American Fulbright Student Studies Entrepreneurship with David Doloreux

The Telfer School welcomes Jennifer Ferris, who is studying here on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. The Canada-U.S. Fulbright scholarships provide a unique opportunity for outstanding students to examine issues that are relevant to Canada, to the U.S., and to the relationship between the two countries. Ferris is one of just 18 American students in the 2013-2014 cohort, and she chose the University of Ottawa!

She's taking courses towards a Master’s in Economics, and researching entrepreneurship with Professor David Doloreux. University Research Chair in Canadian Francophonie, Dr. Doloreux is a prolific researcher on innovation, knowledge transfer and regional development as they relate to a knowledge-based economy. Ferris will be studying how Canada’s entrepreneurship has changed over the past 30 years with respect to globalization as well as its variation among regions. She will also examine how best to encourage entrepreneurship among youth and linguistic minorities (particularly francophone).

An undergrad course piqued Ferris’s interest in entrepreneurship and she went on to pursue a double major in business economics and French, at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Ferris explains that she decided to study entrepreneurship in Canada for several different reasons, but mainly because of its important trade relationship with the United States and because of previous trips to Canada that she enjoyed.

Her initial reaction to living in Canada? “How different everything is from the United States, from education to politics to temperatures in Celsius to unfamiliar brands at the Rideau Centre,” says Ferris, a native of Vermont. “Although I didn’t realize to what extent it would be different here, I really enjoy learning about new things and my experience so far has been terrific!”

Read Jennifer's interview in the Gazette.

Read more about Entrepreneurship at the Telfer School.

A note on the Fulbright student scholarships. The 2013-14 competition is open for Canadian students and the deadline is November 15. Follow these links for more information:

http://www.international.uottawa.ca/en/index.html

http://www.fulbright.ca/programs/canadian-scholars/traditional-awards-2.html