based on actual work to date and planned milestones. $10,000 in prize money is available to be won.
- Category: Latest News
5 Days for The Homeless was founded as a local initiative by University of Alberta School of Business students. After running successfully for a number of years, 5Days expanded nationally in 2008 - adopted by the vast majority of business schools across the country. To date, the campaign has raised over $1,212,000 for local charitable organizations, specified by each university.
From March 8 – 13 business students nationwide will come together to forgo basic amenities for five days, living and sleeping outside, in an effort to bring attention to Canada’s homeless youth community. These brave individuals spend 5 nights sleeping outside, from Sunday March 8th at 5:00 pm to Friday March 13th at 5:00 pm. All sleepers are required to adopt the campaign for the entire 5 days as full-time sleepers, or the dates to which they will be outside as “part-time sleepers” only a few days outside as opposed to all five.
This year we are pleased to have 3 full time sleepers and 6 part-timers, the sleepers are located on the Morriset Terrace behind the library.
- Omid Barahimi, Full-time sleeper
- Steven Strahman, Full-time sleeper
- Breanna La Plante, Full-time sleeper
- Kayla Coulter, Part-time sleeper
- Sara Valentino, Part-time sleeper
- Maria Caldwell, Part-time sleeper
- Gabriel Copps, Part-time sleeper
- Kim Angèle Vallières, Part-time sleeper
- Cara Parisien, Part-time sleeper
All proceeds raised by Telfer will be donated to Operation Come Home Ottawa, a leading support centre for homeless and at-risk youth.
In an effort to raise funds in a unique and innovative way, CeTSC's campaign has introduce another fundraising initiative; “The Kindness Kits”. While all monetary donations will be passed along to Operation Come Home, we also recognize that there are students in Telfer who may not have access to basic necessities either.
This can sometimes be a challenging concept to grasp, however despite the help of grants, scholarships, and loans some of our students are swimming in debt, "coach surfing" due to the inability to pay rent or buy groceries. We believe every student should be equipped with the right tools to be successful in all aspect of their lives - with this in mind; we have created a collection of “Kindness Kits,” bags with basic necessities ranging from personal hygiene and healthy snacks to school supplies and gift cards. Qualified students will then be able to confidently request a bag as needed, no judgement passed or questions asked.
Please come out, donate and be generous!
5 Days for the Homeless Video.
- Category: Latest News
What do Queen’s, Cornell, Princeton, Columbia, Peking and the London School of Economics all have in common? These are just some of the schools who were surpassed by Telfer’s team in the 2015 Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC). Following an intense two days of competition (Feb. 20 – 21), among 50 different teams from across the globe, Telfer’s team emerged 9th. This is all the more impressive considering that the competition was largely made up of graduate-level students in finance and quantitative engineering.
This year’s team consisted of six of our highest-performing finance students: Ian Harten, Cassy Aite, Malanga Mposha, Ethan Zhang, William Tu and Daniel Shannon and coached by Pouya Safi, the Manager of the Financial Research and Learning Lab. The team was formed following their exceptional performance at the Telfer Trading Competition in October. Since then, the team had been meeting regularly to devise their strategies and practice on the RIT software. Anyone passing the Financial Research and Learning Lab was likely to have seen these team-mates preparing for the competition. This preparation only became more intense as the competition approached. By the time reading week had started, RITC team members could be found practicing round the clock. Even on the train ride down to Toronto, the team continued to fine-tune its strategies.
RITC is an annual competition that pits teams of finance, economics and mathematics students against one another in six intense competitive events.
First among them was the BP Commodities case. Here team members were assigned roles as traders, producers or refiners. The team had to work together to interpret market signals and trade various petroleum commodities and futures contracts.
The Optiver Options case, in which the team finished 9th, had the team analyze market data to trade different call options on a fictitious exchange-traded fund. Competitors devised a model that collected, interpreted and modeled this data and devised a strategy to successfully trade on this model’s data.
The Sales & Trading case, in which we finished 10th, required participants to take on the role of a trader and make rapid evaluations of liquidity risk. Throughout the case, the traders had to assess the value and risk level of dozens of tender offers and execute trades on the positions gained through these tender offers. Success was determined by the team’s ability to manage its market exposure while exploiting market-making opportunities.
The S&P Capital IQ Equity Valuation case consisted of building a discounted cash flow model for four companies. As news items were released during the competition, updates had to be incorporated in to the model. As these new data emerged, players traded all four stocks to exploit possible market mispricing.
The Algorithmic Trading cash, in which the team finished 9th , focused on the development of a trading algorithm that would analyze market data and trade on that data, all while avoiding market penalties. Requiring a tremendous amount of preparation, this case was carried out by a single team member, Ethan Zhang, sequestered in a closed room.
The most colourful competition was definitely the Quantitative Outcry Case, in which Telfer placed 2nd. This involved two team members acting as market analysts and incorporating market data in to a model of four countries’ GDP in order to price a market index. This estimate was then transmitted via silent hand signals to two other team-members working in an open-outcry trading pit. These players, dressed in bright costumes to make themselves more visible to the analysts, bought and sold based on the analysts’ instructions.
This was only the second time for Telfer to participate at the competition, and they saw a huge improvement from last years’ 40th place finish. The practice, hard work and dedication played an instrumental role. Those on the team that are not graduating are already thinking about next year’s competition. However, no one is guaranteed a returning spot, they must all earn their spot next year. The bar is set high for a top 5 finish in 2016. A special thanks also goes to the Telfer Marketing Department, SFUO and Career Centre for their help in funding the expenses of attending the competition.
- Category: Latest News
We would like to congratulate the winners:
First Place:
- Dominic Franchi
- Kelsey Leigh
- Carl Delisle
- Ailsa Leitch
- Emily Hsiung
Second Place:
- James Day
- Wen Yang
- Ying Wang
- Attia Momin
Thank you to CPA Ontario for sponsoring the event and to Professor Sheldon Weatherstone, Alex Melville, Elena Harding, Jessica Zhang, Stefka Zaharieva and Matthew Prime for being judges.
- Category: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization headquartered in Seattle, Washington that brings people together for weekend-long workshops to pitch ideas, form teams, and start companies.
An exclusive edition of Startup Weekend is coming to uOttawa and is geared for current uOttawa students and recent graduates. The objective is to connect students across all faculties to encourage and promote entrepreneurship regardless of discipline of study. We look forward to seeing the different types of innovative ideas that can come to life when students branch out and connect with those around them with different skill sets and areas of expertise.
The event will be held February 27 to march 1, 2015.
http://www.up.co/communities/canada/ottawa/startup-weekend/5406
A can’t miss event for students interested in entrepreneurship
“Startup Weekends are an international phenomenon being held in the most innovative cities around the world” said Stephen Daze, the Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School of Management. “The Telfer School and the University of Ottawa are bringing this event on campus to provide our students an opportunity to learn, network, start a business, meet potential co-founders and much more.”
Entrepreneurs, innovators, makers and those curious about starting a new venture that attend this event will benefit from 54 hours of fast-paced start-up experience working with a team of like-minded students, mentored by seasoned veterans from the local start up community.
“Nowhere else can you experience entrepreneurship/start-up in a more concentrated and curated format” said Stephen Daze. “This venue brings together business students, coders and designers, and provides training and mentoring in a cool atmosphere targeted at creating start-ups.”
The Telfer School’s commitment to Entrepreneurship
We are committed to helping students succeed. For many, success will be starting a new venture or contributing to one as co-founder or team member. We provide the tools and resources you’ll need to learn, network and build your innovation and entrepreneurship skills. In addition to hosting Startup Weekend uOttawa, here are some of the other initiatives that are available:
Entrepreneurship Bridges Speaker Series – Co-hosted with the Faculty of Engineering, this 5-part annual speaker series is targeted at students looking to or considering entrepreneurship. The speaker series features local young entrepreneurs who tell their start-up stories and act as a source of inspiration, education and mentoring. The series is also the home for other entrepreneurship-related announcements and competitions such as the final pitches in the Entrepreneurs' Club Elevator Pitch Contest. The series averages 150 students per session and includes the formal talk or panel, as well as networking and refreshments.
Entrepreneurship Foundry Course - The Entrepreneurship Foundry is a new Telfer-led initiative that brings together collaborators from across campus to build, manage and deliver a semester-long, for-credit course that sees participants apply for entry in order to start a venture over 13 weeks. Working in multi-disciplinary teams, students will learn from experts in lecture and workshop environments and complete evaluated work leading to the start of their new venture. It is anticipated that the course will see 25 students in the first session scheduled for Fall 2015.
Start-up Tools Workshops - The 4-part workshop series is designed to teach students the tools and resources available for start-ups. Each session focuses on a specific theme and students and external resources are relied upon for content within the curated environment. Themes include: Tools of Validation; Web Design; Marketing and Analytics; and Software and Productivity. Each session is attended by approximately 25 students.
Telfer Business Traction Competition - This new business competition is a new take on traditional business plan competitions. It's open to full-time undergraduate students at the Telfer School of Management and/or teams comprised of at least 50% Telfer students. It is not about ideas and proposed business plans, it’s about traction. Contestants will demonstrate the achievement of real milestones towards starting, or validating their business ideas as well as realistic goals moving forward. Applicants can be at any stage of their business idea but must be able to demonstrate real milestones completed and future goals. External judges will determine the winner based on actual work to date and planned milestones. $10,000 in prize money is available to be won.
- Category: Rising Stars
The 2015 edition of the Strat 24 case competition, put on by Enactus uOttawa, was a resounding success. Forty competitors, twenty from the Telfer School of Management and twenty from the Faculty of Engineering, worked tirelessly for 24-hours to find a feasible solution to a humanitarian problem provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Teams consisted of two engineers and two business students from the University of Ottawa.
The two finalist teams presented at the cocktail evening which was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa. The cocktail evening had a turnout of about one hundred people including sponsors such as IEEE, Hydro Ottawa and Ceridian. Guests at the final cocktail event also had the opportunity to hear Greg Lane, Managing Director at Cisco Canada, speak about the future of streaming and cloud technology.
The winning team and recipients of the $4,000 grand prize were Andre Smith, Joel Kapongo, Neil Gangal and Shahrukh Anis. Congratulation also goes out to the runner-up team and winners of their Pool, consisting of Anthony Tarasio, Mithun Kommalur, Kristopher Furuness and Philippe Legault. Thank you to all of sponsors, attendees and volunteers who helped make the weekend such a success.
- Category: Rising Stars
As part of a Consumer Behaviour course, several groups of third-year students had the opportunity to look into consumption of gluten-free products for their term project. This project, under the supervision of professors Leila Hamzaoui and Michael Mulvey, was done with the help of Claude Bonnet, owner of Le Moulin de Provence and Olive & Chili in the Byward Market. Mr. Bonnet, who sells gluten-free products and dishes at Olive & Chili, introduced the students to the distinctive features of these products and to consumer perceptions and what prompted them to turn to these products. He also educated them about their benefits and, more generally, about the importance of the relationship between what we eat and long-term health.
Throughout the project, this joint effort mainly allowed the students to understand what matters to consumers of gluten-free products (i.e. the various motivations and values underlying the consumption of these products). Moreover, all of this enabled them to draw up a consumer profile for these products and make recommendations for developing the market for gluten-free products.
As a follow-up to this initiative, one female student went farther in her collaborative approach. Véronic Mageau, a third-year student in entrepreneurship and international management, has had a special interest in gluten-free products for a long time and understands the importance of a healthy diet. She therefore took the opportunity to develop an innovative project with Mr. Bonnet and the Telfer School of Management and to go from theory to practice. She started by creating social media accounts for Olive & Chili, which led her to discover other facets of marketing. With chef Serge Halbardier and operations management director Olivier Chaillot, she participated in developing new gluten- and dairy-free products to be put on the market. Finally, this collaboration should culminate in the implementation of gluten-free product awareness campaigns and the development of entrepreneurial initiatives with the help of various specialists from the Telfer School of Management.
Watch short videos made by the students (in French only):
La clientèle du sans gluten
Évolution du marché sans gluten
Olive & Chili: Les produits sans gluten
The videos were made by : Érica Begley, Mamadou Yero Diallo, Véronic Mageau and Marie-Rose Nyirabavandimwe.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
The Telfer School of Management is now accepting nominations for its alumni awards: the Trudeau Medal and the Young Achiever's award.
These honours are awarded to alumni in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the world of business and health care, their communities and their alma mater. These recognitions will be awarded at the next Gala of Excellence on October 21, 2017.
Established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, OMI, and former director of the University's commerce department from 1950 to 1965, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour given by the Telfer School of Management to its alumni.
The Young Achiever's Award honours young Telfer School of Management alumni (under the age of 40) who have been able to achieve greatness in their lives within an exceptional period of time.
The awards selection committee is composed of representatives from the Telfer School, the Telfer School of Management Alumni Association, the MBA Alumni Association, the MHA Alumni Association and the Executive MBA Alumni Association.
Please fill out the following nomination form for the Young Achiever's Award and the Trudeau Medals. The deadline for nominations is April 14, 2017 at 5 p.m.
Click here to be redirected to the nomination form.
- Category: Rising Stars
All students in ADM4350 (Equity Valuation) took part in a case competition where they had to estimate the value of a real-life company and propose a course of action that the company should take to solve its problems. This term, the mandate was analyze the acquisition of 43 Kentucky Fried Chicken Outlets by Franchise Management Inc.
We would like to congratulate:
First prize:
- Kyle Baker
- Jeff Gottzmann
- Jordan Kord
Second Prize:
- Jivan Moharaj
- Rebecca Mandal
- Joshua Kunze
Third prize:
- Stephanie Furlan
- Mona Mikhael
- Kailin Noivo
Best posters:
- Sang Youn Kim
- Justin Sweeney-Cadieux
Creativity Award winners:
- Raphael Denize
- Emily Lloyd
We would like to thank all judges: Jeff Drinkwater (ScotiaBank), Carly Shiler (Brookfield Renewable Energy Group), Yves Grandmatre (Owner of Oziles Marina), Fred Cotaras (Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems, Inc.), Pouya Safi and Professor François Eric Racicot.
- Category: Rising Stars
For the second year in a row, Professor Leila Hamzaoui-Essoussi has been sought out by students at the Lycée Claudel as part of their supervised personal projects (TPE) which are mandatory research projects for students in first S (Grade 6 secondary).
TPEs are intended to diversify the ways in which students take ownership of program content by building on an interdisciplinary approach. They also aim to develop students' ability to be autonomous and take initiative when researching and using documents and information. Lycée students must then present their work in both a final written report and an oral presentation to explain their findings to a jury.
It was in this context that Professor Hamzaoui-Essoussi was solicited by a group of students in 2014 on the subject of gambling marketing: "Plans and strategies used by casinos." In 2015, she was consulted on the theme of "Coca Cola—Between globalization and rejection" in the context of the following problem: "How has Coca Cola become a symbol of the world's Americanization and a product in the struggle for identity?" The students were able to get the professor's input on a number of issues (effective marketing tactics, forms of advertising, cultural influence on consumption, differences in international strategies, etc.), which helped them gather information related to their TPE topic.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
On February 6, 2015, we welcomed more than 300 students, staff, professors, alumni and members of the community as they came together to share what matters to them and how that relates with their involvement with the Telfer School of Management.
Through interactions with ambassadors of the School and themed tables, we featured some of our greatest accomplishments and strengths. Participants particularly enjoyed being given the opportunity to talk about what matters to them in short videos and sharing pictures on social media.
This event marked the launch of an updated tagline for the School: “Connects you to what matters”. This new brand is a reflection of the fact that not only is the world changing, but so is the world of business. At the Telfer School, we’ve understood that what matters isn’t always what you can count. Our mission is to maintain a network of high-quality connections, and what matters to us is to put you – students, alumni, professors, staff and our partners – at the centre of everything. Whatever it is that matters to you, we provide you with all the means to make an impact.
Given our commitment to our legacy “Linked with Leadership” brand and what we have done over the past decade to develop it, a steering committee was established in January 2014 to complete a brand enhancement exercise. The committee, comprised of staff, faculty and alumni, worked diligently to ensure that we are aligned, going forward, with the current context of the Telfer School’s strategic plan, the upcoming fundraising campaign and the emergence of our Strategic Areas of Excellence.
As witnessed through the multiple interactions during the event, we believe that “Connects you to what matters” represents a natural evolution of the brand and builds on the solid foundation developed under the previous brand tagline.
Congratulations to the winner of the Telfer Brand Launch "Putt and Win" contest
Rohan Kumar is the winner of one free registration to the 22nd Annual Telfer Scholarship Golf Tournament to be held on Sept 18, 2015 at the Meadows Golf and Country Club. This prize also includes a Telfer Swag Pack - a Telfer gym bag, mug and water bottle!
The three winners of a Telfer Swag Pack are Emily Short, Danielle Gagnon, and Stéphanie Beaulac. Congratulations to our winners and a great big thank you to everyone who participated.
Don't forget to mark your calendar and join us on September 18 for the Telfer Golf Tournament. All proceeds to will go directly to the Laurie Strano Memorial MHA Scholarship.
- Category: Rising Stars
Six high performing finance students will be representing the Telfer School of Management at the 2015 Rotman International Trading Competition from February 19-22 in Toronto. RITC is a three-day intensive trading competition and conference that invites teams from 50 of the best universities around the world. The environment is fiercely competitive, and attracts the brightest students from a variety of different undergraduate and graduate programs. The Telfer 2015 team will consist of Cassy Aite, Ian Harten, Malanga Mposha, Daniel Shannon, William Tu, and Ethan Zhang.
Pouya Safi is the manager of the School’s Financial Research and Learning Lab and is in charge of managing and overseeing the development of this year’s team. He helps ensure that his students have all the necessary resources and guidance in order to succeed and compete at the highest level. Pouya has been coaching the team with both training sessions and preparation workshops/competitions. Pouya believes that the frequent training and meetings for the competition since November is something that the team has grown accustomed to and will be their competitive advantage over teams who put in little preparation.
The idea of intense focus and dedication is nothing new to any of these students who had to compete and interview for their spots on the team. Their regular meetings consist of creating complex models, constructing trading algorithms, and stress-testing strategies. William Tu comments, “The preparation towards the competition alone has been an amazing experience in terms of developing camaraderie, thinking strategically as a team, and embracing the fast-paced nature of trading”. Cassy Aite adds, “Our effectiveness comes from the synergetic skills that each and every member brings to the team”.
With the competition date of February 19 fast approaching, the atmosphere of eagerness continues to rise further. The team is concentrated and ready to challenge any obstacles that come their way.
Photo: Daniel Shannon, Ethan Zhang, William Tu, Malanga Mposha, Ian Harten and Cassy Aite
- Category: Rising Stars
The Jeux du Commerce Central (JDCC) took place January 30 to February 1, 2015, in Toronto, Ontario, hosted by the Canadian Association of Business Students. The JDCC competition is one of Canada’s largest business school competition that brings together 700 delegates from 14 universities across Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes to compete in academic, sporting and social events. A delegation of 56 students represented the Telfer School of Management.
Congratulations to students for winning the following:
Human Resource (1st place): Negar Jeyrani, Brooke Runions and Emily Slade
Coach: Professor Francois Chiocchio
MIS (3rd place): Patricia Matibag, Erik Mosney and Kristjan Luik
Coach: Saxon Giddings (4th year student)
Entrepreneurship (3rd place): Tina Liusun, Anastasia Savvidis and Blair Templeton
Coach: Jaclyn Tokarewicz (4th year student)
Advisor of the year award: Matt Archibald
- Category: Latest News
We will be unveiling a refreshed and updated brand at a special open house event on February 6 at the Telfer School of Management.
Given our commitment to our legacy “Linked with Leadership” brand and what we have done over the past decade to develop it, a steering committee was established in January 2014 to complete a brand enhancement exercise. The committee, comprised of staff, faculty and alumni, worked diligently to ensure that we are aligned, going forward, with the current context of the Telfer School’s strategic plan, the upcoming fundraising campaign and the emergence of our Strategic Areas of Excellence.
We are now ready to share with students, staff, professors, alumni and members of our community what matters to us during our brand launch open house on February 6, 2015, between 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. This will be a great opportunity to network and reflect on how the Telfer School can connect you to what matters.
- Category: Rising Stars
The 10th Annual Organizational Behaviour Case Competition (OBCC) is a two-day case competition on Organizational Behaviour (and Human Resources) between 12 universities, that was hosted by the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University took place on Friday January 9 and Saturday January 10, 2015. The Organizational Behaviour Case Competition (OBCC) is a place where students with a passion for HR gather annually to learn, discuss, network, and compete in a rigorous day-long case competition.
This year the theme was “Wired” managing through a digital workplace.
Congratulations to following students for winning the first place!
Team members: Kseniya Stogniy, Brooke Runions, Richard Laberge, and Abhiram Sarvepalli.
Coach: Breanna Scanlan (4th year student who participated in OBCC last year).
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- Category: Rising Stars
The Jeux du commerce took place January 2 to 4, 2015, at the Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Québec. The Jeux du Commerce competition is an interuniversity event that brings together 1,040 delegates from 13 Eastern Canadian universities to compete in academic, sporting and social events. A delegation of 83 students represented the Telfer School of Management. The year marks the 25th anniversary of the University of Ottawa’s participation in this competition.
Congratulations to students for winning the following:
Human Ressource (3rd place): Negar Jeyrani, Brooke Runions and Emily Slade
Coach: Professor François Chiocchio
International Business Case (3rd place): Drew Morash, Gabriel Rubio Maldonado and Jaclyn Tokarewicz
Coach: Anika Laperrière
Committee of the Year (1st place): Aghilas Chebini, Renée Leduc, Jaclyn Tokarewicz, Saxon Giddings, Gabriel Rubio Maldonado, Michel Bedard, Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau, Drew Morash, Diana Kolesarova, Gina Chong, Dominic Franchi and Frédéric Desnoyers
Community Involvement: Recognition as one of the top three university delegations with the most outstanding community involvement initiatives leading up to the competition.
- Category: Rising Stars
On Thursday, November 20, seven teams of four to six students participated in a case competition as part of their Case Studies in Accounting course. The winning team and the team that ranked second were respectively awarded $2,200 and $1,000. These prizes are courtesy of CPA Canada and PME Évaluateurs d’entreprises. The Logan-Katz firm also gave a $100 gift certificate at Best Buy to each member of the winning team. Marie-Geneviève Bégin from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Denis Chainé, partner at Logan-Katz, and Jean-Philippe Aubé, partner at PME Évaluateurs d’entreprises, acted as judges alongside Professor Sylvain Durocher. On the first photo, from left to right, we can see Jean-Philippe Aubé, students from the winning team (Nicholas Guindon, Darquise Labonté, Émilie St-Denis, Valérie Beauclair and Paul Kekanovich – Hamza Benidir, absent) and Professor Sylvain Durocher. The second photo, from left to right, shows Jean-Philippe Aubé, the students from the team that came second (Louis-Philippe Lepage-Madore, Sarah Ouerd, Laila Taga-Mumche, Karine Raymond, Cherihane El Mestassi, Mathieu Purney) and Professor Sylvain Durocher. Congratulations to the winning teams!
- Category: Rising Stars
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation is an exciting and integrative learning opportunity for BCom students as part of their 4th year Strategic Management class.
From November 13-16, there were 37 teams that participated in this simulation at the Telfer School of Management’s Desmarais Building.
Congratulations to members of the winning team:
- Brandon Clifford
- Emem Etok
- Benjamin Guthrie
- Jamie Kibsey
- Sarah Le Mon
The CPA Ontario Intopia Strategy Simulation has been a component of the 4th year strategy course for close to 20 years. It aims to teach students the concepts of strategic management in a simulated online world known as Intopia. The simulation allows students to practice their skills in a concentrated amount of time where they can get immediate feedback on their decisions.
This capstone activity has recently been renamed to recognize CPA Ontario’s comprehensive contribution of $370,000 to the Telfer School to support students, teaching and research.
- Category: Rising Stars
On December 1, 2014, CASCO students took to the stage at the Delta Ottawa City Centre and raised a record breaking $66.530 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). The theme of this year’s event was “A Red & White Affair” in honour of the success of Canadian artists and philanthropists.
For the past 15 years, CASCO has been a major event for the Telfer School of Management that is entirely choreographed, organized and executed by like-minded Telfer School students. In recent years, students from other faculties have joined, as performers, in what became a spectacular show of talent and philanthropy that brings together over 500 people including prominent community leaders and ambassadors for CHEO. This year the team paid tribute to past CASCO presidents and members and attendees got the opportunity to meet this year’s CASCO family who expressed immense gratitude towards CHEO, without who the young Leo would not have made it.
In preparation for this event, CASCO students spent countless hours auditioning, choreographing, and organizing this annual gala show to raise money for CHEO. The Telfer School of Management and the wider University of Ottawa community remain very proud of students who decide to commit time and energy on this event every year for the positive impacts that they leave on our community.
- Category: Rising Stars
This year marks the return of the Telfer School of Management at the largest HR competition in eastern Canada. The HR Symposium took place from November 21 to 23 at the University of Quebec at Rimouski. The competition brings together more than 250 university students from nine business schools
The delegation distinguished itself by winning two 3rd place trophies;
- 3rd position in the collective agreement negotiation simulation.
- Samantha Paiement
- Benjamin Macré
- Émilie Fournier
- 3rd position in the case of human resources management.
- Brook Runions,
- Ibrahim Gheriani
- Mia-Kin Viau-Gamache
Congratulations to all the members of the delegation that was composed of Maral Eliott, Marc Anthony and Patrick Guénette Patenaude (quiz) Émilie Fournier, Samantha payment, Benjamin Macré (collective bargaining agreement); Magali Mayrand Janice Chapman and Richard Laberge (arbitration); Brooke Runions, Mia-Kin-Viau Gamache and Ibrahim Gheriani (HRM case); Renée Leduc, Oneal Ishimwe Fadi Azzi, Cameron Harvey, Tamara and Alexander Roy-Stang Hannoun (sports) and Patrick Furgeson, Sera Ertan, Steven Benoît Ménard and Marie-Pierre Lafrance for their work as coaches and volunteers.
Congratulations to Rafael Morin, who assumes the dual role of president and coordinator of the Telfer delegation. With the help of all the participants, a colossal work has been done to ensure our participation in the competition.
The delegation wishes to thank the coaches, Suzanne Payette and Jane O'Really and offer a special thank you to the coach and godmother Anne-Julie Charlebois students in human resources. They also want to acknowledge the cooperation of Telfer alumni Audrey Lamarche and Alex Massi.
The financial contribution of the Telfer Human Resources Association (ARHHRA) has been essential to the project and the organizers would like to thank the president of the association, Abhiram Sarvepalli.
Finally, all participants want to personally thank the Rimouski organizing committee who made this event a success.
Photo: Brook Runions, Ibrahim Gheriani and Mia-Kin Viau-Gamache (HRM)
- Category: Rising Stars
The University of Ottawa iGEM team traveled to Boston, MA for the annual iGEM World Jamboree competition which was held from October 30 to November 1. The team of students from science, engineering, and Telfer competed against hundreds of university teams from other parts of the world for the most innovative application of synthetic biology. This was a particularly successful year as our team took home the silver medal in the undergraduate division for our tri-stable switch, a system responsible for cell differentiation.
This was a successful year for the finance team as well. It reached out to sponsors and set up fundraisers to ensure sufficient funding so that as many of the team members as possible could attend the competition. This experience in Boston has helped students connect with many innovative students from all over the world, who have now become contacts for future collaborations.
iGEM will resume its activities in the new year and will be looking forward to more unique experiences on the team and establishing a closer link between business and science collaborations.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Marvin Hough, Executive in Residence at Telfer and University of Alberta (BCom and MBA) graduate has spent a significant part of his career promoting Canada-India trade relations. He is also President of MIRA, an international consulting firm.
Marvin served 30 years at Export Development Canada (EDC) where he supported many Canadian firms selling to or investing in India through the provision of financing and insurance services. During his EDC career, he also undertook a four year assignment in India with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development as a Trade Commissioner in India to gain on the ground experience.
Since retiring from EDC, Marvin has continued to support the effort by teaching in the EMBA and undergraduate programs at Telfer (where he has developed courses on doing business in India and organizing the annual India Forum). He has also been active in supporting Indo-Canadian trade, through his work as a Director of the Canada–India Business Council (C-IBC) and member of the Indo-Canadian Ottawa Business Chamber (ICOBC). Marvin's long term efforts in supporting Indo-Canadian trade have recently earned him an Award of Excellence from the ICOBC.
According to Marvin, since his assignment in India 25 years ago, there have been some very positive developments in both the Indian business environment and the relations between Canada and India. He believes that, in many ways, the timing for Indo-Canadian commercial collaboration has never been better and the Indian market never more exciting.
The recent election in India offers great promise that economic reform will ramp up and that some of the red tape will be removed. Further, according to Marvin, government to government relations are also poised to bring us a free trade agreement as we move forward.
From Marvin's perspective, the big question is whether Canadian firms will get serious about India and make a commitment to the market. The modest level of two way trade between Canada and India ($6 billion) can be attributed to a considerable degree to the lack of commitment by Canadian firms. Canadian executives must understand that they not only need to commit time and money to penetrate the market, they need to adapt their approach from that used in the US and other developed markets.
In India, Canadian firms need a more flexible agenda, they need to connect and build trust and really focus on relationships. They need to understand that an effective presence in the market is crucial and adapt to the local business culture. They also need to be well prepared for tough negotiation and very price conscious buyers.
Marvin intends to continue his efforts to support the cause through his teaching at Telfer, his work at the C-IBC and his consulting advice to Canadian firms looking to penetrate the Indian market. "Above all, to realize the potential, we need to demonstrate that Canadians are committed to long term relationships with India and that we are willing and able to adapt to the market".
Photo: Indian High Commissioner Admiral (Retd) Nirmal Verma with Marvin Hough
- Category: Rising Stars
As members of a uOttawa student organization called Enactus, my colleague Ajmal Sataar and I are always looking for ways to provide opportunities to those in need. Enactus tackles social, economic and environmental issues through business and is focused on bringing social enterprise to the community. When the opportunity came to bring these opportunities to the town of Iqaluit in Nunavut, we jumped at the chance to travel there.
Each year, Enactus teams travel around the world to bring enterprise to third world communities that are lacking in resources, funding and support. Our team feels that there is a lot of room for economic development through social enterprise and entrepreneurship within the confines of our own country. Nunavut, a territory with lots of potential for growth, is an area in which we wanted to invest time and energy in order to bring more opportunities to people in the North.
Read the full article by Kathleen Kemp on The Gazette Website [This link is no longer available]
- Category: Rising Stars
The 2014 edition of Place à la jeunesse was a great success! On November 15, 2014, students from 14 French-speaking high schools across Ontario competed in the final round of this prestigious academic competition held at the Desmarais Building at Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. This competition hosts 90 participants who showcase their analytical and communication skills. Every year, Place à la jeunesse declares three winning teams in each academic stream: accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship, and debates. Each participant of these winning teams, as well as the best presenter of each stream receive one of the forty scholarships up for grabs, that amount to a total of $82,000.
The competition provides the participants with the necessary competencies and the confidence to succeed in the world of business. “We are involved with Place à la jeunesse since our own participation back in high school, in 2008. Every year, we were proud to be part of this competition that touched us personally. This event is an unforgettable experience that most certainly pushed us to study at the Telfer School of Management! Our goal every year is to pass on that same passion onto the leaders of tomorrow.” said the Co-Presidents of the 11th edition, Frédéric Desnoyers and Dominic Franchi.
Every year, numerous partners help shape the success of this event. Place à la jeunesse 2014 wishes to thank them for their great generosity:
- University of Ottawa
- Telfer School of Management
- Jeux du commerce Ottawa
- Ministry of Education of Ontario
- Student Federation of the University of Ottawa
- Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien
- Deloitte LLP
- SME Business Appraisers
- Conseil scolaire catholique Providence
- Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario
- DocUcentre
- Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est
- BDO Canada LLP
- Kyalis Group Inc.
- Marcil Lavallée
- i-tag Promo
Here are the winners of Place à la jeunesse 2014!
Accounting
1st Place – Scholarship of $5,000
École secondaire régionale de Hawkesbury :
- Claudia Murray
- Nicholas Séguin
- Sandrine Pageau
2nd Place – Scholarship of $1,000
École secondaire catholique de Casselman:
- Alexandre Bisson
- Ariane Parisien
- Philippe Laflèche
3rd Place – Scholarship of $500
École secondaire catholique Cité des Jeunes:
- Andréanne Fraser
- Jacob Mongenais
- Rémi Dumais
Entrepreneurship
1st Place - Scholarship of $5,000
École secondaire catholique Garneau:
- Marc-André Arsenault
- Nadia Hiebert
- Patrick Buffett
2nd Place – Scholarship of $1,000
École secondaire publique Gisèle-Lalonde:
- Jean-Luc Martineau
- Mohan Aubeeluck
- Nathan Liang
3rd Place – Scholarship of $500
École secondaire catholique L’Escale:
- Antoine Cantin
- Joshua Boyle
- Mikaël Gaumond
Marketing
1st Place – Scholarship of $5,000
École secondaire Étienne-Brûlé:
- Mukund Mauji
- Nader Allam
- Vlad Cojanu
2nd Place - Scholarship of $1,000
École secondaire catholique L’Escale:
- Isabelle Charette
- Jacob Racine
- Pascale Rioux
3rd Place - Scholarship of $500
École secondaire catholique de Hearst:
- Alex Dalcourt
- Jean-Philippe Dumais
- Sabrina Mastelloto
Debates
1st Place – Scholarship of $5,000
École secondaire catholique de Casselman:
- Joël Charbonneau
- Katia Ranger
- Nathaniel Quenneville
2nd Place – Scholarship of $1,000
École secondaire publique Le Sommet:
- Alex Hazan
- Emmanuelle Lamonico
- Sébastien Sauvé
3rd Place - Scholarship of $500
École secondaire catholique Garneau:
- Élisabeth Bruins
- Maxim Bourgeois
- Vanessa Bournival
Best Presenter
Accounting - Scholarship of $1,000
- Claudia Murray, École secondaire catholique régionale de Hawkesbury
Marketing - Scholarship of $1,000
- Jérémy Proteau, École secondaire publique Le Sommet
Entrepreneurship - Scholarship of $1,000
- Jean-Luc Martineau, École secondaire publique Gisèle-Lalonde
Debates - Scholarship of $1,000
- Alex Hazan, École secondaire publique Le Sommet
- Category: Latest News
On October 17th, 15 students from the Telfer School of Management embarked on a journey to China that truly brought them a once in a lifetime experience.
Enactus uOttawa is a non-profit organization consisted of a community of student leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better more sustainable world. With 5 incredible projects with this common goal, Enactus uOttawa is currently one of the top teams in Canada, thereby leading to the opportunity to attend and support Team Canada, represented by Enactus Memorial, at the 2014 Enactus World Cup Competition in Beijing, China! Thus, 15 representatives from Enactus uOttawa flew to Beijing, China on October 17 to participate in this Olympic equivalent of the Enactus world.
The experience that followed is one that we will cherish for our entire lives.
Our team arrived in Beijing and experienced numerous exciting tourist attractions: The Summer Palace, the lively markets, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and of course, The Great Wall of China. Not to mention the luging we did down the mountain from the Great Wall!
With 34 countries represented, ranging from Brazil and South Africa to Russia and Australia, the competition began with a fair that featured all the countries’ cultures, including clothing, food, and activities. It was an exciting experience to venture through this large room filled with people from, quite literally, all around the world!
The World Cup competition presentations showcased the teams’ outreach projects’ and their ability to positively impact people’s lives. Team Canada advanced as far as the semi-finals, with Ireland, China, Morocco, and Puerto Rico progressing to the finals which were held the following day.
In the end, China was named the 2014 World Cup Enactus Champions in front of a roaring crowd of over 5,000 student, academic and business leaders! Their project created a wind and solar generator system that supplied electricity to local herdsman and in turn, doubling their annual income. Throughout the competition, there were also some fascinating speaker panels, featuring the CEO of Walmart, the Executive Vice President of Coca Cola, President of the U.S. Foundation of KPMG LLP, as well as many others.
It was an experience to remember, and we were extremely excited to have had the chance to not only explore Beijing, but meet hundreds of incredible like-minded friends who are change-makers —just like us— from around the world.
by: Liora Raitblat
- Category: Rising Stars
The 2nd Telfer Trading Competition (TTC) finished off with another successful year here at the University of Ottawa with forty registered students. These students gathered October 4, 2014 to compete, work hard, and push their trading capabilities to their limits. Participants had the opportunity to practice trading financial securities, build financial models and macros, and experience the thrill of a classic trading pit. The event was a joint collaboration between the Financial Research and Learning Lab and the University of Ottawa Student Investment Club (OSIC).
Many students dedicated time to prepare and train for the different challenges within the competition. The day was tough and intense and only the most prepared participants were able to emerge victorious and outperform their peers for a prize pool totalling over $800. The top six students measured by the aggregate results of all the cases, won cash prizes ranging from fifty to two-hundred dollars. There were also cash and prizes given to the winners of each of the five cases. However, the students were seeking a much greater prize as a result of the competition.
The competition was the only opportunity to try out for this year's Rotman International Trading Competition team which will go to Toronto to represent the school in February of 2015. Only six very exceptional students from the University of Ottawa are chosen for this prestigious competition each year, and the Telfer Trading Competition was the selection platform for it. The structure of TTC was designed to help identify ambitious, skilled, and driven candidates for the University's RITC team. The top twelve ranking students were given the opportunity to formally apply. Their rankings, along with their CV, cover letter and a formal interview will be used by the final selection committee.
The event began in the large conference room in Desmarais where students were welcomed and given a brief introduction. Shortly after, students began to clear their throats and ready themselves for the social outcry portion of the competition. This segment resembled an olden day trading pit where individuals were required to wave their arms and yell their bid and ask orders. Participants traded on the Telfer-500 index; a simulated index created by Alex Tyutyunnik who is a recent Telfer alumnus and now an employee at TD Securities in risk management. Alex made the trip down from Toronto for the competition and helped tremendously in preparation and acted as key administrator in running the event. The Telfer-500 index was programmed to frequently produce news that would drive the index price up and down. The charts and news updates were displayed on four massive projections located on all surrounding walls of the conference room. Students needed to successfully interpret the news, and make investment decisions based on their findings. Once a student found a counterpart for the trade, they then needed to confirm the transaction on an order sheet and submit it to the designated market makers. Liquidity could only be created through the transactions of buyers and sellers within the trading floor, so competition was fierce.
After the social outcry portion, students transitioned to the computer lab for the case-based segment. This second portion was focused on utilizing an order-driven market simulation called Rotman Interactive Trader. The cases consisted of a Dynamic Order Arrival case, Microstructure Capstone case, Commodities Capstone case, and finally an Algorithmic Arbitrage case. Every single scenario offered a new category that required a different skillset, trading style, and risk adaptability. Each case contained three rounds which lasted between five and ten minutes. As trading went live, you could hear students yelling and cheering as they watched their profits go up and down. When volatility swept the screens of all the traders, you could sense that the atmosphere in the room had changed with unease. All traders were glued to their screens watching for any indicators of price fluctuation or news. Students needed to focus and pay full attention to any opportunities for capital gain. Every second was valuable, and the ability to take advantage of those seconds meant even more. The energetic environment closely resembled the hectic nature of a trading floor.
Half way into the second part of the competition, coffee was served and students had the opportunity to take a break and chat with their peers. After the break had ended, students went back to their trading stations and began to prepare for the final case – Algorithmic Arbitrage. For this specific scenario, participants were required to pre-construct an algorithm on Excel VBA that would take advantage of the price discrepancies between the same security which traded two different exchanges. When the case went live, students were required to stand back and watch while their algorithms battled it out.
The simulation-based concept proved once again to be a great learning experience for any student wishing to pursue a career in the financial markets. The style of the competition allowed students to practice making optimal decisions based on unexpected circumstances and scenarios. The hands-on experience offered in this event would not have been possible without educational resources like the Financial Research and Learning Lab. The lab is always working towards providing students with more opportunities for growth, self-development and achievement. In order to make these competitions more rewarding and fulfilling in the future, the Financial Research and Learning Lab will continue to work on projects with student clubs like OSIC. It is said that planning for the 3rd Telfer Trading Competition is already underway for January 2015. However, the next one is rumoured to be on a whole different scale!
The day's winners were as follows:
Overall
- Cassy Aite
- William Tu
- Luke Filice
- (Tie) Ian Harten, Ethan Zhang
- Max Davis
Case Winners
Social Outcry Winner: Cassy Aite
Dynamic Order Arrival: Talib Sadat
Microstructure Capstone: Daniel Shannon
Commodities Capstone: Ethan Zhang
Algorithmic Arbitra: Ethan Zhang
Photo: Cassy Aite (Centre), Alex Tyutyunnik (Left), Pouya Safi (Right)
- Category: Latest News
On February 3, Professor Gilles LeVasseur was named to the Order of Ontario. The Order of Ontario recognizes individuals who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field benefiting the people of Ontario or anywhere in the world and is Province of Ontario’s highest honour.
On February 5, Professor LeVasseur was awarded the médaille de l’Ordre des professions du Québec « Comité interprofessionnelle du Québec ».
In late 2014, professor LeVasseur was also inducted into the Order of Ottawa.
As a lawyer and university professor of law in management and economics, Gilles LeVasseur is active in constitutional language rights in Canada. He is a member of both the Ontario and Quebec Bar Associations, a member of business and health professional corporations, and has numerous undergraduate and graduate degrees. Mr. LeVasseur has been president of several associations and professional corporations including the Conseil de la Coopération de l’Ontario, the Regroupement des organismes du patrimoine franco-ontarien. He has published eight books, of which three directly address the situation of francophones in Ontario and Canada.
For over 25 years, Mr. LeVasseur has been an active member of key organizations working to promote the French language in Ontario and Canada. He is a committee member and leader on numerous community organizations supporting socio-culture, arts, health, heritage and French Ontario committees, including the Association des auteurs et auteurs de l’Ontario français, the constitutional expert on Language Rights Program and Opera Lyra of Ottawa.
- Category: Latest News
The Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa is pleased to announce a $50,000 contribution from Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. to develop curriculum for proposed new post-graduate programs of study in Complex Program Leadership and Strategic Procurement.
As an institution located in the heart of Canada’s capital city, the Telfer School’s Centre for Executive Leadership is uniquely positioned to fulfill the executive training needs of the government and its partners. Educating leaders of complex projects and procurement, as with all programs at the Telfer School, will emphasize experiential learning and rely on engagement with the public and private sectors.
The Telfer School’s Assistant Dean, External Relations Alain Doucet noted, “We are grateful to Lockheed Martin Canada for their commitment to these new programs of study. Their support will allow us to fulfil a great need to develop made-in-Canada expertise in this area.”
"We're pleased to form this partnership with the University of Ottawa and make a significant contribution to an education system that will address issues related to program management and related procurement issues," said Charles Bouchard, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Canada. "This is an investment in our country that is given on behalf of the 850 men and women that work from coast to coast for Lockheed Martin Canada."
The programs are pending approval by the University of Ottawa Institutional Quality Assurance Process and by the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance.
Photo (left to right): Doug Dempster, Executive Director, Centre for Executive Leadership, Charles Bouchard, Chief Executive Lockheed Martin Canada, Alain Doucet, Assistant Dean, External Relations and John D. Evans, Vice-President International Engineering and Technology, Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Category: Student Announcements
On Tuesday October 28, the Telfer Entrepreneurs' Club hosted the 17th annual Excellence in Leadership and Legacy in Entrepreneurship Wine and Cheese. This yearly event features the entrepreneurial stories of Canadian female entrepreneurs. This year, we welcomed two women, Rebecca Graham and Hélène Joncas.
Rebecca Graham is the founder of No Borders Fitness, a fitness studio in Midland, Ontario. As an English student at the University of Waterloo, she found her passion in fitness, and channeled it into a job she loved. Rebecca bootstrapped her business, working around the clock teaching 40 hours of fitness a week for 3 years before opening her studio. Rebecca believes in taking risks and believing in yourself, surrounding yourself with people that challenge you, and force you to think outside the box. Rebecca is this year's recipient of Simcoe's Entrepreneur of the Year.
Hélène Joncas, our keynote speaker, joined the technology world early in her career where she combined her love for innovation with her passion for building and growing companies. She was co-founder of start-ups imGenie and SIPquest (now CounterPath), and acted as an intrapreneur developing global solutions at Nortel, or implementing strategic alliances with Microsoft, IBM and Rogers. Hélène has applied her knowledge and experience to help guide and nurture startups in her role as Vice President at Wavefront, Canada's National Centre of Excellence for wireless and as Chief Strategy Officer at CANARIE, Canada's high-speed research and education network. She continues to ensure that Canadian entrepreneurs are set up for success in her current capacity as a Director of the Board with Startup Canada. She is a graduate of the University of Ottawa where she earned her MBA and is a recipient of the Trudeau Medal. Hélène also sits on the Dean's Advisory Board.
The ELLE Wine and Cheese also hosted a raffle draw of donated prizes, raising $150. We would like to thank our raffle donors for their contributions. Prizes included merchandise and giftcards from Fruit Couture, Jump 106.9, Starbucks, CarlsCakes, Mill St. Brew Pub, Mabel's Labels, SAAB Salon, The Wine Garden, TEAZE hair Salon and Spa, Bel fiore Flowers, Bloomfields Flowers, Pub 101, Lowertown Brewery, Upward Dog Yoga Centre, Surmesur, and Telfer. Proceeds of the charity will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa, a charity chosen by ELLE Wine and Cheese Chair Aryan Habib, in memory of her late cousin whom died at the age of 26.
The Entrepreneurs' Club would like to thank its sponsors EY, PWC, Enterprise, BMO Bank of Montreal, CPA, Shopify, and Surmesur. Without our sponsors, the Entrepreneurs' Club would be unable to hold entrepreneurial events for the students of the Telfer School of Management.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Charles-Antoine St-Jean (BCom 1976) served as the Comptroller General of Canada from 2004 to 2007 during a critical time for the internal audit profession. Prior to serving in the federal public sector, he worked with Ernst & Young and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as partner and vice-president. Since returning to EY, he is the National partner for Public Sector in Canada. In this role, he advises clients at the federal and provincial levels in Canada and abroad on strategy, governance and risk management. Active in the non-profit sector, he has served as Chair of the CCAF, a Canadian foundation dedicated to the advancement of good governance in the public sector in Canada and abroad. He is a Governor of the University of Ottawa, a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Audit Committee. Among his many awards, the University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Management recently presented him with the Trudeau Medal in recognition of his contribution to the public sector management.
While serving as Comptroller-General of Canada, Charles-Antoine spearheaded renewal of the Government of Canada's Policy on Internal Audit, entrenching the IIA Standards into the practice of internal auditing in the public sector. This significant enhancement incorporated creation of external Audit Committees into the Government's governance regime, clarity of qualifications and reporting structures for Chief Audit Executives, and approval of significant incremental funding for internal audit and the Office of the Comptroller-General. These initiatives represented significant steps in advancing professionalism of the internal audit profession in Canada.
For his impact on the internal audit profession in the Canadian public sector, Charles Antoine St-Jean is being recognized with the 2014 IIA Canada Contribution to the Profession Award.
- Category: Alumni in the Lead
Michael Chambers’ (BCom 1970) office at law firm Maclaren Corlett, on the 14th floor of a mirror-glassed, high-rise in downtown Ottawa, is filled with mementos. Each comes with a rich anecdote conveyed with a search engine-like recall of names, dates, facts and figures.
On one wall, there’s a snapshot of the scene on July 2, 2003 in Prague when it was announced that Vancouver had won the bid to host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Chambers, with his trademark moustache, is unmistakeable. Next to him is then-prime minister Jean Chrétien and then-Vancouver mayor, now senator, Larry Campbell. Framed under glass on another wall is an official podium jacket given to Canadian athletes, right above a print of the Magna Carta and a small plaque noting Chambers’ induction into the City of Ottawa Hall of Fame.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
Five outstanding alumni have been recognized for their contributions to the world of business, the community and their alma mater. The Trudeau Medals, the Young Achiever's Award and the Dean's Philos Award were presented at the 2014 Telfer School of Management Alumni Association Gala of Excellence, which was held at the Ottawa Convention Centre on October 18, 2014.
Trudeau Medals
Established in honour of Reverend Father Roland Trudeau, OMI, former director of the University's Commerce department from 1950 to 1965, the Trudeau Medal is the highest honour given by the Telfer School of Management to its alumni. It recognizes leadership, initiative and contributions to the business world, the community and their alma mater. This year's recipients are:
Michael Chambers, BCom 1970, DU 2013
Paul Vallée BCom 1994
Rob White, BCom 1992
The Young Achiever's Award
The Young Achiever's award was created to honour the individuals (under 40) who have been able to achieve greatness in their lives within an exceptional period of time. This year's recipient is:
The Dean's Philos Award
The Dean’s Philos Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding philanthropic achievement and social commitment. This award was established in 2004 on the Telfer School of Management’s 35th Anniversary. This year's recipient is:
- Category: Latest News
The Telfer Executive MBA will be hosting more than 30 candidates from the Sun Yat-University Business School’s Executive MBA program for the week of October 6-10, 2014. This will be the third and final stop for these senior executives as a component of the Program’s ‘Overseas Business Trip’. Prior to landing in Ottawa, the group has attended executive-level programs at both Ivy Leagues’ Columbia and Harvard University.
This one week academic exchange program is a direct result of the Telfer Executive MBA’s International Business Consulting Trip to Guangzhou, P.R China in April of this year. One of Telfer Executive MBA's key objectives is to provide impactful contribution to our business community through its executive leadership and competency development platform along with growing a global network that serves its business community.
The week of events will provide excellent opportunities to promote University of Ottawa and City of Ottawa to many senior-level executives from China. It will also provide opportunities for engagement and insights from our community leaders through company visits, in-class sessions with distinguished professors, and several networking opportunities with Telfer Executive MBA alumni and leaders in the business community.
With a focus on promoting local entrepreneurs and Canadian organizations, Telfer Executive MBA has arranged for the Chinese visitors to enjoy the culinary creations of Chef Norman Aitken. Chef Aitken is a celebrated chef, a Forty under 40 recipient and winner of first season of FoodNetwork Canada’s ‘Chopped Canada’ and co-owner of Juniper Kitchen and Wine bar located in the trendy Westboro Village. A tour of the Kitchesippi Beer Inc. Brewery, a family owned brewing business in Ottawa, is also on the line-up of site visits. Additional executive briefings at other Canadian organizations are also scheduled for Wednesday.
The highlight of the week is the University of Ottawa / Sun Yat-Sen Business School Delegation Dinner Reception on October 8th. The Mayor's office, in partnership with Telfer Executive MBA Program and Gowlings, will be hosting the reception with guests from the business community at the Ottawa Convention Centre.
The academic portion of the week will be three fold; Global Competitive Intelligence with Professor Jonathan Calof leveraging Nortel Study released earlier in the year; Economics for the Global Manager discussing the recent IPO by Alibaba and; wrapping up the week with Telfer Executive MBA Director, Sophia Leong, on the topics of Self-Branding and Self-Leadership.
During their scheduled leisure time, the executives will enjoy Canada’s rich history with visits to Canada’s Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, Canadian Museum of History as well as Ottawa’s Byward Market.
- Category: Telfer Announcements
2014 Enterprise
$2,500 Female Entrepreneur and Leadership Award
Enterprise Rent-A-Car invites you to nominate an extraordinary female student to be considered for the 2014 Female Enterprise Entrepreneur and Leadership Award. Nominees should have a personal record of entrepreneurial spirit, leadership skills and be a positive role model for past, current, and future students. The winner will receive a $2,500 prize to be applied to their tuition.
Nominations
Nominations for this award will be accepted from students, faculty, alumni, and members of the local business community. Self nominations are also permitted. Criteria for nominating and evaluating honorees include the following:
- Nominees should be full-time female students in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year of their BCom program at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa.
- Demonstrate exceptional entrepreneurial spirit through innovative approaches to business and show exemplary leadership skills in their work, social and academic lives.
- Entrepreneurial projects do not have to be associated with the Telfer School of Management.
Nominations can be made by completing the Nomination form and sending it via email to Susan Redmond at
Nominations for the 2014 Female Enterprise Entrepreneur and Leadership Award must be received no later than Friday January 9, 2015. Download a nomination form.
Selection
Committee members will review all nominations and develop a list of finalists who best meet the above criteria. Members will select the award winner based on the submission and a short personal interview. This award will be presented at the 24th Annual Entrepreneurs’ Club Toast to Success - Business Dinner on Thursday, January 29, 2015.
- Category: Latest News
Telfer BCom Director Dr. Dana Hyde has recently received a prestigious award from The Case Centre (formerly the European Case Clearing House). The Case Centre is an 800+ member organisation, including all leading global business schools, whose mission is to promote the case method in management education by, for example, offering the largest collection of case study materials anywhere in the world, and by developing the skills of case teachers and case authors. The Case Centre rivals both Harvard Business School and Ivey Business School in terms of the number of case studies published and sold each year.
In honour of its 40th anniversary The Case Centre has announced its “top 40” best selling cases over the past 40 years, and 2 of Dr. Hyde’s case studies feature in the top 15. Other case study authors in this prestigious list include faculty members from Harvard Business School, Ivey Business School, London Business School, and INSEAD.
Dr. Hyde was recently interviewed by the Case Centre about her own key success factors for an effective case study. Read the interview on the Case Centre website.
- Category: Latest News
From left to right: Tony Trentadue, Rob Mariani, Craig Gauthier and Vince Arlotta
- Category: Rising Stars
Marina Kidisyuk will travel to Boston, Massachussetts with the rest of the uOttawa International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) group to present their synthetic biology project. In order to raise funds to go to Boston, the team partered up with Let's Talk Science and Mini Enrichment Courses to offer educational seminars for children.
Thirty students from different faculties and programs came together to develop this project and Marina played a key role in finance and marketing, using the expertise she acquired in her BCom classes.
“Not only will we have the opportunity to work alongside some of the most innovative students from science and engineering, but we will be representing the University of Ottawa and the Telfer School of Management on a world stage. This will be an exciting time for us to meet students just like ourselves from other countries pitching new ideas that could shape the course of our future. As business students, it is exciting knowing that investing our expertise into this field is helping many medical and technological possibilities become our reality.”
- Category: Latest News
Over the weekend of June 13 to 15 the Telfer School of Management’s Jeux du Commerce executive committee participated in two community initiatives. Realizing the importance of social responsibility and volunteerism, the team chose to contribute to Relay for Life Ottawa East and the Builder’s Festival.
Relay for Life Ottawa East took place at Gisele Lalonde High School in Orleans on June 13, 2014. JDC uOttawa sent 10 participants to relay for 12 hours, from 7pm to 7am. The team passed the night doing Zumba, playing sports and enjoying each other’s company during relay laps. $201,425.50 was raised at the event, contributing to a total of $1 million across Ottawa’s Relay for Life initiatives. This event aims to help fight cancer and rejoice life itself as cancer survivors were celebrated and those who lost the battle were remembered. The Telfer team was honoured to participate in the fundraiser and to contribute to the success of the event.
After little to no sleep, the uOttawa exec and its delegation continued to its next volunteering venture at Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau for the Builder’s Festival. This festival took place over two day, June 14th and 15th. At the event, the JDC uOttawa hosted a kiosk focused on promoting successful career growth for children. At the kiosk, children were asked about their dream jobs and according to their responses, would then choose the appropriate uniforms to dress in. A diploma of persistence was created by a member of the JDC executive team and then given to the child encouraging them to never give up until they achieved their dream.
- Category: Rising Stars
As part of his Telfer BCom, Daryo worked as an intern for the County of Riverside, more specifically the Office of Foreign Trade, Office of Military Services and the Office of Film and Television. In his role, he learned about job creation, business development, project management and economic development in a cross-cultural context. As one of the interns at the Office of Foreign Trade, he was recently recognized and awarded a distinguished intern award.
He was able to secure this internship with the help of Lee Fraser, a Telfer alumnus working in California, and recommends the experience to other students who are looking for a challenge.
Read an article about Daryo's internship in Export Magazine [This link is no longer available].
- Category: Telfer Announcements
We’re proud to announce that the Telfer School of Management will offer a PhD in Management, as of fall 2016. The anticipated application deadline will be January 15, 2016.
The new PhD Program will complete our portfolio of research-based graduate programs.
The program is developed around five key fields:
- Entrepreneurship
- Health Systems
- Accounting and Control
- Finance
- Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources Management
Doctoral candidates will benefit from the research expertise of leading scholars in each of these fields. We encourage students to learn more about the research conducted by Telfer faculty members.
The Telfer PhD program reflects a growing demand for multi-disciplinary research that encompasses traditional management disciplines. In all fields, students will push beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplinary knowledge and incorporate a thorough economic, financial, organizational, psychological or sociological knowledge in their work.
The program philosophy is one of holistic doctoral development. In addition to thorough academic training, doctoral candidates will benefit from several workshops and activities focused on personal and professional development.
For more information about the PhD, please visit our Website at www.telfer.uOttawa.ca/phd
- Category: Community Engagement
A group of Telfer MHA students, participants in the University’s Centre for Global and Community Engagement, are putting their carpentry skills to the test. On Thursday, August 7, 2014, the student volunteers will install flooring in the community room at Lady Stanley Place, an OCH Lowertown community with 62 homes for about 100 residents.
The uOttawa’s Centre for Global and Community Engagement promotes and coordinates community initiatives implemented by groups of students and led by a student team leader. This is the second volunteer project between the Ottawa Community Housing and uOttawa.
Read an Article about this in LeDroit. (in French only)
- Category: Appointments and Honours
We are proud to announce that one of our MHA students, Patrick Byam, secured this scholarship this year.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Université Laval bestowed the Gloire de l’Escolle Medal on eight distinguished alumni, including Gilles LeVasseur, at the 63rd Awards for Outstanding Alumni. This medal honours alumni who help building the reputation of the University and their respective professions through community involvement and professional success.
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Professor Daniel Zéghal, FCGA has won the Lorna Henderson Outstanding Mentor Award from the Certified General Accountants of Ontario. Dr. Zéghal is a very active member of the academic community and the accounting profession. He is member of the editorial board of number of academic journals. In recognition for his work and his leadership in both accounting research and accounting education and for his contribution to the profession, Professor Zéghal has won many other prizes including the following: Fellow of the Certified General Accountants of Canada, Life membership of CGA-Ontario, member of the International Who's Who of Professionals and Who's Who in Canadian Business. In 2008, Professor Zéghal was named in an international search to "100 CGA's who have made a difference" for having contributed to the excellent reputation of the profession.
- Category: Latest News
Congratulations to Sylvie Séguin-Jak, Director of the Student Services Centre, as she is the inaugural recipient of the Patricia Ann O’Rourke Award for Excellence in Service.
The Patricia Ann O’Rourke Award for Excellence in Service was recently created in honour of Patricia Ann O’Rourke, an individual who, over the course of her remarkable career, provided exceptional service to one and all, for the greater benefit of the Telfer School and its stakeholders. She personified “service excellence” and was an inspiration to all her colleagues, faculty and support staff alike. Patricia retired in 2014 after 32 years of service.
This annual award will recognize those employees (either faculty or administrative staff) who demonstrate a strong desire and ability to help others and, in so doing, advance the interests of the School and contribute to the development of a culture of service excellence.
Photo (left to right): Sylvie Séguin-Jak, Patricia O'Rourke and Dean François Julien
- Category: Appointments and Honours
Tushar holds a PhD from the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University, where he studied the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in infectious diseases, and published 8 research articles. In parallel to his academic work, Tushar has also pursued his interests in business by starting his own event planning company, while taking on corporate operations roles for several large logistics companies. Tushar decided to blend his joint passions in business and healthcare when he accepted a role as a Business Development Director with a research funding agency, a position which ultimately led him to purse his MHA at the Telfer School of Management. His success during this program was recognized by induction into the Beta Gamma Sigma honours society and several scholarships, including the prestigious Michel Lalonde Award for Leadership.
- Category: Community Engagement
CASCO, a student charity organization at the Telfer School of Management, hosted the 8th Annual Moore Wrinn Financial Group Golf Tournament on Friday June 20. With a strong team effort made by the CASCO executives, they managed to raise $10,550 towards their cheque to present to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) at their 15th Annual Gala on December 1, 2014 at the Delta Hotel.
About CASCO
CASCO is a student-run charity organization at the University of Ottawa. Comprised mostly of students from the Telfer School of Management, the club strives to include as many students as possible from the university population – allowing them to apply business knowledge to raise both awareness and funds for charity causes and promote corporate social responsibility. Now entering its 15th year, CASCO has raised over $350,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), helping to purchase new equipment and to provide assistance to families in need.
- Category: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Telfer School is pleased to announce that Stephen Daze has been appointed as the inaugural Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence. Stephen Daze joined the Telfer School of Management in 2012 as the Entrepreneur in Residence, a position that has been renamed recently thanks to a generous donation from alumni Rob Ashe and Sandra Herrick.
Stephen teaches Entrepreneurship and is responsible for entrepreneurship strategy and program planning, providing counsel to students and faculty on business planning and business start-up issues, and working with the community to bolster support for the School’s entrepreneurship activities. His new mandate takes effect until 2017.
Additionally, the University of Ottawa announces the arrival of Luc Lalande as the first Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Hub. Luc graduated from the Bachelor of administration (1984) and the Bachelor of Public Administration (1986) from the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management. He possesses a wealth of experience in creating successful start-ups, and coaching students who wish to enter the business world. He was previously the Director of the Innovation Transfer Office for 15 years at Carleton University.
- Category: Latest News
In 1986, she and two other Hudson’s Bay colleagues founded Price Club, where she developed and implemented the wholesale sales concept and culture. Louise Wendling began as the VP Merchandizing; less than six years later, she was promoted to Senior VP for Eastern Canada. In 2001, she was named to the executive board of Costco Wholesale International, and was appointed Costco Wholesale Country Manager for Canada, encompassing a wide range of operational and strategic responsibilities.
Her activities within Costco also include membership in the Diversity Committee, which works to achieve a diverse workforce throughout the company. She also founded, and has presided over, Journeys Network, a 7000-member organization within Costco that aims to help women further their careers, form intra-women networks, develop women-based business solutions, and ensure that women who leave the company for family reasons feel welcome to return.
Louise Wendling is also involved in many philanthropic causes, both corporately and personally. Costco donates 1% of profits to local and national non-profit programs, including the Children’s Miracle Network, the United Way, the Breakfast Club of Canada and the Backpack Program. On a personal note, Louise has contributed to the Jewish General Hospital, CDLS Foundation, Myriam Foundation and CHEO. She is a board member of the Retail Council of Canada and in 2012, she was named CEO of the Year by the Ottawa Business Journal.
Click here to see the complete list of Honorary Doctorate Recipients [This link is no longer available]
- Category: Community Engagement
In an initiative to engage with and give back to our community, the MHA student association volunteered at The Ottawa Race weekend on Sunday May 25.
Starting at 6:30 a.m., MHA students were helping fill hundreds of cups of Gatorade and water for the 7,000 marathon runners and spent the rest of the morning cheering on the race participants as they crossed the half-way point of the 42 km race.
Volunteering together was a great way to have fun as a class, build relationships and participate in our greater community. The Telfer MHA class will be volunteering again at the CHEO BBQ on June 14 (www.cheobbq.com).
Subcategories
Student Voices
The following article was written by a member of our student community. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Telfer School of Management. For more information or to flag inappropriate content, please
