The Bachelor of Commerce fourth-year students completed their respective capstone courses this past Fall 2020 semester. As a team, students had to conduct and present a live case study on a specific issue related to a real company. This semester, finalists of each discipline presented their work virtually, using video conferences to present their work in front of a panel made of professionals and professors.
Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition
On December 8th , the Telfer School of Management hosted the Michel Cloutier Competition, a live case competition where fourth-year marketing students are required to present a marketing plan which aims to solve a real-life business issue for an existing company. This year's organization for the case was Rideau Canoe Club.
Congratulations to the winning team: Aleksandra Romanowski, Amanda Lanteigne, Laura Tran, Maria Sokolov, Marianne Couture-Benitez, and Reema Radia.
Finance Capstone
All Finance students must take the Equity Valuation course in which they will undertake a case analysis to estimate the value of a real-life company and elaborate an action plan to enhance the company’s economic performance. On December 9th, 5 teams had to virtually present their results regarding the valuation of Aritzia in front of a panel of judges from Fiera Capital and BMO Capital Markets, as well as a private investigator and former Professor Allan Riding, the founder of the course. The judges were extremely impressed by the quality of the students’ presentations: “The quality of the presentations was exceedingly impressive! I had a challenging time coming up with my rankings,” shared one of the judges.
Congratulations to the winning team of the Finance case competition: Justin Abraham, Julia Magahey, and Liam Woodside.
Accounting Capstone (French section)
On November 25th, the finalists of the French section of the Accounting capstone course presented their analysis of a company and report on accounting issues in front of a panel of professionals and their peers. This year the case was based on a fictitious company, and the competition was sponsored by CPA Ontario and Logan Katz.
Congratulations to the winning team of the French accounting section: Gabriel Baril-Lavoie, Guillaume Forget, Julien Lafleur, Mike Sirhan, and Kevin Wilson.
There is a lot to learn as a new Telfer student when it comes to program features and courses. If you are interested in learning more about setting up your course schedules, choosing your program option(s), studying in French and English, and international exchange, check out this discussion from fellow University of Ottawa students from an Instagram Live session.
Instagram Live Discussion
This spring, uOttawa Future hosted live Q&A sessions on Instagram Live with current students from each of the University of Ottawa’s undergraduate faculties.
Fourth-year Marketing student, Fiona Doomasia, chatted with uOttawa Future ambassador and third-year Social Sciences student, Narimane Ait Hamou, about student experience both inside and outside of the classroom. This included anything from how to set up your course schedule and making changes to your program, to student clubs and jobs on campus.
Here are some of the key topics they discussed:
Courses
1. Course Selection
Some questions were sent in asking about what courses to register for in first year, and how best to choose courses. Nari and Fiona shared their advice for finding the best schedule of courses to set up: essentially, whatever works best for you!
Fiona suggested writing down the courses and time slots available on the uoCampus class search tool in order to see what choices you have, and to then select the courses that best fit your schedule. Classes take place anytime from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and are usually 1.5 hours or 3 hours in duration. She added that if you are fine with a full-day of around six hours of classes and you are commuting to downtown Ottawa, you can schedule a number of classes in one day. This can help in arranging your schedule to have one day off or to create one shorter day with plenty of available time for homework, group projects, student club work, or other commitments.
Nari also recommended meeting with an academic advisor who can help you set up your course schedule, ensure you are following the course sequence you need to graduate, choose electives, and more. Our academic advisors are available at any point during your undergraduate degree, so if you need help beyond first year, you are still welcome to get in touch with them.
View your program course sequence for your entire undergraduate degree here, by clicking on your program option, then click “Course Sequence” under “Useful Information”.
2. Class Sizes
Fiona and Nari also discussed typical class sizes to expect in first-year courses and beyond. In first year, many of your classes can range from 150 to 400 students depending on the course. A course like Introduction to Microeconomics (ECO 1104) is required in several programs, and therefore, will be filled with students from a variety of different faculties, leading to a larger class size of up to around 400 students. You may also choose to take an elective course in the Faculty of Social Sciences for example, which would be closer to 250 students if it is at a first- or second-year level course (beginning with 1000 or 2000 in the course code).
A course like Introduction to Business Management (ADM 1300) would be closer to 150-200 students in a classroom as all first-year Telfer students are required to complete this course. As you proceed through the years, you will notice that class sizes will decrease to as small as 60-80 students, common in fourth-year. This is because those classes are more specific to your program specialization, such as Digital Marketing Technologies (ADM 4326).
Program Changes and Languages
1. Switching Program Options/Specializations
At the Telfer School, you choose which program option you would like from the options offered, but all Bachelor of Commerce students take the same courses in first and second year. This gives you time in your first couple of years to determine which area of business you are most interested in, and you can switch into a different Telfer program if need be.
Perhaps if you started out in Marketing, but realized your interest in Accounting, you can switch into Accounting before you start third-year, where courses become more specific. You can switch in third- or fourth-year, but you will likely require further schooling as not all classes will transfer over. You will need to complete all required courses identified in the new course sequence in order to obtain your desired degree. For questions about this, you can contact your academic advisor at Telfer’s Student Services Centre.
2. Studying in your language of choice
You can choose to study in your language(s) of choice: entirely in French, entirely in English, or a mix of French and English. You can enrol in the French Immersion program, which requires a certain number of courses to be taken in French.
International Exchange Program
Any Telfer student is eligible to go on an international exchange during their degree. If you are either in International Management with a mandatory exchange, or you are in another Telfer program, you can set a meeting with one of our academic advisors to discuss your options.
If you are planning on going on an exchange, they can help you determine which semester is best for you to go on exchange based on which classes you need to take while at the University of Ottawa, and which classes you can take abroad. If you are in co-op, they can also help you figure out how to ensure you meet all requirements for co-op and your courses.
This year is a new experience for everyone due to the “new normal” we have been adapting to over the last six months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. These changes have brought about many new learnings, challenges, and even opportunities.
After having to postpone their usual in-person event in March, The Legacy Conference team is committed to delivering another memorable conference experience this year, even if it means going virtual. As the largest student-run conference in Canada, this year is extra special for the team as they celebrate 10 years of The Legacy Conference in Ottawa. In 2010, a University of Ottawa student saw an opportunity to inspire the next generation of student leaders through entrepreneurship, and thus, the Legacy Conference was born.
The Legacy Conference is designed for the learners and doers of this world. Speakers have a laid-back attitude and provide a personal experience, often wearing casual attire like t-shirts & jeans. “Legacy is all about sharing those genuine, real-life moments of entrepreneurship. We are empowering the future generation of leaders at our workshops, mentorship sessions, career fairs and more,” as their website states.
Legacy Conference 2020
As always, the conference is open to all University of Ottawa students with an interest in leadership and entrepreneurship intended to “provide the next line of leaders with the necessary resources to help them cultivate new ideas, kickstart business endeavours or build onto current ones.” This year's Director, Sally Adam, and the rest of the Legacy team is excited to present their first-ever virtual edition of the event, as they have made it clear it will be the same phenomenal experience, but “now all in your sweatpants.”
Sally her motivations for joining, and leading, the Legacy Conference movement this year: “I found out about Legacy randomly and since then, I've been hooked on our mission. We're focused on sharing the powerful moments of passion, failure, and perseverance that often define entrepreneurship. University is sadly when students let fear drive life-altering decisions about the paths worth travelling. Legacy is changing that for a lot of young people, including myself."
Interested in joining the fun and learning from this line of leaders to cultivate new ideas, kickstart business endeavours or elevate existing ones? Grab your tickets to attend this year’s virtual Legacy Conference on Friday, October 2nd, 2020.
With physical distancing in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, students are faced with the new challenge of writing online exams. Although this change may be frightening for some, with enough preparation, students can learn to make the most of this new reality.
With this in mind, here are four tips to prepare for online exams:
1. Strategize What to Study
When it comes to studying for finals, making a to-do list of major topics from the course and key textbook chapters you need to review can help set you on the right path. Pay attention to what professors say the format and topics of the exam will be. They may hint at a higher focus on some chapters versus others, so make sure those are high on your priority list when allocating study time.
You can break down this list further into tasks like “read chapter 8”, “do chapter 11 practice problems”, or “review chapter 5 class notes”, which you can then check off once you’ve completed that task. It can help you to feel productive when you can visually see on a list what you’ve been able to check off, and what comes next.
2. Create a Workstation at Home
When writing your exams, it may be helpful to set up a work environment that puts you in the right mindset, and that provides a workstation that is free of distractions. Small tactics like having a clear desk and a clean room can help reduce exam stress.
Also, you need to ensure that you have all of the required necessities for online exams with a strong Internet connection and log-in credentials. Make sure that you check your Internet connection before your exam. Think about restarting it so your network doesn't drop right in the middle of the exam. In addition, you may want to make sure your workstation has paper and writing utensils for any quick brainstorm ideas you may need to write down.
3. Prepare for the Exam Format
Exams can consist of multiple choice, short-answer, and long-answer questions. The difference between writing an exam in person versus online is the added benefit that you can write and edit faster digitally. This means that you may have more time to formulate your answers if you type faster than you write on paper.
Moreover, for those of you who may have open book exams, another good tactic is to become very familiar with your textbooks and notes. You could be even more efficient by using an online-textbook or your digital notes, as you would be able to use the CTRL-F function to quickly search for a specific topic. You could also copy all of your lecture slides into one single file so that it makes it easier to navigate.
4. Use Online Videos to Understand Difficult Concepts
If you find that there are specific concepts that are difficult to understand, online video explanations can be a great way to find an additional explanation for a confusing topic. The Internet is full of educational videos that can explain theories from a different perspective.
An example of a useful online source includes KhanAcademy, which provides further understanding for complex topics such as statistics and mathematics. Instead of usually attending discussion groups on campus, these online videos can help explore a specific topic further or find more clarity.
Check out a few more tips from second-year BCom student, Camély Gendron, on the Telfer Career Centre blog. Good luck on exams, Telfer Nation!
Telfer School of Management Bachelor of Commerce students Joy Xu, Leah Salzman, Lina Salama and Madison Woo, better known by their collective pseudonym “Employees of the Month” at the competition, brought recognition to the program by winning 1st place at the 5th annual Diversity and Inclusion Case Competition. In all five years since the competition’s founding, a Telfer team has won first place each time, with “Employees of the Month” representing Telfer at the fifth edition. The competition took place last Saturday, February 29th, at Export Development Canada (EDC), one of the founding partners of the event.
The group’s ideas, which the judges found to be refreshing and grounded in the reality of today’s world, earned them a shared $5,000 prize that was presented at the evening awards gala. This was the first year that the competition was open to not only MBA students, but also to third and fourth-year undergraduate students. The latter showed they were up for the task, as two of the four finalist teams came from undergraduate programs.
A new edition this year in the spirit of renewal and innovation, this fifth edition of the competition started on Friday evening, February 28th, at a networking launch event at Bayview Yards. An interactive activity hosted by second founding partner, Deloitte, was definitely the highlight of the evening, according to many participants. The Deloitte Greenhouse team offered the students who were present an opportunity to attend four workshops that were each as useful as the next. Participants were invited to discuss real diversity and inclusion issues both in the workplace and in everyday life.
For this year's competition, which could count on the support of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for the first time, the participants received the case analysis two weeks in advance, which marked a new direction for the case competition. Twelve teams from 10 different universities across Canada had to develop a strategy to recruit, retain, and develop employees of visible minority groups working for the Bank of Canada (the official author of the case study) by highlighting barriers to equal access.
According to Professor Catherine Elliott, Director of the Telfer MBA program, this new format enabled the teams to bring more depth in their analyses and increase the quality of the cases in the first round of presentations. “The bar keeps getting higher!” said Catherine; “Diversity and inclusion is now part of CEOs’ vocabulary, and is receiving more and more visibility as a topic in businesses. We can expect to host more teams and businesses involved in this subject, as a result, for the years to come.
The Competition
The purpose of the first part of this case analysis, which was presented before an audience for the first time this year, was to select four teams for the final round. This is where Joy Xu’s team stood out from the crowd, and this time the finalists had only 75 minutes to prepare before tackling a new problem posed by the Bank of Canada regarding employment equity data.
“Everything we learned in case resolution was really helpful to us, and each of us was able to put our own resources to work for the team, to determine exactly what employees needed”, Joy told us in the moments following the “Employees of the Month” victory. There was also the fact that two team members had to join the team just a few weeks before the start of the competition, and so the four of them were particularly pleased with this excellent outcome.
Another Telfer team, composed of Aditya Bhatkal, Allison Caverly, Camille Sigouin and Lisa Filter, all four MBA students, also performed well on the first round, but were unable to qualify for the final. The classmates were still happy to have had the experience and pleased with their presentation to the judges.
Competition Winners:
1st Place: Telfer School of Management, uOttawa, BCom
2nd Place: Schulich School of Business, York University, MBA
Tied for 3rd Place:
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Undergraduate; and
DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, MBA
The steering committee is already planning the 6th edition of the event, which will take place in early 2021. Any organization with an interest in diversity and inclusion issues and topics is invited to contact the Telfer Graduate Programs Office to discuss possible participation in next year’s competition at:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The 2020 CEOx1Day program, organized by Odgers Berndtson, has finalized its placements with four of Telfer’s Bachelor of Commerce students in the semi-finals. This challenge includes a selection process, and the top winners will win a day to spend with any CEO participating in the program. After several rounds of a competition selection process, one Telfer student made it to the top two Ottawa finalist spots.
We would like to congratulate the following BCom students for their progression to the semi-finals round:
Ciara Carey: 4th-year, International Management
Farah Osman: 3rd-year, Marketing
Joy Xu: 4th-year, Accounting
Rylan Williams: 4th-year, International Management
Odgers Berndtson, a global executive search firm, started this program as a world-wide initiative that connects third and fourth-year students with top CEOs. To find the next generation of Canadian business leaders, Odgers Berndtson has selected 20 students to shadow some of Canada’s top CEOs.
Students discover the inner workings that build company success, such as fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.
CEOx1Day has brought in new companies to match with students for the program’s 7th edition, including:
Odgers Berndtson works with a broad range of clients and integrated talent solutions. The CEOx1Day program was the organization’s way of investing in the development of Canada’s future leaders.
This Year’s University of Ottawa Finalist
Ciara Carey, this year ‘s finalist, shared the details on her journey from application to final placement. She listed some of the opportunities that led her to feel more prepared going into the various competing rounds:
“I feel extremely fortunate for the different opportunities and teams I’ve gotten to be a part of throughout my Telfer undergraduate experience (BSA, JDCC, etc). I’ve learned many hard skills as a result of my involvement; however, what I’m most thankful for are the soft skills I have developed.
Coming into university after having played competitive basketball rigorously, I thought I understood work ethic and teamwork, but these extracurriculars ended up being a whole other test of what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself. They taught me to self-reflect, work on seeing the bigger picture, and how to act with humility. Most importantly, I’ve learned how to be a better teammate.
Due to my extra-curricular involvement, I had many experiences that I could pull from to demonstrate my leadership abilities, that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.“
Application Process
The application process for this year started in early October 2019, which the Canadian Association of Business Schools (CABS) added as a requirement for all Jeux Du Commerce Central (JDCC) delegates. After the application, an online leadership assessment was conducted by Hogen Assessments. Next, the applicant is drawn for a telephone interview with an Odgers Berndtson executive search professional. The last step was a half-day semi-finalist evaluation at the Odgers Berndtson’s office. Challenges, workshops, and exercises were used to assess the interpersonal and communication skills of the candidates, as well as their teamwork skills, problem solving abilities, and leadership potential.
The Motivation to Apply
As a JDCC delegate and this year’s JDCC Coordinator, Ciara submitted an application to the program, as she “thought shadowing a CEO for a day would be an amazing experience. After reading the descriptions of the CEOs offered in the region, I was excited by the idea of spending a day with Sasha Suda and learning about her journey.” Ciara shared, “I am especially interested in learning more about how the National Art Gallery operates in general, and the leadership abilities that are needed as a CEO. Furthermore, I’m curious about the organization’s strategic goals and the role Mrs. Suda plays in achieving them. I would also love to hear about her personal journey, and her opinion about the impact that art has on the community.“
Tips for Future Applicants
Applying to a program of this magnitude can be intimidating at first, but certainly worth while. With the right tips, you can work towards hopefully obtaining a finalist position. Ciara shared her advice for students applying for next year’s CEOX1Day program:
“An obstacle you might face is an internal struggle deciding to actually apply. Similarly to when underclassmen ask me for advice about getting involved in Telfer, my biggest advice for folks interested in CEOx1Day is to ‘just go for it!’ Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to ‘fail’ (everything is a learning opportunity). For CEOx1Day, I think it definitely helps to be honest and authentic, especially when it comes to the Hogan Assessment portion of the selection process.”
Ciara also shared that she is happy to get in contact with any students that may be looking for advice for their future application!
We hope Ciara has an insightful day at the National Art Gallery, and look forward to learning more about her experience.
Through months and months of training, coaching, practice, and simulation, our JDCC team brought home 3 wins!
From January 3 to 7th, 2020, nearly 130 students represented the Telfer School of Management at the two largest undergraduate case competitions in Canada. These competitions are comprised of over 10 universities, and students can compete in either academics, sports, or social categories.
Management and business students across Canada spend months searching for the best candidates, placing them into categorical teams (such as marketing or finance), and help them practice their competition skills to compete against top students across the nation. In terms of the academics component, teams of three are given three hours to develop a case resolution that they then share with a panel of judges during a 20-minute presentation. Only the top three teams receive recognition and awards at the closing ceremony.
Jeux Du Commerce
This year, JDC was hosted at HEC Montréal in Quebec, where Telfer students were competing against 13 other schools in Québec. With a team of 82 students, Telfer brought home:
2 VIP Awards
Andre Caissie - Accounting Case
Charles Doray - Surprise Case
1 Team MVP (4 people)
Quinn St. Pierre
Sammy Najm
Olivia Yap
Angela Monfleury
Students are selected for VIP awards by academic judges for standing out in their category and presentation.
MVPs are awarded only to 1 person per category but in this case, was given to one team: the social team.
Jeux Du Commerce Central
At JDCC, Telfer students travelled to St.Catherines, Ontario to compete at Brock University, where Telfer students were competing against 11 other schools from Ontario. With a team of 46 students, Telfer brought home:
3 Podium Awards
1st place - HR case (Joy Xu, Aman Sidhu, Soumaya Esanhaji)
3rd place - Debate case (Samuel Benhamou, Aadi Koundal, Joseph Salem, Omar Al Salaq)
3rd place - Wildcard case (Bobby Wong, Dylan Budimir-Hussey, Soumaya Esanhaji)
2 VIP Awards
Bobby Wong - Entrepreneurship case
Dylan Budimir Hussey - Finance case
1 MVP
Amede Fontaine - Sports team
The Telfer Competitions Committee (TCCT) is the student association that selects and prepares undergraduate delegations for both JDC and JDCC. They are the students that reach out to all the coaches, which significantly impacts the team’s success. They also provide all the practice cases and run the case simulations.
Leah Salzman, President of TCCT said:
“I would like to commend the hard work of every delegate that participated this year. I would also like to recognize the outstanding work of both the JDC Coordinators and JDCC Captains. Without them and the delegates, none of this would be possible. Lastly I would like to thank the Telfer faculty for their ongoing support.”
We look forward to cheering on our Telfer students again at next year’s JDC and JDCC competitions! Now, TCCT is getting ready for the next case competition, Happening Marketing, taking place in Spring 2020.
The evening of Monday, November 25th marked Telfer student non-profit organization, CASCO’s 20th annual gala. That’s a full generation raising over $600,000 in funds for the kids at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). This year, CASCO President, Michaela McLoughlin, and her hard-working team raised $62,005 for CHEO, funds that will go towards youth mental health initiatives.
The 2019 Gala theme of “The Ripple Effect” came to life at the event with inspiring dancing, singing, and modelling from University of Ottawa students who rehearse every weekend in the fall to prepare for this night. The theme of the gala was moving as each performance was connected to the overall idea that one small action can create a ripple effect that impacts others and can even change the world. The narrator of the show eloquently explained how values such as courage, perseverance, and love have been emulated by many influential leaders such as Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Terry Fox, Malala Yousafzai, Ellen DeGeneres and more.
The CASCO team’s involvement doesn’t end at its spectacular gala though. Students work throughout the entire year to put on unique fundraisers that lead up to the final event. These give students the opportunity to give back to the community while having fun at sports tournaments, paint lessons, bake sales, trivia nights, and more.
CASCO was founded in 1998 by Telfer alumni, Alexandre St-Jean and Tuan Nguyen to honour their friend, Eric Danis who passed away from Leukemia. Every year since then, Telfer students have put in countless hours of work and passion towards the cause, and they’re not done yet.
Congratulations to the entire CASCO team and cast on another successful year and gala!
The Entrepreneurs’ Club (TECDE) has been hosting the Elevator Pitch Competition as a part of Global Entrepreneurship Week for over a decade, showcasing top talent and innovation among uOttawa student-entrepreneurs. This year’s competition offers ten companies, competing in two divisions, an opportunity to pitch their business ideas for a chance at a prize pack valued at over $35,000; with $20,000 in cash prizes and over $15,000 in additional services including law (offered by LaBarge Weinstein LLP), accounting (offered by Logan Katz) and incubation space (offered by Invest Ottawa).
Throughout the years, the competition has grown both in popularity and in awareness amongst the Ottawa business community. Back in the first few years of the competition, there was one category which was only for companies that were already established. When Professor Stephen Daze, Entrepreneur in Residence at the Telfer School of Management got involved in the event, he pushed for the formation of a second “Validation” category. Professor Daze recently explained the evolution of the competition, and shared that the new category “allows the opportunity to promote that it's important to validate your ideas before you just create a business. By showcasing the top five companies at this stage, [we] demonstrate to everyone else in the room what they need to be doing as next steps for their business ideas.”
Over the decades, TECDE, the Telfer School of Management, and the competition’s sponsors have been able to help countless companies launched by uOttawa students. Two of these companies include Hoppier, co-founded by Telfer alumnus, Cassy Aite, and Welbi, founded by Telfer alumna, Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau. These two bright co-founders will both be joining the 2019 competition as judges.
Aite, co-founder and CEO of Hoppier shared that: "the Elevator Pitch Competition gave Hoppier the opportunity to connect with a network of people and receive funding to help the company grow in a time when we needed it most. Hoppier was able to grow into a self-sustaining company, achieving over 6 figures in sales in its first year. Today, 2 years later, Hoppier employs over 20 people and is used by companies across Canada and the United States." The ability to create an impact in the lives of students and their companies over the years is the reason why TECDE continues to host this flagship event and strives to make improvements year over year.
In addition to the two category prizes, TECDE will be featuring a People’s Choice Award where the audience will vote on their favourite startup to be awarded a $2000 cash prize!
Join TECDE on Tuesday, November 19th in DMS 4101 to hear the 2019 finalists pitch their ideas and support our uOttawa student-entrepreneurs.
It is almost that time of year again - when the uOttawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens storm the football field. Our Gee-Gees football team is ready to claim Pedro the Panda - the coveted trophy. For the upcoming 51st Panda Game, the university rivalry is as strong as ever with over 20,000 fans expected to attend and show their support.
This year’s team roster includes 12 Telfer School of Management students:
Christopher Cyril, Management as Defensive Back
Daniel Oladejo, Management as Wide Receiver
Peace Tshilombo, Accounting as Wide Receiver
Chris Ciguineau, Accounting as Defensive Back
Cody Cranston, Management as Defensive Back
Cédric Amessan, Finance as Defensive Back
Jackson Hyland, Accounting on the Offensive Line
Frednick Eveillard, Accounting as Wide Receiver
Michael Pezzuto, Accounting on the Defensive line
Raphael Gagné, Marketing as Linebacker
Ryan Malvaso, Finance as Wide Receiver
Jeremy Pryde, Marketing as Running back
Many of these athletes found their Telfer education to be useful when applied to the football field. Wide receiver, Daniel Oladejo says “the lessons I’ve learned pertaining to teamwork and communication have had nothing but positive impacts on my Gee-Gees experience. It’s always nice when classroom learning points actually have real-life applications and, in team settings, the things I’ve learned have been proven to be very useful.”
Being a student-athlete is a large responsibility. Gee-Gees defensive back, Cédric Amessan notes that “to be able to perform in both the sport and the academic side of life, we have to be more organized and work more than the majority of our classmates.” However, the experience is well worth the effort. Defensive back, Cody Cranston’s favourite part about being a student-athlete is “meeting so many amazing people. Sports brings together different people of different walks of life, many times people you'd never cross paths with.”
The Telfer student-athletes are feeling ready and excited for the big game. Defensive back, Christopher Ciguineau shared that “it’s going to be a tough game, but [he is] confident that [their] hard work will allow [them] to win the game”.
We are looking forward to watching the 2019 Panda Game on October 5th at 1:00 p.m. The Telfer School wishes the Gee-Gees good luck on the field!
During this case competition, teams examine emerging challenges and propose solutions pertaining to issues of diversity and inclusion in organizations. This innovative competition exposes future leaders to business change and growth opportunities, due to the diverse nature of the Canadian workforce. Sixteen teams from universities across Canada will be competing to solve a unique case for the chance to win $8,750 in prize money.
While most teams participating will be enrolled in an MBA program, we also encourage 3rd and 4th-year undergraduate students in business/management to register. One team of 4 members is permitted per university. Teams will be registered on a first come first serve basis.
Register here to save $200 when you sign up before November 15th, 2019.
Starting a brand new life in an unfamiliar country, with new people, sites, and cultural norms is a courageous life decision. We are pleased to welcome new international students every year to the university and excited to see when these new students choose an education at Telfer.
As your new home, we want to make sure that as an international student at our school, you feel welcome and prepared for daily life in Ottawa.
That is why the University of Ottawa has anInternational Office that is designed to provide support, tips, and resources to international students while they prepare to come to Ottawa and for the duration of their studies. Additionally, at Telfer, we offer resources and services to help enhance theTelfer experience.
Here is a list of helpful tools and services from uOttawa’s International Office and from us at the Telfer School:
Details for prospective students: Information about life in Ottawa, studying at our university, and admission essentials are provided for students considering uOttawa in thisquick link. You can also use this Government of Canadatool to check your eligibility to come to Canada.
Information for newly admitted students: For ournewly admitted students, the International Office provides information relating to academic accommodations, immigration documents, admission offers, housing, orientation, health insurance, arrival on campus, and more.
Tips and resources for current students: Students already attending uOttawa can use thisquick link to find immigration, health insurance, and international mentoring centre information.
Information sessions: If you are a first-year international student this year at Telfer, you can attend one of themandatory information sessions on September 3.
Telfer Career Centre tools: The Career Centre at Telfer has developed theInternational Career Mentorship program and launched a global career portal calledHighered to help with your Canadian job search. The Career Centre also hosts many job search workshops, and provides a number ofimmigration resources.
Telfer Student Information: The Telfer Graduate Office has listed helpful resources forInternational Candidates in regards to studying, living, and working in Canada.
International Student Coaches Program: We have created the International student coaches program to assist with your transition into a Canada university.International Student Coaches program. You will be matched with a senior student who will work with you to help you succeed and answer any questions you may have.
We hope you are ready for a new school year! Feel free to get in touch with the Telfer Undergraduate Office, Graduate Office, or Student Services if you have any questions.
Since you are new to the Telfer School, we wanted to provide some helpful tips and resources for your next four or more years at the University of Ottawa. Starting a new life at university is a great milestone in your life. This new experience can be exciting, scary, fun, and nerve-wracking, and there are so many things to think about.
Let’s get you started by setting you up with a list of these kinds of things right here:
Living with roommates in residence: When moving into residence, you may be living with a new roommate or two. This is a big change for everybody, which is why uOttawa prepared a list of roommate tips to help you achieve your best #reslife.
Familiarize yourself with our campus: Welcome to your new home away from home! The uOttawa campus can appear large and daunting at first, but we have a useful list to help you become better acquainted with campus.
Choose an orientation activity: Choose from a list of orientation times to learn about adjusting to your new home. You can attend a university-wide session, or learn more about your specific faculty.
Find your new favourite grub hub: Here is a list of top 5 food places on campus so you can find your new favourite spot to eat.
Navigate around campus: Not the best at directions? That’s okay - find your way around campus with our interactive map.
Learn about SASS: SASS (Student Academic Success Services) is a free network of services designed to provide tools and information to guide you on a path to academic success. These services include student mentoring, counselling, coaching, academic writing help, and academic accommodations.
Take a break with pet therapy: That’s right - there is a spot on campus where you can unwind and spend time with dogs! Keep an eye on the uOttawa pet therapy schedule for the next puppy lovin’ session.
Keep track of important dates: From exams to breaks, this link will be your best friend when you need a quick answer.
Get ready for the Great Rivalry: At the University of Ottawa, we take pride in our school, especially when it comes to sports. We aren’t the only university in the city, which means we have a rival: Carleton University. Gee-Gees vs. Ravens games are some of the most exciting events of the year, so make sure you grab your garnet and grey!
Understand your uOttawa gym membership: As a student at the university, you are welcome to use the two gyms on campus - Montpetit and Minto Sports Complex. There are quite a few perks that come with having a uOttawa gym membership, so take advantage of them while you can!
Stay active with uOttawa Health Services: The university's Health Services offers many free activities to provide a study break and encourage well-being with yoga, cooking, reiki, meditation and more.
Meet with a Telfer representative: We have a handful of staff members at Telfer who offer advice to first-year students. Set up an appointment with one of our representatives to chat about academic life, extra-curricular activities, schedule balance and more.
We hope you have an amazing first year at the Telfer School of Management. We are available to answer any questions or concerns while you complete your studies.
As you can see there are many fun activities and perks to keep up with at the university. Feel free to come back to this list anytime!
It's time for a new school year, so we have created a checklist for our new and returning Telfer students to get you started.
Set up your uOttawa Student Card: If you are a new student, be sure to collect your new student card in the University Centre building or online. If you are a returning student who has lost a student card, deactivate it and get a new card or check the University of Ottawa lost and found.
Collect or renew your U-Pass: The U-Pass is a mandatory bus card for all full-time undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Ottawa. You can get or renew your U-Pass in the University Centre building (UCU) student lounge (located on level 0). To renew your pass, you must tap it at a recharging station in the UCU.
Get your Gee-Gees Pass: The Gee-Gees Pass gives you access to 100+ varsity events and exclusive access at uOttawa sporting events. If you live in residence, it is already included in your residence fees.
Attend a Mandatory Information Session on September 3: All first-year students need to go to a mandatory information session to learn important information about being a new student. You can also ask questions of our staff members at the session.
Join a club(s) or activity at uOttawa: The University of Ottawa has a huge variety of clubs and extra-curricular activities for you to choose from. Watch out for Clubs Day during Welcome Week along University Private.
Sign up for a Telfer student club(s): Telfer has 17 different student-run clubs and associations that you can join each year. During uOttawa Welcome Week, you can get to know these clubs on University Private, or in Morisset Library on the first floor at Clubs Day.
Take part in intramural sports: A great way to keep up with a sport you enjoy while making new friends is to join or start your own intramural team at uOttawa.
Try out for a Gee-Gees sports team: If you are more serious about a certain sport, you could try out for a Gee-Gees varsity sports teams.
Stay safe with the SecurUO safety app: The university has worked to develop a new app for students to keep you safe and informed of key security information. You can download the app to your mobile device to use while on campus.
The University of Ottawa and the Telfer School offer a variety of student services, career help, activities, sports, and volunteer opportunities. The Telfer Student Services staff are happy to help you learn about these opportunities.
We are proud of our #TelferNation student-athletes for their personal accomplishments and at the USPORTS National Championships. We are excited to celebrate four undergraduate Telfer students, for their remarkable accomplishments at the National level:
Brendan Jacome, Gee-Gees Men’s Hockey, specializing in in Finance with a complementary option in Entrepreneurship
Hannah Temple, Gee-Gees Women’s Basketball, specializing in Management
Amelie Hachey, Gee-Gees Women’s Basketball, specializing in Accounting (not pictured)
Montana Champagne, Gee-Gees Men’s Swim team, graduating from a Specialization in Human Resources this summer
On March 26th, these four Telfer students were honoured at the University Centre (UCU) building on campus for their impressive sports accomplishments this year for a celebration gathering teams and athletes. Awards were handed out to the athletes to recognize their sportsmanship on both provincial and national levels. Roger Archambault, Assistant Director of High-Performance Athletics for the Gee-Gees, was thrilled with the performance from all teams for their outstanding success.
Montana Champagne has now been awarded 8 medals during his Gee-Gees Swimming career, including 4 gold medals. Champagne collected 2 gold medals at the 2019 U SPORTS National Championship held at the University of British Columbia this year. During the championship, Montana Champagne finished first in the 200m individual medley (IM) setting a new U SPORTS record by more than a second and a new team record, while also finishing first in the 400m IM for another team record. He completed the weekend with a fourth-place finish in the 200m butterfly final. Montana’s journey as a Telfer student and Gee-Gee athlete is coming to an end as he will be graduating, but we wish him best of luck in training for the Olympics, we will definitely be cheering him on!
Brendan Jacome was named the 2018-2019 winner of the R.W. Pugh Award (U SPORTS Most Sportsmanlike Player). He exceeded his career-high, recording a total of 13 goals and 16 assists in 27 games without taking a penalty throughout the season. During the playoffs, Jacome added 8 points in 5 games. The Gee-Gees Men’s Hockey team finished first in the OUA East competition, with an impressive 22-2-4 record. Unfortunately, the Gee-Gees were eliminated by the Queen's U Gaels in the third game of a best-of-three series in the second round.
The Gee-Gees Women’s Basketball won the Bronze Medal at the 2019 U SPORTS National Championship hosted by Ryerson University. The team finished the regular season with the best record in the OUA, with 21 wins and 2 loses, setting a program record. During the playoffs, the Gee-Gees made it to the finals and won the OUA Silver Medal. Their season also included the team's first Capital Hoops win since 2015 versus Carleton University.
We are proud of our Telfer student-athletes and wish them luck in the coming year in both their academic and athletic accomplishments.
Three MBA and one MHA student from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa teamed up to place first in the 3rd annual Diversity and Inclusion MBA Case Competition co-hosted by Telfer, EDC, and Deloitte.
Students Anya Marion, Daman Preet Singh, Nazmus Saqib Tasin, and Sidharth Mahajan claimed the top prize of $5,000 while their colleagues from John Molson School of Business and Rowe School of Business placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively winning cash prizes of $2,500 and $1,500.
The competition took place at EDC, where eight teams from universities across Canada converged for a full day of case cracking on the theme of Diversity and Inclusion.
Beedie School of Business — Simon Fraser University
DeGroote School of Business — McMaster University
John Molson School of Business — Concordia University
Lazaridis School of Business and Economics — Wilfrid Laurier University
Rotman School of Management — University of Toronto
Rowe School of Business — Dalhousie University
Ted Rogers School of Management — Ryerson University
Telfer School of Management — University of Ottawa
Without access to the internet, the teams were asked to find human resources solutions and strategies for AGNICO EAGLE, a gold mine located in Meadowbank, Nunavut, Canada. The gold mine has been experiencing absenteeism and turnover within the Inuit workforce. Each team had to develop a plan in order to retain and increase the number of Inuit employees. Once the time was over, each team got to present to our panel of judges comprised of EDC and Deloitte members. Four finalists were then selected to participate in the second round of the case, where they were presented with a challenge to recruit a minimum of 500 new Agnico Eagle employees who would be working in two new operations while having the same culture, respect, and mentality that had made them successful in the past.
The four finalists gave a final presentation in front of the judges and their peers, volunteers, and community members who came to attend before heading back to the Telfer School of Management where a reception was held to announce the winners.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the participants who travelled to Ottawa to compete, our judges who provided the students with valuable insights and feedback, our amazing volunteers who were instrumental in the coordination of the day, as well as our two amazing co-sponsors, EDC and Deloitte who went above and beyond to make this competition a success.
(Judges from left to right):
Kat Lee (Deloitte) Senior Manager, Human Capital Consulting
Raj Mudhar (Deloitte) - National Director, Agile & DevOps Consulting
Emily Boudreau (Deloitte) - Senior Manager, Human Capital Consulting
Liane Nickerson (EDC) - Director, Workforce Strategy and Culture
Patricia Vincent (EDC) - Vice President, Talent, Learning & Culture
Michael Machabee (EDC) - Director, Portfolio Management and one of EDC’s 2018 D&I Ambassador Award nominees
Joe Rios (EDC) - Manager, Exporter Outreach and one of EDC’s 2018 D&I Ambassador Award recipients
Not pictured: Stephen Harrington (Deloitte), Senior Manager, Human Capital Consulting
A huge congratulations to five of our Bachelor of Commerce students who finished fifth at the Rotman International Trade Competition, the highest placing by a Telfer team.
Dmitry Shorikov, Shang Wu, Maxime Gosselin, Jack Lau, and Ben Burk went toe to toe with fellow undergraduate AND postgraduate students from 52 of the top schools in the world. This event is one of the most competitive quantitative trading competitions, and these students put in countless hours of hard work to prove they were up to the task. The passion and effort you put in translated into the school's best finish.
We are extremely proud to report that our Telfer student-athlete Maude Lévesque-Ryan has been selected to represent Team Canada for women’s university hockey at the Winter Universiade taking place in Krasnoyarsk, Russia from March 2 to 12. She will compete against other student-athletes from around the globe along with two University of Ottawa Gee-Gees from her team, Mélodie Bouchard and Christine Deaudelin.
The 29th annual Winter Universiade will draw over 3,000 student-athletes from over 50 countries competing in 11 different sports, making it the largest university winter multi-sport competition in the world. The competition will get more than 1.5 billion TV viewers, and attract over 100,000 attendees to the games, with a total of 5,000 volunteers.
Maude is currently in her second year of her Master of Science in Health Systems (MSc HS) at the Telfer School of Management working on her thesis. Her interest in information and data collection has fostered her passion for studying and conducting research in the health sector. Currently, Maude is completing her thesis project on better understanding seniors’ opinions about technologies that could be beneficial for them. She also wants to clarify which characteristics seniors give more importance to, and in which context they would be using these technologies.
Through exploratory research and focus groups, she has identified a need for seniors to use technology in their daily lives, which she is hoping will lead to reducing waiting times for access to treatments and lessening the burden of their personal care. Maude joined the MSc in HS to better understand health systems particularly for the senior population in Canada and wants to help identify seniors’ needs for these technologies and better understand their behaviours in relation to these technologies.
Maude feels that the MSc HS program is great for students who want to take action and make a difference in the health world. The program has enabled her to have a better understanding of the health services available in Canada, and she has been able to work closely with her professors for a more personal experience. Maude is working hard to ensure she is proud of her work on her thesis and hopes her research can help develop health systems solutions.
Like many student-athletes, Maude has to balance time for her school work with her hockey commitments. She considers herself very fortunate to attend the University of Ottawa and having the opportunity to compete in her favourite sport on the world stage.
We are proud to congratulate the DECA uOttawa team for their first place wins in the Start-up Pitch and Marketing Management competitions at this year’s DECA U Ontario Provincials. The team also placed second in the Project Management Institute (PMI) competition, third in the Advertising Campaign Challenge, and top 5 in Accounting.
The weekend-long Provincials event is held annually by DECA U, with 17 participating schools and 18 different competition categories. Delegates not only compete, but have the opportunity to network with several other student leaders and industry professionals throughout the weekend events. This year, the conference was held at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto, with over 1,300 students present and eager to #MakeTheirMark.
DECA uOttawa delegates had the opportunity to demonstrate their months of case study preparation on a national stage. On top of the case competitions, delegates were given the opportunity to engage with Toronto-based professionals from a multitude of business fields during networking functions. This networking opportunity provided a unique experience for University of Ottawa students to expand their connections in the GTA.
Delegates from uOttawa displayed their skills acquired through both academia and case practice to benefit from all opportunities provided by the conference. They demonstrated these skills in both their case presentations and their networking experiences, resulting in a fantastic overall performance by the University of Ottawa.
In categories ranging from a jeopardy style battle to Individual, Team and Special Cases, DECA uOttawa placed top three in 5 of 18 categories. With a quarter of the competing delegates returning to Ottawa with a medal, the list of decorated competitors is as follows:
William King – Startup Pitch Competition – 1st Place
Arya Ghaeli and Luke Lu – Marketing Management – 1st Place
Austin Marques, Rula Al-Halbouni and Justin Walker – Project Management Institute – 2nd Place
Abinaya Sivanthanu, Vanessa Kelly and Shoshana Matheson – Advertising Campaign Challenge – 3rd Place
Jason Lum – Accounting – Top 5
The Chapter Executive Team and the Telfer School is very proud of each and every individual that contributed to the overall success of the uOttawa team for the 2018-2019 season.
This year, we are proud to announce that our Telfer MBA students won first place in the Innovation and Technology case competition and placed third in the Spirit case competition on cannabis and harm reduction (sponsored by Health Canada) at the 2019 MBA Games.
Congratulations to the Innovation and Technology team: Steven Legault, Nazmus Saqib, Alexander Campbell, and Anya Marion, and to the Spirit team: Ian Rintoul, William (Qiwei) Jia, Marianne Pelletier, and Anya Marion.
Overall, against 19 other school, the University of Ottawa came in 9th place.
Each year, the MBA Games attracts the largest gathering of MBA students in Canada. Taking place at the beginning of January, 20 schools and approximately 600 students will compete against each other for the prestigious Queen’s Cup by taking part in academic, athletic, and spirit challenges.
This is a great opportunity for students to represent their school and showcase their talents. We look forward to the future success of the MBA Games delegations from Telfer.
Telfer's undergraduate marketing club, the Telfer Marketing Association (TMA), recently hosted Mad Marketing, a speed networking event to connect undergraduate students and marketing professionals in the Ottawa community. This year, TMA held their 9th annual Mad Marketing event on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 with over 40 students and 13 companies in attendance.
This event is designed to provide an opportunity for students in all specializations to network with industry professionals from major Canadian companies on a personal level, with an application process to keep the event exclusive. Each student had the chance to ask each professional about their marketing experience and expertise in a one-on-one setting.
The main goal of Mad Marketing is for students to learn about the many types of marketing work and strategies of the various companies in Ottawa, to help them decide on a career path.
Thank you to the company representatives who came out to speak with our Bachelor of Commerce students this year:
From January 3 to 7, 2019, nearly 130 students represented the Telfer School of Management at the two largest undergraduate case competitions in Canada.
During the 31st edition of JDC hosted at l’Université du Québec à Rimouski – Campus Lévis, the Telfer School of Management’s delegation stood out by placing in the top three in six categories. Their performance in the academic segment of the competition allowed them to bring back more trophies than they have for the past 4 years.
1st place – Marketing Case: Fiona Doomasia, Christine Seguin and Rebecca Stiletto
1st place – Accounting Case: Maxine Beaumier, Paulina Karwowski and Ziye Zhang
2nd place – Organizational Information Systems Case: David Gallo, Jean-Martin Twagirimana and Josh Powers
2nd place – Tax System Case: Joel Emond, Andre Caissie and Adib Hosain
3rd place – Operations Management Case: Beau Goehrum, Christopher Flores-Lyons and Archana Manek
3rd place – Ultimate Frisbee: Charlotte Winton, Jessica Nesrallah, Maxine MacKinnon, Damian Samuel, Paul Michel, Keagan Ross, Matt Fong, Noah De Abreu and Anton Père
Additionally, the nine following students were selected as VIPs by academic judges for standing out in their category: Anna Abraham, Audrey-Anne Delage, Fiona Doomasia, Beau Goehrum, Sarah Pétrin-Perron, Maxine Beaumier, David Gallo, Odile Burume and Tran Truong.
At JDCC in Guelph, Ontario, two academic teams wearing the Telfer colours left their mark by winning the gold.
1st place – Business Strategy Case: Matthew Fernandez, Jonathan Khov and Maxim Goldenberg
1st place – Entrepreneurship Case: Daniel Beech, Mishal Butt and Julia Simon
The Telfer Competitions Committee (TCCT), the student association that selects and prepares undergraduate delegations for JDC and JDCC, thanks all the coaches who played a key role in the teams’ success. Audrey-Anne Delage, President of TCCT, said: "We would also like to highlight the continuous support from the Telfer faculty, who recognizes the importance of these competitions both in the academic and professional development of its students."
We look forward to next year's JDC and JDCC competitions, and wish the next delegation great success!
In order to complete their undergraduate studies, the Bachelor of Commerce students take their respective Capstone courses in their final year of study. A capstone is an academic experience where students conduct a research assignment on a subject that connects to community issues and present their conclusions in front of a panel of judges and stakeholders.
Intopia Simulation
All of our undergraduate students take Strategic Management (ADM4311), and depending on their specialization, will take additional capstone courses (i.e. marketing, finance, and accounting). The Strategic Management course integrates knowledge attained from prior courses combined with the latest strategy frameworks and analytical concepts. Students must examine and resolve the complex decisions top managers face in today's globally competitive world. The emphasis is placed on the fundamental tools of strategic formulation, competitive and market analysis, developing resource and organizational capabilities, and shaping strategic fit through the use of the weekend-long Intopia Business Simulation.
Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition
Fourth-year Marketing students complete their studies with the Promotional Planning Practicum (PPP) course (ADM4325). The Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition 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 students worked on a fresh promotional strategy for Wesley Clover Parks, and the first place team won $1,500 dollars.
Finance Capstone
All Finance students must take Equity Valuation (ADM 4350) which consists of a case competition where students estimate the value of a real-life company, which this year was the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), and propose a course of action that the company should take to solve its problems; this year’s prize was $1,500 dollars for first place. The students also had to create posters to explain their financial valuation, with two teams who tied for best poster.
Accounting Capstone
Each semester, students in Case Studies in Accounting (ADM 4340 and ADM4740) course participate in a case competition in which they analyze a real company and report on accounting issues being faced by the company. This year’s organization for the English Accounting class was Biovali Corporation, and La Ferme à Mathurin for the French Accounting class. The winning teams from each section (English and French) each received a $2,000 cheque.
View the complete list of the students who won each respective competition on our Telfer Capstone page.
In less than a month, 25 of our Telfer MBA students along with close to 600 MBA students from over 20 schools across the country will meet up at Ryerson University in Toronto to compete in the 2019 MBA Games.
The MBA Games is a 3-day annual event, organized entirely by students, that brings participants together to network and build relationships while competing in a series of academic, athletic and spirit competitions.
This year, the MBA Games has partnered with the Canadian Council for Refugees, a national non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in Canada and around the world.
Find out more about the games on the 2019 MBA Games website.
On Thursday, November 29, 2018, Telfer International and the Student Services Centre hosted the International Exchange Fair in the Desmarais building. This event is designed for undergraduate students to have an opportunity to meet with other Telfer students who are interested in going on an exchange, students who have completed their exchange experience, and visiting international students who are currently on exchange in Ottawa.
This event had over 60 volunteers in attendance, and approximately 140 students interested in going on exchange next year. It also provided a chance to learn more about the different universities and countries that are part of our exchange program, as well as a chance to discover more details about the experiences of Telfer students who have studied abroad. It was a great opportunity to learn more about our partners and their cities from local students.
Thank you to our partner schools for your representation at the event for our students:
There is still time to apply to go on exchange. Start the process by attending a mandatory information session in January to learn more about the program, application process, partners, and more. Every student thinking of going on an exchange must attend at least one information session before applying for an exchange. An international exchange is mandatory for students in the International Management option.
Register for the English Information Session, taking place on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Register for the French Information Session, taking place on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
In recognition of Telfer’s 50th Jubilee celebration, the Student Services Centre organized a special surprise for a handful of high-achieving students.
On Thursday morning, November 29th, five first-year students in the Bachelor of Commerce program were invited to a meeting with Dean Julien. These students were surprised to be awarded the Dean’s Leadership Scholarship with a value of $2000 each, for their excellent academic standing. Congratulations to Marie Chloé Andréa Nadon Sabourin, Victoria Sullivan, Collin Murphy, Toleen Taimah, and Naomi Kixmoller-Gosley.
As First Years, students have to navigate through classes, clubs, networking events, extracurriculars, and jobs all while adapting to university life. These young adults are hardworking, intelligent individuals who benefit from the mentorship and career development opportunities offered throughout their undergraduate studies at the Telfer School of Management.
These students received some advice from Dean Julien on how best to navigate through their remaining years of study - he advised them on the importance of networking and being active on campus in order to build up their resumes and enhance their professional portfolios.
Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing what our students will continue to accomplish while at the Telfer School.
The Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC) is a one-of-a-kind event hosted annually at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, located in one of North America’s largest financial centres.
This year’s team consisted of six of our highest-performing finance students Ben Fudali, Jack Lau, Dmitry Shorikov, Shiza Shahzad, Ben Laulan Souilhac, Maxime Gosselin and was coached by Tarek Kassem, the Manager of the Financial Research and Learning Lab. The Telfer School team finished 12th overall. Our BCom students competed among Masters and PhD students, as the University of Ottawa was among the few schools to send undergraduate students. There were schools represented from 4 out of 5 continents with teams from Australia, Italy, China, Mexico, Ireland and Iceland.
RITC, now in its 15th anniversary, is the world’s largest simulated market challenge, bringing together teams of students and their faculty representing over 50 top universities across the world. Unlike remote electronic trading competitions, RITC offers students, faculty, and sponsors the invaluable experience of engaging in a stimulating face-to-face interaction, encouraged by our unique conference format.
Here are the highlights:
1st Overall - S&P Global Quantitative Outcry case
The S&P Global Quantitative Outcry case challenges participants to apply their understanding of macroeconomics to determine the effect of news releases on the world economy as captured by the Rotman Index (“RT100”). The RT100 Index is a composite index reflective of global political, economic, and market conditions. Participants will be required to interpret and react to both quantitative and qualitative news releases based on their analysis of the news’ impact on the index by trading futures.
Top 10 – Fixed Income Case
The Fixed Income Case will challenge participants to manage a bond portfolio and generate profits by taking advantage of any mispricing of bonds due to changes in the zero-coupon rates and/or credit spreads. This will require participants to accurately understand various types of news and evaluate their impact on the yield curve, credit ratings, and bond prices. Participants will then use the risk-free zero-coupon rates to price risk-free treasury bonds. They will also use the yield curve and the Altman Z-Score model to forecast potential changes to companies’ credit rating to price the risky corporate bonds.
Top 10 – BP Commodities Case
The BP Commodities Case challenges the ability of participants to trade in a closed supply and demand market for crude oil. Natural crude oil production and its consumption will form the framework for participants to engage in direct trade to meet each other’s objectives. The case will test each participant’s ability to understand sophisticated market dynamics and optimally perform his/her role, while stressing teamwork and communication. The case will involve crude oil production, refinement, storage, as well as the sale of its synthesized physical products.
"Regionals was when everything really clicked for me when it came to Enactus, and it was really nice to see that happening for the newer members. I'm so proud of our team and am extremely grateful to be working with such a hard-working, dedicated, talented, intelligent and fun group of people." Holly Todd, President, Enactus uOttawa
Hosted at the Hilton Meadowvale, the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition 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 90 motivated young leaders from seven different faculties at the University of Ottawa, competed in all four categories.
The Enactus uOttawa team will now move on to compete in the Enactus Canada National Exposition taking place from May 14 to 16 in Toronto, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
On February 8, 2018 4th year Telfer BCom students James Beaudoin, Aamena Chatoo, Christian Cotroneo, Natalie Dokmajian, and Nicholas Pelchat were named winners of the 2018 CFA Society Toronto Ethics Challenge. Led by Faculty Advisor Pouya Safi, this is the 3rd time that the Telfer School has participated, and our very first win! This year's winning team demonstrated their ability to expertly negotiate ethical dilemmas in a real-life investment scenario and presented their case to a panel of seasoned investment professionals. They will be heading to the Canadian Ethics Challenge on May 3, 2018, which will be held in Vancouver, BC.
The Women in Management Network (WMN), officially launched to a room of over 150 professionals, faculty and students on January 16th. WMN is a student-run initiative under the Telfer Career Centre that strives to empower and support women in the Telfer community to succeed by connecting them with female mentors, all while encouraging increased female participation in all areas of Telfer.
In the opening speeches of the WMN launch, Polly Leung [WMN network lead], stated that “Despite women being half of the student population at Telfer today, there is still so much room for potential for women to become leaders, achieve greater heights, and not be afraid to say ‘What if I am the best person for the job?’ in a world that might not always agree with us. Our network strives to empower women to own their talent and be a voice to drive them to be more confident in the world of business.”
The launch party was an interactive event, meant to facilitate the beginning of conversations and mentoring relationships. With this in mind, the event was thoughtfully organized down to the smallest detail- from conversation ‘bowls’ containing prompts to start meaningful discussion, to an interactive station meant to connect attendees with women-related resources in Ottawa.
WMN would like to thank everyone who attended the launch event. A special thank you to DavidsTea for providing refreshments, SnapLite for the LED signage seen throughout the event, and to the Telfer Career Centre for their continuous support.
In less than two months, close to 600 MBA students from over 20 schools across the country will descend on the Telfer School of Management to compete for the glory of the MBA Games 2018 Queens Cup.
The single largest gathering of MBA students in Canada, the MBA Games is a 3-day annual event, organized entirely by students, that brings participants together to network and build relationships while competing in series of academic, athletic and spirit competitions. The Student Association at Telfer is proud to host the 30th annual MBA Games over the weekend of January 5-7th 2018, for the first time ever in our nation’s capital.
The MBA Games is more than a competition. It is an opportunity for students with diverse backgrounds to come together to create lasting memories and innovate for a better future. To highlight how much more can be achieved in business when we create space for diversity, the 2018 Organizing Committee has chosen to mark this year’s games with the theme, More Together.
This year, the MBA Games has partnered with the Moose Hide Campaign, a grassroots, Indigenous-led initiative of men standing up against violence towards women and children. Participating teams have found creative ways to raise funds in their communities for this worthy cause: from bake sales and trivia nights to professional headshots. All funds raised will be donated to the Moose Hide Campaign’s Safe Spaces, Safe Places Initiative, which works to end violence towards women on university campuses across the country.
At the MBA Games, participating students will compete in academic cases sponsored by prominent organizations: platinum event sponsor Deloitte, platinum case sponsor, Export Development Canada (EDC) and Gold Case sponsor, Canada Post.
Athletic events will include volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, and for the first time, participants will get to try their hands at Canada’s other national sport, Curling at the Rideau Curling Club.
The spirit competitions will blend fun team-building with activities to get students thinking about social responsibility and the future.
The MBA Games 2018 Organizing committee is counting down the days until MBA students from across the country become More Together!
Case competitions, as I’m sure you’ve heard, are highly recommended and beneficial. I have never met a university graduate who has regretted their decision to get involved. Aside from making you stand out from your peers once you enter the job market, being involved in case competitions (whether as a delegate or as a member of your school’s executive committee) has many more benefits:
Networking and friendships Not only will you become closer to those in your delegation, but you have an amazing chance to meet other like-minded students from other schools. Case competitions also provide many opportunities to meet employers and professionals.
Critical thinking under pressure This is the essence of a case competition – to solve a problem under a time limit and to present it to judges. Being able to think critically and clearly can help you become a respected decision maker in your career.
Presentation skills
What better way to practice your public speaking skills? Truth is, you will always have to sell your ideas, and the skills you acquire in your presentation class can be expanded in case competitions. Watch your confidence soar!
Application of class knowledge
We tend to remember things we’ve put into practice, right? Apply what you learn in your other classes to help you solve these cases. Using this knowledge reinforces what you learned and can make you a better student.
Teamwork
You are not only working closely in your category teams, but also as with an entire delegation. Having strong support from your peers in a common goal is encouraging and confidence-boosting. Teamwork skills are a soft skill sought-after by employers. What a great way to practice!
Fun and vacation
Usually, case competitions hosted at other universities require some travel. In the evening, case competition organizers will have planned fun activities, so you can even take the time to explore a new city.
School pride
Being a delegate means you represent your school in external case competitions. This is a great opportunity to show your school pride and increase your sense of belonging to uOttawa and the Telfer School.
WINNING YES WINNING! It’s a bit cheesy, but there are no losers at case competitions! Whether you win 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or nothing, you are still gaining valuable experience and all the benefits of case competitions listed above.
Students put their academic knowledge into action with DECA, a global professional development program for students who strive to compete and network with other like-minded young professionals. Delegates attend competitions with an oral presentation and a written component, featuring a wide variety of categories, such as Business Financial Services, Marketing Management, Travel Management, and Management Consulting.
This year, the University of Ottawa’s DECA Chapter had several triumphant victories during the annual DECA U Provincials competition, which took place on January 20-22 in downtown Toronto at the Sheraton Centre. With 68 delegates competing, uOttawa was one of the 20 universities and colleges with their eyes set on gold, and their hard work paid off! Here are their results:
Connor Giddens – 1st overall in Human Resource Management, Top 3 for Roleplay Anna Halawa and Sonia Alb – 2nd overall in Marketing Management, Top 3 for Roleplay Tingi Mulvihill – 2nd overall in Business Financial Services Jason Luo – 2nd overall in Retail Management Jingwen Lin - Top 3 for Roleplay in Retail Management SoniaAlb - Top 3 Written Tests
DECA uOttawa wishes to thank Matt Archibald, Kina Leclair, Emilie Kitchen, and the Telfer School of Management for giving the delegation the support, guidance, and academic training necessary to prepare for the competition. Additionally, it would like to highlight the efforts of Anna Halawa (President) and Bobbi Nguyen (Vice President) for the time, effort, and hard work they devoted to the club. Finally, DECA would also like to recognize the dedication of the Executive Committee of the club, as none of DECA’s successes would be possible without their countless hours of work (Maxim Goldenberg, Divya Mehta, Jordan Monaghan, Nikita Gupta, Sonia Alb, Michelle Tam, Rula Al Halbouni, Zach Zhang, Fiona Doomasia, and Connor Giddens).
What’s next for DECA uOttawa? Students from the delegation will be competing in various invitational competitions across universities in the province to carry on the uOttawa streak of success. It also will have the chance to participate in the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). Stay tuned!
Written by Nikita Gupta, VP of Internal Affairs, DECA uOttawa
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.
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.
On May 10, 2014 forty candidates from the Class of 2015 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, candidates will finalize their findings and report for their North American client. 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 Google, Apple, Cisco, IBM, and Younoodle.
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.
The Telfer MBA program focuses particular attention on high performance organizations. The trip to Europe is designed to provide MBA students with a perspective on what high performance organizations look like in a European environment. With this in mind, the Telfer School has arranged for the MBA students to travel to Paris, Antwerp and Brussels to meet with executives from Sodexo, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Ferrari Brand Perfumes, IDInvest Partners, Alcatel-Lucent, Deloitte, Nike and Audi. Students from the Telfer MBA program will be blogging about their experience on this trip.
[These articles are no longer available.]
Baguettes, Berets and Balanced Scorecards: Telfer MBAs do Paris
John Adams, Alexandra Lyn, Oshada Mendis
The Power of a Network
Helena Gorancic-Lazetic, Roberta Kramchynsky and Ella Yang
Au Revoir Paris - Goedemorgen Antwerpen!
Angela Valdes Loyola, François Kontak Desmarais and Kimberly Barrett
Local culture while learning at Deloitte (Brussels) and AB InBev (Leuven)
Michelle Navarro, Adrian Papara, and Wesley Payne
Professor André Potworowski invited Marc Garneau, Member of Parliament and first Canadian astronaut, to give a conference to MBA students.
Mr. Garneau talked about his career in the Navy where he became officer before becoming the first Canadian astronaut and later the President of the Canadian Space Agency. Elected to the House of Commons, he is now involved in various projects is different fields such as international affairs.
Strat24 is a great opportunity for Telfer & Engineering students to create an innovative and creative solution to a real world problem and win $4,000! In teams of 4, students are given a case and have 24 hours to crack it and present their solution to a panel of judges. The winners of each pool will advance to a final round where they will present in front of another panel and attendees of the evening event.
After the presentations, there will be a networking session followed by an awards ceremony with prizes being presented by guest speakers.
Only a total of 40 students will be competitively selected to participate in the 2014 Strat24 event.
The night will finish off with a cocktail party where you will have the chance to network with our sponsors! The competition will take place on January 24 and 25!
More information is available online [This link is no longer available]
2013 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 2013 Enterprise Female 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 4thyear of the 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or dropping it off to room DMS 7130B.
Nominations for the 2013 Enterprise Female Entrepreneur and Leadership Award must be received no later than Friday January 17, 2014.
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 23rd Annual Entrepreneurs’ Club Toast to Success - Business Dinner on February 6, 2014.
On April 23, 2014, Telfer Executive MBA candidates will be leaving for Guangzhou of the People’s Republic of China. After concluding a series of discussions in determining this destination for the International Business Consulting Project, the Class of 2014 will now focus their efforts on identifying and collaborating with potential client organizations during the month of October. This is a critical component of the comprehensive curriculum that has seen the Program representing the interests of many Canadian organizations in more than fifteen international destinations since the inception of the program in 1992.
Over the course of the next year, the Telfer Executive MBA, as a component of the global perspective of the curriculum, will be focusing on bringing compelling business value to seven Canadian organizations who are looking to increase their footprint in the Chinese Market.
Many students entering university already have a variety of experiences with teamwork, but it is here where students will truly begin to deepen their understanding of working collaboratively. François Chiocchio, an associate professor in human resource management and organizational behaviour, is focusing his research on the characteristics of successful teams. Chiocchio, who is a new faculty member at the Telfer School of Management, has developed a unique perspective on why we struggle with teamwork and how we can get better at it.
Why is it important for students to learn teamwork?
We live in a connected world and, whether we like it or not, we’re going to be connected more intensely and in more diverse ways. Students need to understand and be prepared for that. In order to better connect, students need to understand and develop the attributes, skills and behaviours required for successful teamwork.
What makes team projects particularly valuable?
Class projects are a great way for students to learn how to be good team players. A project mimics the ambiguity and complexity of the real world. The classroom setting controls certain unknowns in the project, but overall, it is ambiguous and complex, which is exactly how the real world is.
Why do group projects sometimes lead to conflict?
For students, there is so much to learn that when a conflict presents itself, it tends to escalate spectacularly. It’s fairly common to hear students ask to have a team member removed in the first two weeks of the project, even if that’s not really a viable solution in the “real world.” In our professional lives, we know we can’t choose who is on our team, so exclusion is not seen as a solution. But all teams – whether composed of students or professionals –lack conflict management skills.
Group projects can be incubators of creativity, pride, and commitment. Sometimes, focusing on the positive helps in managing conflicts when they occur.
Helping people collaborate better will result in less conflict. This is one of the takeaways from my studies on teamwork in health care settings and interprofessional environments.
What about conflicts over individual performance?
Social loafers, or those who tend to withhold effort towards team tasks, may not intentionally set out to ride on the team’s coattails. Oftentimes, they can be excluded by others for a variety of reasons. Those doing the exclusion prefer to blame social loafing, but they are in fact contributing to the problem.
It’s a complicated issue that most people, not only students, don’t know how to deal with.
What advice would you have for those working on a team?
Even if you don’t like group work and prefer doing things individually, you can develop your skills and get better at teamwork. Some of us like teamwork, but aren’t terrific at it. Either way, it’s important to not let our preferred way of dealing with things get in the way of what the situation requires. Good team players learn to adapt. Those who are good at teamwork and are perceived that way by teammates do two things consistently: first, they commit publicly to tasks and deliver. Second, when they realize they cannot deliver as promised, they are open and proactive about it.
Read the full article on the Gazette website [This link is no longer available]
For the fourth year running, the Telfer MBA class participated in the development of an "MBA Oath of Ethics". This year 22 graduating MBA students participated in the annual oath ceremony at the Telfer School facility in Ottawa. Although recognizing that an oath in itself does not create an ethical individual, the student who participated in the event also recognized that the very act of taking an oath keeps the concept of ethics and integrity in doing business foremost in the minds of MBA graduates. This year's oath, developed collaboratively by the whole MBA 2013 cohort, focused specifically on accountability, social and environmentally conscious decision-making, and managerial responsibility to the broader stakeholder group of the company for whom individual graduates work. The history of the oath can be online.
The International Consulting Project and Trip takes place at the end of the Program. It enables candidates to apply a global perspective. Here is what Harry Webster takes home from this experience.
As I look back over the past six months I am astonished at what an amazing, engaging, and life-changing experience the Vietnamese project was for all of us. I, along with my peers of Class 2013, have just returned from the Telfer Executive MBA International Consulting Trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Five teams spent one week within the South-East Asia region wrapping up our respective projects we have worked on around the clock in Canada since late 2012. Our intentions and expectations were high on delivering on objectives set forth in our various projects. The projects focused on delivering compelling business value for five client organizations.
Each of the five teams represented different sectors, which created unique barriers that each team needed to address before arriving in Vietnam. We also encountered common challenges. The most obvious one was trying to establish relationships on the other side of the world. Even though most major companies in Vietnam are English-speaking, most government institutions are non-English-speaking, especially cities away from Ho Chi Minh City. Additionally, the 12-hour time difference meant that we would be conducting phone interviews between Ottawa sunset and sunrise. I remember setting my alarm for 2AM on more than one occasion. In the end, the best solution was using LinkedIn. A thorough and well-targeted search of LinkedIn helped identify critical figures in Vietnam. We had remarkable success connecting to them by presenting ourselves as keen students from Canada, who were heading to Vietnam in April. While we expected to face large cultural differences in this phase, it seemed that those who were part of the ‘LinkedIn revolution’ were generally very warm and welcoming to our unsolicited introductions. In a short time, we managed to build a rich network of professionals across various industries in Vietnam.
The barriers were often larger for our specific client. When ‘Vietnam’ is mentioned in a conversation, the first thoughts likely would not be theme and water parks, or even experiential retail and hospitality. Our task as a team was to make it a topic. We were tasked with research to identify opportunities with the Vietnamese tourism and hospitality sectors for a client who is a world-leader in the development of entertainment projects. Given that our project focused on assessing Vietnam’s market relevance by region, we identified significant stakeholders who happened to be outside of Ho Chi Minh City. We learned quickly through research that much of development in Vietnam is driven by government policy. The team’s goal was to meet with the central government, which is based in Hanoi instead of the class’ destination, Ho Chi Minh City. With support from the program, we were able to travel to Hanoi to meet our objectives. We were pleased with the support we received from the program, which recognized the objectives of the project could be compromised if we were not able to meet the policy-makers in Hanoi.
Our team, comprised of Joanne, Johnny, Joseph, Casey and I, quickly realized the value of networks and relationships. After securing full engagement of our client, the team began the process of building a network within a wide range of industries in Vietnam - from banking, legal, accounting, hospitality to tourism. The team also focused on identifying contacts that could bridge the team to Vietnam's central government. With the market experiences of our Telfer project mentors and our relationships with AIESEC members, we were able to build a useful network and a significant amount of work before landing in Vietnam. In the month leading up to our arrival in Vietnam, the team was focused on refining project hypothesis based on the knowledge gained through secondary findings and by building a tight logistics plan. The plan would see us meeting with on-the-ground experts who could provide invaluable insight to shape and validate the project findings.
On April 20, after a 32- hour travel time, the class arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, a city with a population of just over 7 million residents. The coach ride from the airport to the hotel set our adrenaline pumping as we got our first glimpse of the hustling and bustling streets which were filled with more than 6 million motor scooters, some of which were carrying up to four passengers each. All of the reading and preparation I had completed did not prepare me for what I saw; Ho Chi Minh City is truly a modern city
The week was a marathon and all of us had to cross the finish line together. This dictated us to have a well-organized plan of action. After a day of rest, Johnny and I caught a flight to Hanoi early Monday morning while the other three members of our team had a roster of meetings in Ho Chi Minh City with major financial institutions such as KPMG and Sumitomo Capital. The team was able to cover a lot of ground in a short period by working in two sub-groups. We took good notes of each meeting so we could effectively brief one another when we reconvened upon our return from Hanoi.
The meetings in Hanoi proved to be of incredible value. Johnny and I met with the Vice Chairman of the Administration and his Executive Team in an hour-long meeting conducted by a translator. The Vice Chairman emphasized the government's pleasure in having representatives from Canada demonstrating strong interest in the development of tourism in Vietnam. We were able to profile our client organization to the government officials, who offered to co-author a press-release featuring an emerging partnership with us.
The rest of the week the team continue the tag-team approach for generating relationships with major local/multi-national institutions and consultants. A representative of our client organization joined us several times throughout the week. He observed the dedication and commitment of the team to the project as well as embraced the relationships we had established for his organization. His attendance proved conducive as the team easily transitioned the project back to the client organization at the end of the week. With a smooth transition, the organization could continue to engage the various relationships we had established in Vietnam for them.
With only 24 hours left before submitting our final report, we met late Thursday to feverishly formulate the final conclusion and our recommendations of the project. Our action plan saw us integrating learnings from respective meetings into the final report. Therefore, the last 24-hours were allocated to putting final touches and to formatting the report.
While we worked hard during the weekday, Telfer leadership made sure that we had time to let our hair down. One of the absolute highlights of the trip was an evening social excursion to the award-winning Chill Skybar atop the 27th floor roof of the AB Building. Under a full-moon, complete with a cool breeze, the entire class sipped cocktails while taking in the views of the night skyline. We, collectively, shared a poignant experience that marked one of our final evenings together as a class.
The week culminated in the delivery of our final report to our project mentor at six o’clock on Friday evening. With the click of the 'Send' button, we had submitted the product of almost six months of preparation and execution. This also marked the completion of all of the Telfer Executive MBA Program requirements. Clicked and it was official. We officially completed the intensive 21-month graduate program.
Our final hours in Vietnam were spent at the stunning and chic rooftop Shri restaurant to celebrate our achievements together. The tone of the evening was surprisingly somber. I think the finality was visible and we realized that this evening marked the conclusion of something greater than we had all imagined when we enrolled in the program two years ago. It wasn’t just about celebrating the action-packed International Consulting Project. It was the celebration of the entire program itself. The Class of 2013 had become a family. We had spent 10 to 20 hours weekly with one another for 21-months. We had been through so many enlightening moments. We learned, grown, suffered, laughed, fought celebrated, and lived together. All of those experiences created an affinity and a bond that is difficult to describe. But we can definitely feel it.
Today as I write this, I am still adapting to life after Vietnam. Personally, the experience of the International Consulting Project has totally changed the way I view everything I have learned within the program. It has definitely changed the way I view my own future in business. There were so many highlights for me; having created and executed such an amazing project with four of my best friends, working within a country I might have never otherwise had the chance to discover, meeting with such high-ranking and influential figures, delivering tangible results to an international organization and achieving excellence all at once - this has been a Game-Changer for me. This is what makes the Telfer Executive MBA program truly unique from any other professional or academic pursuit.
This series of articles focuses on the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management Executive MBA class trip to the Silicon Valley. The trip is part of the EMBA curriculum on "Innovation and Entrepreneurship," which includes a consulting project and holding meetings with Valley firms on behalf of client organizations, as well as special events and discussions at key Valley innovation centres, such as the US Market Access Centre, Cisco, IBM Almaden Research Center, Younoodle, Google, Singularity University and Stanford University.
Bloggers Nisha Cario, Annu Vaidya, Marc Pandi and Melissa Olegario are Executive MBA candidates and they will be writing daily updates to share their experiences and lessons learned in the Silicon Valley.
Day two: The impact of disruptive technology [This link is no longer available] Wedesday, May 15, 2013, by Annu Vaidya
Day three: Telfer Executive MBA Students Explore the Benefits of Silicon Valley [This link is no longer available] Thursday, May 16, 2013, by Marc Pandi
Day four: Google Impresses and Inspires [This link is no longer available] Friday, May 17, 2013, by Melissa Olegario
The Telfer MBA program strongly values the international dimension of our program experience. Each year, we sponsor an elective course to Europe to explore high-performance in a European context [This link is no longer available]. The goal is to highlight the dynamics of doing business in an international business arena and to explore the complications of culture and politico-social elements that underlie effective business practice. Last year several of our non-Canadian international students suggested that coming to Canada was their version of an international experience. They asked: "Why don't we set up an ‘in-Canada international trip’ to help them explore business sectors in which Canada has strengths?" The same focus – high-performance organizations – could underlie the trip but the focus would be on examining the differences between doing business in their home countries and the Canadian context.
This year we brought this course alive. We have set up visits with exceptional companies in the "golden triangle" (Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal) that represent noteworthy Canadian business sectors. These include the entrepreneurial high-tech sector (Wesley Clover), retail (Costco), banking (TD Financial and National Bank), not-for-profit (Me to We), aerospace (Aero-Montreal and Bombardier), and international engineering products and services (Future Electronics). As we conducted the structured site visits, students were challenged to blog about their experiences. The following notes represent summaries of their experiences – what caught their attention and what learnings they walked away with.
April 29 to May 3, 2013
Offering Quality Products at the Right Price and Investibility [This link is no longer available]
By Arpana Singh and Jessie Zhang
The Future is Now [This link is no longer available]
On May 13, 2013, uOttawa student email is going Google. This means every student will now have 25GB of inbox storage, a simple way to sync their mobile devices, chat tools, calendars, enhanced spam filtering and access to easy-to-use collaborative tools like Google Docs.
An early adopter program has been underway for several weeks and has been getting great reviews. Psychology student Jean-Claude Taylor-Cline is part of the first wave of students to sign up for a new @uOttawa.ca Google account, and he has nothing but praise for the new system.
“Creating folders and labelling incoming messages accordingly is my favourite feature of my new account,” says Taylor-Cline. “Tools such as Google Docs are also extremely useful to students, especially for group assignments!”
Under the new system, students will keep their existing @uOttawa.ca email address, but their account will be powered by Google.
“The results from the early adopter student survey are in and they are overwhelmingly positive,” says Michel Biagé, director of student services, Computing and Communication Services. “Our second wave with a larger group is already underway, to ensure the system can handle a larger number of students moving their accounts to the service. It’s the exciting last step before making @uOttawa.ca Google accounts available to all uOttawa students!”
To prepare for the upcoming move to the Google platform, students are advised to engage in a little spring cleaning and begin deleting any messages they no longer need from their @uOttawa.ca inboxes. Students with active Webmail accounts will be able to sign up for this new service later this year. The plan is to migrate over 70,000 existing @uOttawa.ca email addresses to the new service by the end of 2013.
“The new @uOttawa.ca Google platform will enhance the student experience at the University,” says Taylor-Cline. “It’s proof that the University is dedicated to implementing strategies that will help students succeed in their academic endeavours.”
For more information, please visit the Google Apps at uOttawa website, or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., project manager and information technology manager.
Read the original article. [This link is no longer available]
The Telfer MBA program focuses particular attention on high performance organizations. The trip to Europe is designed to provide MBA students with a perspective on what high performance organizations look like in a European environment. With this in mind, the Telfer School has arranged for the MBA students to travel to Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven and Paris to meet with executives from Nike, Accenture, l’Oréal, Sodexo, Deloitte, Alcatel-Lucent, Louis Vuitton, and Viadeo. Students from the Telfer MBA program will be blogging about their experience on this trip.
April 20-27, 2013
[These articles are no longer available.]
Just do it
By Jennifer Ewin, Tania Ravenda and Fraser Somers, Telfer MBA candidates
Alcatel-Lucent – Innovation at the Speed of New Ideas
By Beverly Ebegbuzie, Miguel Alvarez and Vipin Bansal, Telfer MBA candidates
Thinking Outside the Box
By David Woeller, Peter Hollett, Alex Klein, Telfer MBA candidates
Success is in the Details
By Adam Lamoureux, Jennifer Prouse, and Laura Venasse
Join us for a host of exciting uOttawa Alumni Week activities for all ages!
Satisfy your thirst for knowledge — minus the homework — with mini-lectures on topics ranging from brains to bomb blasts, science exploration and engineering innovation.
Meet up with old friends at your class reunion. Then, join us for the uOttawa Alumni Association's Destination 2013 celebration at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, hosted by Lisa LaFlamme and Patrick Lagacé and featuring performances by Alan Doyle and Les Trois Accords.
Share your love for discovery with live science shows for the whole family. Take a campus tour to see what's changed and revel in the new Social Sciences Building and its 100-foot living wall.
At the Telfer School of Management, we value our donors and we like to show it! We will welcome donors who have made a gift of $35 or more to the Telfer School between January 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013 to the "Back to Telfer - Come back. Give back" celebration.
Technology has made it possible for us to get health information online. But can "Dr. Google" really assess our symptoms? This talk focuses on health informatics and the opportunities and challenges that new technologies bring to the delivery of healthcare. Listen to Professors Wojtek Michalowski and Craig Kuziemsky's thoughts on the subject.
Nothing is more energetic than an electrifying party. Join us for Destination 2013 — the uOttawa Alumni Week extravaganza in which the Canada Aviation and Space Museum will be transformed into an ultra-cool urban lounge.
These events are part of the uOttawa Alumni Week 2013. Other events are also organized during this week.
Sir Terry Matthews made a guest appearance in the Leadership Lecture Series and provided great insight into his life as an empowering leader and mentor.
About the Leadership Lecture Series:
This unique lecture series draws senior leaders within the Ottawa community into the Telfer Executive MBA classroom. This six session course within the curriculum goes well beyond a traditional case study method. It will give you the opportunity to actively participate in a ‘live’ business case where you can discuss, question and critic the business leader who was responsible for making key critical and strategic decisions within his or her organization during the case. The comparison of the various speakers will allow you to consider, compare and evaluate each speaker’s leadership style and strategy for managing current issues within their organizations.
The University of Ottawa Marketing Association and the Telfer School of Management held the Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition on April 4, 2013 at the Desmarais Building.
Congratulations to the winning team, Team 1 (Anastasiya Shulyarenko, Branden Goodman, Sean Carter, Adam Tomaszewski, Sarah Rizvi, Raechel Allen), who provided the best insight into how the Alumni Association might grow the number of their members buying auto insurance from Johnson Inc.
The winning team received a cash prize of $1,000. The Marc Roy Fund and Johnson Inc. awarded $500 to the two students with the best presentations, Branden Goodman and Ariane Lafond.
Nominations are invited for students who deserve to be recognized for outstanding Social Responsibility Leadership. This award is open to BCom students who will be returning to complete their 4th year of study as a full-time student. The prize consists of$2,000 towards the recipient’s 4th year tuition fees.
Nominations can be made by completing the Nomination form and sending it via email to
Susan Redmond at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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 are due May 10, 2013. The selection committee will make a decision by May 23. The award will be presented at the Telfer School of Management Post-Convocation Awards Luncheon Reception on June 10, 2013.
BCom students in the Management Information Systems option were chosen with 12 other teams out of 30 to take part in CaseIT, an annual international undergraduate business case competition. The case competition is held from February 6 to 9, 2013 at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
Photo : Benoit Tramontini, Natalie Bogatirev and Jan Kasprzycki.
For further information or to register, get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
About The Nicol Entrepreneurial Award is a national program
The competition is designed to generate and reward interest in entrepreneurship on the part of undergraduate students in any faculty or field of study at participating universities across Canada. Launched in 1997, this program now awards over $100,000 in prize money each year to individual students or student teams who submit winning plans for their entrepreneurial business ideas.
The 25th Jeux du commerce took place January 4 to 6, 2013, at HEC Montréal in Montréal, Québec. A delegation of 82 students represented the Telfer School of Management.
Congratulations to students for winning the following:
Operations Management Case (3rd place): Jayme Fallen, Branden Goodman and Andrej Rajic
Coach: Professor Jean Couillard
Taxation Case (3rd place): David Levell, Thea Temple, Meagan Thompson
Coaches: Professor Kathryn Pedwell and Simon Couvrette
International Business Case(3rd place): Aymeric Beard, Marc-Andre Bigras and Jennifer Viscosi
Coach: Professor Tyler Chamberlin
Volleyball (3rd place): Michel Bedard, Danika Chilibeck, Bryan Ip, Thomas Le, Catherine Nadeau, Pascale Nadeau, Dan Packer, Eric Prefontaine, Vincent Trottier
Coach: Jacob Legault
MBA Games
The 25th MBA games took place at the University of McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton/Burlington, Ontario. For the first time, the Telfer School was represented by a full delegation composed of 40 students.
Inter-Collegiate Business Competition
Andrea kuntz and Jennifer Proulx competed in the HR case at the 35th annual ICBC (Inter-Collegial Business Competition) last weekend at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
From January 6 to 11 2013, the Telfer School of Management of the University of Ottawa will join 35 schools from around the world in Montreal, Canada at the John Molson MBA International Case Competition. The competition, the oldest and largest of its kind in the world.
This year’s event will have the greatest number of international competitors in the competition’s history. In addition to the seven American and twelve Canadian universities participating, will be seventeen International schools from fourteen countries and five continents. Australia, Egypt and South Africa will be represented for the first time.
The Telfer School of Management will be sending their four best case cracking MBA candidates (Alex Bota, Tina Huang, Yi Liu and John Hastings) who will, over six days, tackle seven business case studies, including one “live” case study. The live case will see a surprise company present a problem they are currently facing to the teams, who will then present their solutions. The teams will compete to take home the Concordia Cup and up to $10,000 in prize money.
The University of Ottawa Marketing Association and the Telfer School of Management held the Michel Cloutier Marketing Competition on December 4, 2012 at the Desmarais Building.
Congratulations to the winning team, Team 3 (Brandon Chow, Shaheed Mohamed, Alannah Saikaley, Cristina Germano, Adrian Mulligan, Elisa Garcia), who presented the best marketing campaign for The Drink as mandated by the event sponsor: York Entertainment.
The winning team received a cash prize of $1,000. The Marc Roy Fund awarded $500 to the student with the best presentation, Noah Hayes.
The next evaluation of teaching and courses will take place from November 19 to 30, 2012.
What is the purpose of the teaching and course evaluations?
The evaluations improve the quality of the learning experience.
Professors have said they find this feedback to be a valuable means of improving their teaching skills. What’s more, some key aspects of the evaluation are part of the University’s collective agreement with professors.
The main purpose is to obtain student feedback on a course and an instructor’s teaching. This information can also help professors gauge their abilities and help other students learn about how a course was taught.
How do I participate?
Classroom courses
Fill out the questionnaire and comment sheet during the evaluation period.
Your professors may have asked that a customized evaluation related to specific aspects of their course be completed as well.
Web based courses
Via the uoZone portal, under the "InfoWeb" tool, and complete the official evaluation questionnaire.
Evaluation results (S-Report)
The evaluation results are available on uoZone. See what other students think!
The Telfer School of Management Career Centre is seeking internship positions located outside of Canada for the Ontario Global Edge international mobility scholarship program. Global Edge offers exceptional Ontario students a $4,000 scholarship to pursue opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship and the role of small and medium-sized businesses in a global economy.
Eligible internships:
Can be offered at any time of year, with a high demand for summer positions;
Take place in a small or medium-sized enterprise;
Are located outside of Canada in a location(s) considered “safe” according to DFAIT;
Create entrepreneurial opportunities for the student;
Provide learning about local, national and international business in the world economy;
Create links to Ontario and Ontario’s small business community; and
Last from 8 to 24 weeks, full-time hours.
For more information, please contact Kimberley Barclay, Relationship Manager,
Career Centre, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 613-562-5800, ext. 7232.
2012 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 2012 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 4thyear 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or dropping it off to room DMS 7130B.
Nominations for the 2012 Female Enterprise Entrepreneur and Leadership Award must be received no later than Monday January 14, 2013. 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 22nd Annual Entrepreneurs’ Club Toast to Success - Business Dinner on January 31, 2013.
The Telfer School of Management would like to warmly congratulate all of its new graduates. Here is a list of the students who were best able to set themselves apart. The School has recognized their achievements through the following awards.
Véronique Grenier
University Gold Medal
Neil Kothary
University Silver Medal
Neil Kothary
KPMG Award for Excellence
Kelly Agnew
David Litvack Memorial Prize
Neil Kothary
Highest Achievement in Accounting
Jessica Tang
Highest Achievement in Management Information Systems
The Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada) and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex have joined forces to create a new annual MBA Award at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.
This $1,000 award will offer financial assistance and recognition to a Telfer MBA student whose career interest is in management consulting and who is working towards the CMC designation.
“The Canadian Association of Management Consultants is proud to recognize the long-standing relationship we have enjoyed with the Telfer MBA program,” expressed Glenn Yonemitsu, CMC, MBA, CEO of CMC-Canada. “We are proud of our Association’s partnership in Telfer’s MBA Consulting Project and, together with TD Insurance Meloche Monnex, we thought this scholarship was a great initiative to confirm our support of the Telfer School by helping to attract smart, young business leaders to the program.”
“The Telfer School is very grateful to CMC-Canada and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex for this gift which demonstrates their desire to support and invest in deserving students pursuing a career in management consulting,” said Dean François Julien. “We are very pleased to work with CMC-Canada/TD Insurance Meloche Monnex to recognize achievement and encourage excellence”.
About CMC-Canada and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex
Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada)
CMC-Canada fosters excellence and integrity in the management consulting profession as a whole and seeks to advance the practice and profile of management consulting in Canada through education and certification of consultants, promotion of ethical standards and professional competency, and advocacy for the profession in public and government settings.
TD Insurance Meloche Monnex
As a preferred affinity partner of CMC-Canada, TD Insurance Meloche Monnex offers members great savings on home and auto insurance with preferred group rates. TD Insurance Meloche Monnex supports management consulting students and CMC-Canada as they advocate for the CMC designation.
Nominations are invited for students who deserve to be recognized for outstanding Social Responsibility Leadership. This award is open to BCom students who will be returning to complete their 4th year of study as a full-time student. The prize consists of $2,000 towards the recipient’s 4th year tuition fees.
Nominations can be made by completing the nomination form and sending it via email to
Susan Redmond at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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.
Nominators must include their name and contact information. Nominations can come from staff, faculty, alumni and members of the business and local community.
Nominations are due May 15, 2012. The selection committee will make a decision by May 22. The award will be presented at the Telfer School of Management Post-Convocation Awards Luncheon Reception on June 4, 2012.
The next evaluation of teaching and courses will take place from March 19 to 30, 2012.
What is the purpose of the teaching and course evaluations?
The evaluations improve the quality of the learning experience.
Professors have said they find this feedback to be a valuable means of improving their teaching skills. What’s more, some key aspects of the evaluation are part of the University’s collective agreement with professors.
The main purpose is to obtain student feedback on a course and an instructor’s teaching. This information can also help professors gauge their abilities and help other students learn about how a course was taught.
How do I participate?
Classroom courses
Fill out the questionnaire and comment sheet during the evaluation period.
Your professors may have asked that a customized evaluation related to specific aspects of their course be completed as well.
Web based courses
Via the uoZone portal, under the "InfoWeb" tool, and complete the official evaluation questionnaire.
Evaluation results (S-Report)
The evaluation results are available on uoZone. See what other students think!
The Telfer School of Management Alumni Association is accepting nominations for its alumni awards: the Trudeau Medal and the Young Achiever's award. The deadline is June 15, 2012.
These awards are given to alumni in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the world of business, their communities and their alma mater. These recognitions will be awarded at the Gala of Excellence in September.
The Trudeau Medal selection committee is now accepting nominations for the 2012 awards. 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.
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.
To nominate an alumnus for this year's Trudeau Medal or for the Young Achiever's Award, please send a supporting letter and the candidate's resume to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by June 15, 2012.
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