aspire - The Global Issue - Summer 2009

2 THE GLOBAL ISSUE 2009

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3 aspire

TABLE OF

Where’s A Phone Booth When You Need One?He doesn’t own a cape, but he can pull together a business deal faster than a speeding bullet. Super student Craig Worobec talks of his super busy academic year and shares his outlook on the state of the world.

04Message From The Dean

05Message From The Editor

06Amazing Case Competition

07Strategic AdvantagesAnother international win for MacEwan

08Copping a PrizeTeam MacEwan uses marketing savvy to attract police recruits

09Devine Dreams

10 Digital WoodsBlogCamp - An event like no other

12Take a ChairMeet the man himself - Enbridge’s Art Meyer

14The First InternationalistsA new major preps students to take on the business world

16The Ultimate Field Trip

26First Bachelor of Commerce GradsWhat’s on the minds of MacEwan’s newest degree holders

30Project PanamaOne instructor’s creative method of teaching

34The Trip BusinessThe Far East charms MacEwan travel students

37The Man in GreenProfiles Dr. MacEwan, the environmentalist

38Daily GreensMacEwan campus turns a darker shade of green

40Destination – EdmontonUkrainian students learn the ways of the west

41TIP top students

42Manager for TodayA former student speaks from the other side of the lecturn

CONTENTS

NO TIME TO WASTEEdmonton and Chengdu, China Come TogetherProgram chair William Wei works with faculty from China’s Research Center for Economic Transition to create a plan dedicated to ending “white pollution”.

ON THE COVER

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THE DEANWelcome to the inaugural issue of Aspire. The MacEwan School of Business

continually strives to excel in every aspect of post-secondary education including

curriculum, faculty and facilities. Along with these tangible benefits, we at MacEwan

have created a positive, supportive culture – often referred to as the “MacEwan ex-

perience”. Our students thrive in this environment and go on to become successful

members of the global business economy.

We thought people might like to hear some good news and success stories for a

change. And so, Aspire was born. The following pages are the culmination of a lot of

hard work, dedication and foresight. It is our hope that you, as a reader, find a story

to pique your interest whether it’s about technological developments,

cultural diversity or just plain old human nature.

It wasn’t difficult to decide upon a theme for the first issue of this publication. Never

before has our world been so interconnected and interdependent. We truly are a

global village and our students are very cognizant of that.

Join with us as we celebrate our accomplishments and recognize the valuable staff,

faculty and students that comprise the MacEwan School of Business.

Elsie Elford, BA, LL.B

Dean, School of Business

MESSAGE FROM

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VOLUME 1 Issue 1

Fall 2009

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Laura England

CONSULTING EDITOR

Mifi Purvis

COPY CHIEF

Kim Tannas

EDITORIAL ADVISORS

Leslie Blyth, Elsie Elford, Boyd England,

Carla Lemaire, Gordon Lucyk

EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR &

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Stevo Basara

CONSULTING ART DIRECTOR

Charles Burke

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ray Ambeault, Monica Domingues,

Laura England, Patrick Finegan,

Gene Kosowan, Sheena MacInnis,

Daniel Mireault, Mifi Purvis,

Alex Sorokin, Stephanie Sparks,

Erin Walton, Brad Woronuk

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Robert Bray, Bruce Clarke, Jana Clarke,

Teresa Costouros, Boyd England, Laura

England, Darren Jacknisky, Brian Keller,

Craig Worobec, The City of Edmonton

Aspire is published by MacEwan School

of Business to celebrate student, faculty

and staff successes.

Aspire is published by Grant MacEwan

College in conjunction with Venture

Publishing Inc.Grant MacEwan CollegeP.O. Box 1796Edmonton, AB T5J 2P2

780.633.3785

Contents copyright 2009 by Grant MacEwan

College. No part of this publication should

be reproduced without written permission.

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORSchool is inWhen it came time to write about happenings at the MacEwan School of Business, there was

more going on than I’d imagined.

In addition to my role editing this magazine, I also serve as a communications advisor for the

MacEwan School of Business. Sometimes it’s not an easy title to live up to. It implies a couple

of things: you’re an expert at conveying messages, and you’re an information hub – totally up

to date on the who, what, when, where and why of your department.

I’m honest enough to admit that I’m not the most profound author, but I believe I’m capable of

delivering a message in a clear, engaging and somewhat witty manner. And I was pretty sure I

had a good idea of the events that took place in our little corner of the world.

But when I began compiling articles for this magazine, I realized I was lacking in two areas –

scope and perspective.

Now, I realize this is a School of Business publication, but we cannot overlook the fact that we

are part of a larger entity. This was an excellent opportunity for me to take a step back and

observe the college as a whole and, to my great pleasure, I found out there’s a whole lot going

on here. Our environmental initiatives alone are extremely newsworthy, but here’s the rub – no

one knows about them! Aspire is the perfect venue to spread the word.

Our School of Business events receive good coverage, but usually from a staff or faculty

member’s point of view. Putting together this publication obliged me to reconnect with this

institution’s greatest asset – students. Who better to comment on the relevance of an event

than those participating in it and, in many cases, driving it? In these pages, read the thoughts

and opinions of those whose lives we’re here to enrich.

I hope my contributions do justice to the individuals involved, and I send out a huge thanks to

those who added flavour and diversity to Aspire by submitting articles as well.

Laura England

Editor of Aspire, Communications Advisor,

MacEwan School of Business

MESSAGE FROM


Case competitions are used

widely throughout post-second-

ary institutions as a hands-on

way for students to apply the

knowledge and skills they’ve gained in the

classroom. The premise behind this sort

of event is to bring students together in

teams to come up with the best solution

to a business problem. By participating in

this competition, students practice their

analytical and presentation skills, and learn

to work together.

Students also make valuable business

contacts by participating in extra-curricular

events such as these. Knowing these

people may come in handy when our grads

are looking to secure employment in June.

This particular case competition, held at

MacEwan’s South Campus, is especially

amazing for a couple of reasons:

• Teams are made up of students from

different programs at MacEwan’s South

Campus including Accounting, Manage-

ment Studies and Golf Management –

new friends!

• The panel of judges are prominent Ed-

monton business leaders – new contacts!

The Amazing Case Competition

By Laura England

• The winning team receives $1000 – new

shoes!

This years’ winning team will no doubt put

their cash prize to good use. Team mem-

bers include Jeanine Sears and Markku

Luopa from the Golf Management program,

Accounting student Rahel Jimma and Man-

agement Studies student Christine Krause.

Organizers for the 2009 competition really

made things fun for all involved. The three-

day event began with a kick off reception,

followed by eight hours of case work for the

participants, and ended with case presenta-

tions and an awards ceremony.

Need proof? Let’s hear from the students

themselves:

My best memory of the Amazing Case

Competition was…

…seeing that the things we learned in class

were useful.

…meeting people and the experience.

…how helpful and kind everyone was –

networking and meeting new people!

…the food was delish.

…the jokes amongst my team members.

…winning! And also being one of the first

golf students to participate.

This competition is one of those rare op-

portunities in which local businesses can

interact with students by passing on their

knowledge and expertise. Companies can

also get involved by helping to offset the

costs incurred by putting on such an event.

Organizers would like to thank the 2009

sponsors; CMA Alberta and Sayler’s

Employment & Consulting Ltd.

Want to get involved? Call Hazel Stubbs,

Project Coordinator, MacEwan School of

Business at 780 497-5272 or email her at

[email protected]. It’s a win/win

situation for everyone.

Let’s begin by answering two questions:

1. What is a Case Competition?

2. What makes this one so amazing?

The Amazing Case Competition

How often do students compete head-to-head with 94 other schools

internationally? Probably about as often as their instructor buys

the first round at Towers, (the pub at MacEwan’s downtown cam-

pus). So it was with great anticipation that 18 teams of students in

the Management Studies and Golf Management programs entered

the web-based simulation, called GLO-BUS challenge, competing

against such schools as Ryerson University, Singapore Management

University and the University of Technology – Sydney.

GLO-BUS is a completely online exercise in which students create

their own fictitious digital camera company and then apply their new-

ly acquired business skills to manage it. Management teams have to

build a competitive strategy and a credible brand image. Participants

receive grades based on four performance variables: earnings per

share, return on average equity, stock price and overall score.

During their term in this ongoing simulation, the MacEwan teams

rocked the rest of the globe. Many MacEwan teams ranked high in

the top 100 and one tied for first place overall – a significant indica-

tor that the Edmonton students will be more than capable of holding

their own in the real world of business.

GREATexposure

During their term in this ongoing simulation, the MacEwan teams kicked global butt!

MacEwan grads are scoring among the top teams in the world in a specialized online competition.

By Laura England

StrategicAdvantagesWhen it comes to international marketing challenges, MacEwan students have a winning strategy.

MacEwan business students continue to make their mark

in international competitions. Building on previous vic-

tories earned by students from the School of Business,

another team advanced to the final round – this time at

the Manitoba International Marketing Competition.

Team members Luke Raymond, Craig Worobec, Lalitha Srinivasan

and Alexander Sorokin participated in three phases of the competi-

tion. The first phase was a 10-week online simulation. Using Links

MS software, students were required to manage a fictitious company

and make business decisions based on strategic marketing con-

cepts. The software generated results, which provided the following

week’s challenge for students.

In phase two, students developed a strategy statement in which

they reviewed their performance and justified the decisions they had

made. Teams then travelled to Winnipeg to present their findings to a

panel of judges.

Team MacEwan won the Best Strategy Statement for its industry and

proceeded to the finals. Although they did not go on to win top spot,

they proved more than capable of competing against teams from

other schools, such as the Knust School of Business in Ghana, the

Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the University of Alberta.

The practical knowledge and experience students take away from

these marketing competitions is invaluable. But of equal importance

is the opportunity to network with business students and industry

members from around the world.

By Laura England

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Did you know…Dr. John Walter Grant MacEwan received many awards in

his lifetime including:

• The Order of Canada (1975)

• The Governor General’s Conservation Award (1985)

• Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees from:

Universities of Alberta (1966), Calgary (1967),

Brandon (1969), Guelph (1972), Saskatchewan (1974)

• The Premier’s Award For Excellence (1985)

He also wrote more than 40 books involving mostly western

Canadian history and agriculture.

Well, it’s true.

P olice officers don’t need our help – they help us, right? Well, when it comes to recruiting, all 11 Alberta police agen-

cies sent out a 911 to post-secondary institutions. MacEwan responded.

To keep up with growing demand from communities calling for extra protection, police agencies are constantly seeking new recruits and, in a unique marketing approach, law enforcement officers enlisted young people to reach other young people.

The Alberta government funded this two-phased program called Alberta COPS (Career Opportunities in Policing Services) which tapped into the know-ledge and enthusiasm of post-secondary students and challenged them to develop a new brand for Alberta’s police officers. Next, they developed a marketing strat-egy to get the word out.

Copping a Prize Team MacEwan takes a spot in the coveted Alberta COPS marketing competi-tion to help attract new recruits to police services.

By Laura England

In the first phase, Team MacEwan, made up of 13 students from the Public Relations and BCom programs, put in long hours to create a solid marketing pack-age. Their branding concepts and designs, which included a new logo and website earned the team a second place finish and $3,000.

In the second phase, a team of eight MacEwan students delivered the recruit-ment message in various ways including at a fun-filled afternoon barbecue at Mac-Ewan’s City Centre Campus. This highly interactive event allowed local police representatives to provide information and answer questions. One officer in particu-

lar was the definite centre of attention. Flint, a member of the canine unit and of German shepherd descent, wowed audi-ences with his skill, strength and obvious loyalty to his partner. And for a little levity, all students were encouraged to participate in the Nerf gun target practice and bouncy-ball races to demonstrate their tactical skills.

Also in its marketing plan, Team MacEwan suggested police agencies

employ the power of social media. By using such tools as Facebook, Twitter and blog sites, a whole new world of potential police officers opens up. Team member Patrick Finegan sums up his experience as such, “I learned a lot about teamwork, the importance of organization and con-sistent leadership, and learning to work within the rules and norms of multiple organizations. Our team attempted to give them something that would really help them in recruitment in the future, and were very successful at that in regards to our social media suggestions.”

Because of this competition, both students and police agencies came out

further ahead. Students received valu-able hands-on experience and worked together to create something that could be put into motion and address a real community need. Police agencies received the combined knowledge of top business students in the province and, with their new branding and marketing plan, the job of finding new police recruits just became a lot easier, and our communities a lot safer.


1.Police Constable Flint stands at attention

2.Jarret Millertakes on theobstaclecourse

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2.

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Copping a Prize

A s part of my management major in the bachelor of com-merce program, I was required to take a class on consulting,

which aimed to educate students on the profession and the many ways it can help improve how a business is run. My profes-sor, Dr. Matt Brown, gave us an assign-ment: to meet with and provide consult-ing services to a local Edmonton business and, by the end of the semester, supply it with a proposal to improve operations. Dr. Brown divided us into groups and told us to find a business that would be willing to meet with us and discuss an area of operation they would like to improve.

Through a contact at MacEwan, my four group members and I obtained a list of businesses we could potentially assist. We decided to approach deVine Wines, which is a wine store that spe-

cializes in the premium sector of the alcoholic beverage market. DeVine was created by five business partners in 2005. After much consideration, the partners decided to open their store on the historic downtown promenade located on Jasper Avenue and 104 Street. One of the issues this business faced was although it had a great location in the middle of the down-town core, it was relatively unknown and did not have the walking traffic and park-ing availability to bring in its desired cus-tomer base. My classmates and I met with partner Ed Fong at deVine and through our discussions with him we decided to focus on the store’s marketing strategy.

DeVine Wines was relying primar-ily on word of mouth to attract new customers and was spending little on actual advertising. We met with our client throughout the semester and tried to

think of ways to attract a larger customer base within the area while keeping mar-keting costs low. Our biggest challenge was that deVine Wines wanted our mar-keting strategy to be measurable – hard to achieve due to the difficulty of quantify-ing the reach produced by advertising.

At the end of the project, we presented deVine Wines with a 20-page proposal that explained the consulting processes and outcomes, as well as pro-vided three solid ideas on how to improve its marketing strategy. First, our client had wanted to focus its marketing efforts on the residents who lived within a three-block radius of the store, so we provided the store with population statistics of residential buildings in the area to give it a better understanding of this market seg-ment. Second, we surveyed people who lived in the area to find out about their alcohol purchasing preferences, asking if they had ever been to deVine Wines. Finally, our main idea was to throw a block party involving all the businesses on the street, most of which – like deVine – are locally owned and faced the same lack of brand awareness. By having all of the businesses involved, there would be an increased likelihood that more people would attend and that the overall experi-ence would be enjoyable. We suggested that they obtain permission from the City of Edmonton to close down the street for walking traffic and to have deVine Wines offer wine tastings and promotional dis-counts on their products.

By providing our consulting services to deVine, we were able to give the busi-ness some new ideas and a fresh perspec-tive on their current business practices. As a student, I believe that I gained a lot of insight and knowledge about the services that consultants offer and how their sug-gestions can significantly improve a busi-ness. By meeting with an actual client, I received real experience on how to deal with challenges such as budget and time constraints and different ideals.

DeVine Wines eventually held a variation of our block party idea with the other local businesses on 104th Street. The neighbourhood had a great event and the crowd learned a bit about deVine and other local businesses. From my perspective, it was very rewarding to see how MacEwan business students can positively impact a business, even before we graduate.

By Monica Domingues

When it came to consulting for a wine store, a MacEwan student found that her team’s ideas had good legs and a heady bouquet.

DeVine Dreams

tweet!

blog!

Forget the tents and bug spray. MacEwan’s BlogCampers made forays into the internet wilderness.

B logCamp wasn’t the most physical event MacEwan ever held, but it certainly was the most innovative. No one in

Edmonton, or even Canada, had done anything like it before. This ground-breaking social media experiment was designed to spread the MacEwan name far into the blogosphere.

It all started with a meeting be-tween Jana Clarke, marketing manager

of the MacEwan School of Business and Walter Schwabe, CEO of the social media strategy firm fusedlogic.

MacEwan’s Management Studies program was having a bit of an identity crisis. The name didn’t really capture all that the program encompassed. Clarke needed to reach potential students through a medium they were familiar with. She chose to create a video series in which the two characters, Mike and

Lenny, portrayed a current Management Studies student and a potential student. Mike lives in residence and decides to document his time at MacEwan via a webcam. Lenny, an old friend from Fort McMurray, decides to drop by and the two eventually become roommates and fellow Management Studies students.

Clarke had this witty, well-pro-duced video that needed an appropriate premiere, and she wanted to create some

By Laura England

The DigitalWoods


online buzz for the Management Studies program and MacEwan. Enter fusedlogic. Under the direction of Walter Schwabe, fusedlogic takes social media to a whole different level. Some are content to use Twitter and Facebook as a way to describe their breakfast, but Schwabe and team see it as a means to enter the realm of social media from a business context.

Schwabe knows how powerful social media is, and he knows that busi-nesses that harness this power are going to surge ahead of others. Together, he and

Clarke came up with the idea for Blog-Camp, which was essentially a nine-hour blogging marathon.

Held in the cafeteria of MacEwan’s City Centre campus, students were chal-lenged to blog non-stop on various busi-ness topics that organizers introduced hourly. Woven into the furious typing were tons of food, prizes, Segway demos, the Ranch Roadhouse fun tunnel and, of course, the video release of Mike and Lenny, Parts 1, 2 and 3.

Competitors were encouraged to use different media in their blogging - video, photos, audio – anything to garner the most votes, create the best blogs and win

the grand prize of a MacBook.Public Relations student Carla Put-

nam put all her blogging skills to good use and walked away with the top prize, allowing her to continue her online pres-ence. Only now with no pizza stains and

chip bits on the keyboard.Carla, and other smart bloggers like

her, knew the secret to gathering votes was to involve their online connections

through programs such as Twitter and Facebook or even by cell phone and text messaging. Thereby expanding the reach of this event exponentially and deliv-ering the MacEwan message far into the electronic world.

“We wanted to reach out to where some of these folks hang out online,” Schwabe says, “and build a rapport with them. We’re transcending a strict market-

ing approach by pulling people in, not just pushing advertising at them.”

BlogCamp wouldn’t be complete without its own website, so anyone who wanted to follow events of the day simply went to www.macewanblogcamp.ca. (The site is still up, check it out!) Live, stream-ing video captured the day’s antics and acted as another means of communica-tion. Schwabe used this to its full poten-tial by sending shout-outs to sponsors, such as Sonic 102.9.

Contestants listened to Sonic during the competition and sent out a thank you via the website. Schwabe sent a tweet through Twitter to let them know. Sonic DJ Liann Cameron went to the BlogCamp website and announced on air, “I’m watching you, MacEwan bloggers!” It was a meeting of multi-media worlds with vir-tually no limits; exciting and kinda scary.

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Participant Joseph Difabio saw another angle to this competition by stat-ing, “It’s endless fun to speculate who’s going to actually check out the competi-

tion. Potential employers could absolute-ly use it to source out future employees.”

Was the experiment a success? While the fusedlogic team still has to sort through thousands of hits, views and impressions, preliminary data indicates BlogCamp was an electronic sensation. Schwabe reports the BlogCamp website received an impressive 3,200 hits. The MacEwan YouTube channel views are up by over 1,000 and the online MacEwan chatter has increased significantly. It appears BlogCamp was indeed an excel-lent opportunity for MacEwan to flex its electronic muscles.

But Schwabe warns not to let those muscles atrophy. “MacEwan has cracked the door open to the online world,” he said. “And it’s up to the college and stu-dents to push it wide open by continuing to build relationships and to create an en-

vironment for honest, frank discussions.” Whether we’re Tweeting, texting,

or YouTubing, we’re still talking. These are simply different platforms for creat-ing meaningful dialogue and bettering ourselves in the process. The challenge for businesses out there is, first of all, to realize what’s out there, and second, to figure out how to harness it. Organiza-tions cannot afford to pass up on this window of opportunity.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more ground-breaking events from the Clarke/Schwabe team and perhaps we can look forward to BlogCamp 2? Only this time, just for funzies, maybe we’ll make the contestants run the occasional lap around their laptops.

The Digital

Some are content to use Twitter to describe their breakfast; Schwabe and team see it as a means to enter the realm of social media from a business context.

1.

3.

2.

1. Bang-a-gong, the bloggin’s on

2. Two big thumbs up from two very enthusiastic BlogCampers

3. And the winner of the first-ever Blog-Camp is... Carla Putnam

This is when things got trippy.


T here’s an unwritten code among movers and shakers who’ve benefited greatly from the many rewards offered in

this province: reap what you’ve sown, but give something back to the com-munity that provided you such vast opportunities in the first place.

And while the global economic downturn has recently taken some wind out of the sails of Alberta’s strong econ-omy – a temporary condition according to many provincial pundits – the circum-stances have at least shifted attention to the fact that the human factor is the great-est resource of any business community.

It’s an observation that Art Meyer, Senior Vice-President, Oil Sands Projects, at pipeline company Enbridge, embra-ces dearly. “Like most things in life, it’s people that make the difference,” he says. “And MacEwan has great people.”

Meyer is the recipient of the 2009 Allard Chair in Business, an honorary

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TAKE ACurrent Allard Chair Art Meyer is a living example to MacEwan students that hard work and integrity can take them far in their careers.

By Gene Kosowan

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title that the MacEwan School of Business awards each year. He is the 23rd high-powered executive to hold the position since the initiative was established in 1984 by media mogul Dr. Charles Allard. Meyer has some big shoes to fill con-sidering previous chairs have included Mark’s Work Wearhouse CEO Mark Blumes, former Economic Development Edmonton President and CEO Jim Ed-wards, Matrikon Corp. CEO Nizar Somji and Venture Publishing’s President and Editor-in-Chief Ruth Kelly.

Staff at the MacEwan School of Business believe Meyer is already off to a great start. Meyer was announced as the recipient of the current Allard Chair at a business luncheon hosted by MacEwan and the Edmonton Chamber of Com-merce in February. He impressed the audience with a straightforward approach to business that still maintained a per-sonal touch.

“He did a wonderful job,” says Sarah Parker, the marketing, PR and event coordinator for the MacEwan School of Business, who helped organize the networking luncheon at the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe. “He was able to connect the personal with the profes-sional. He had some profound thoughts about the nature of the economy and how the oil and gas industry really fits into that. He believed that the recession is not something that’s going to affect us in the long term and he was able to highlight some key issues from his work in the past few years.”

Parker says her group received “wonderful feedback” from the event, which also raised $2,200 for the Edmon-ton Food Bank. The food bank contri-bution was of particular importance to Meyer, who has dedicated significant efforts to many community interests.

It was a great event, but the re-sponsibilities of the Allard Chair involve much more than the grip-and-grin circuit among the regional corporate elite. Meyer will be required to attend meetings with MacEwan’s brass to foster stronger ties between MacEwan and the business community. That will involve visiting classes to share experiences, wisdom and

perspectives.Meyer paid one such visit to

instructor Kimberly Howard’s project management class. “He gave the students a chance to see project management in action,” Howard says. “A lot of what I do is theory, so he showed students how it all plays out in reality. It also gave them a chance to hear about projects in a sector that I don’t have a background in. It was really beneficial to them.” Meyer made an excellent impression on the students, Howard adds. “On my instructor evalua-tions, they all mentioned him as a guest speaker who was very helpful. It was a bit of a coup to have him in a classroom. He’s a senior vice-president and we don’t get to see that every day. It was a fantastic opportunity.”

Meyer, who describes his own origins as anything but privileged, was happy to fulfil that obligation. It was also a chance for him to see how MacEwan prepares students for the real world. “For me, the most rewarding part of the Allard Chair is spending time with the students, faculty and staff at MacEwan,” he says. “The students are talented, fun to be with and clearly our future leaders,” he says. “Dean Elsie Elford and the faculty gave me a warm welcome to the School of Business and to their classes. The Mac-Ewan staff were excellent and kept me on track for the many events and lectures.”

Considering the demands of Meyer’s day job, it’s a wonder he ever makes it outside of his office. He over-sees a number of oil sands endeavours at Enbridge, a company that has established pipeline systems totalling some 13,500 kilometres. Distribution channels deliver more than two million barrels of petrol-eum products daily. With 5,700 workers on its payroll, Enbridge is working on developing projects worth $12 billion, with delivery set for 2011.

Besides heading oil sands projects, Meyer also chairs Pipeline Research Council International, a Washington D.C.-based organization representing 40 of the planet’s largest pipeline com-panies. Currently on the board of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, he was recently appointed to the Alberta Carbon Capture and Storage Council, a group that also includes representatives from Epcor, Suncor Energy, Shell Canada, Petro-Canada and EnCana.

Meyer, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engin-eering and a master’s degree in business

administration, both from the University of Alberta, isn’t strictly about the bottom line. He also devotes a significant amount of time to community efforts. He has served as a board member for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Meyer has also worked to provide better oppor-tunities for Aboriginal Peoples, for which he’s been recognized with a traditional aboriginal name and the “Order of the Sash” from the Métis Nation of British Columbia.

Meyer believes it’s a combination of his activities in and out of the office that brings well-rounded insight to the MacEwan table. “I’ve tried to bring a bal-ance of perspectives and experiences to the role of Allard Chair,” he says. “These have included global views on energy, the environment and the economy as well as their relationship to our city and province.”

Meyer shared his advice about entering the workplace and managing a career. “I hope that my personal example of moving from modest beginnings to a senior corporate role encourages students as they pursue their careers,” he says.

Meyer is anything but flippant or arrogant about his personal fortunes and

what it took to get to the top rungs of the corporate ladder. He has set an example among colleagues as a citizen who values honesty and deference to his peers. These are career-building attributes just as im-portant as a great academic performance.

“In every lecture, I’ve closed with the thoughts that everyone is a leader, regardless of one’s role, and that leaders need sound principles to be successful, such as integrity and respect for others,” says Meyer. “I leave the students with the challenge of giving back to their community as they progress in their careers. There is no doubt that MacEwan’s students will develop their own values and become great leaders who share their success and time with the community.

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TAKE A

Meyer gave students a chance to see project management in action. He showed them how theory plays out in reality.


T he first cohort of graduates from the bachelor of commerce degree, including students majoring in international

business, graduated from MacEwan in spring 2009. For Gordon Lucyk, it was the culmination of a dream – or at least the realization of a lot of hard work.

Lucyk is the co-ordinator of the new international business major at MacEwan. After studying general business, bach-elor of commerce students can choose to major in international business, spending years three and four of a four-year degree taking specialized courses in such areas as diversity and intercultural communica-tions, managing in an international en-vironment, and international marketing.

“It’s also very important for stu-dents to have some perspective on the places they may do business,” Lucyk says, “so they are required to study a language, arts and history of some of the places they might do business.” Lucyk

knows from experience how important these softer skills are to properly conduct business abroad or in a company at home with a high percentage of foreign workers. In the course of his career in internation-al relations for a Canadian resource com-pany, he has travelled widely, primarily to Asian countries, but also to other places, such as Egypt, France and Chile.

Graduates of the new major Lucyk is heading up will prove to be a boon to businesses ready to pursue international channels, but leery of suffering the so-called “liability of foreignness,” meaning the disadvantages of operating in cultur-ally different environments and different economic and administrative systems. Add to that the challenges of doing busi-ness away from the office with jet lag.

And while MacEwan commerce stu-dents are making convocation headlines this year, many of them started working towards a career in international business from the get-go.

The 2009 class was split into two sections, with students working towards a capstone course in year four that would integrate their coursework to date and enable them to complete a project. “Basically, in the first two years, they’re doing secondary research into business,

and especially international business,” Lucyk says. “In the capstone project, they synthesize what they’ve learned and apply it to gaining primary information

A new major in the bachelor of commerce program preps students to take the international business world by storm.

By Mifi Purvis

“It’s very important for stu-dents to have some perspec-tive on the places they may do business so they are required to study a language, arts and history of some of the places they might do business.”

FIRST INTERNATIONALISTS

15

from companies.” The project itself is the students’ choice, and each has to do the legwork required to find an appropriate company to study.

“They take an Edmonton-based company that has gone or is thinking about going international and find out how it’s structured,” says Lucyk. “They do a general company analysis, talking to key decision-makers.” Students find out why the business wants to go inter-national and what challenges it faces, be they general or specific to that company’s circumstances. In addition to learning key primary research skills, students practise softer skills, such as networking and busi-ness etiquette. And while the capstone course connects students to the inter-national business world in a very real way, they are not expected to offer solutions to the company.

“At this point, they are trying to understand how it works, finding out how to ask the right questions and do pri-mary research,” Lucyk says. But while it’s not the aim of the course, the company being studied may benefit, too. Decision-makers have the opportunity to question

aspects of their strategy they might have been overlooking and get ideas about cur-rent business theory. Some of them have been away from post-secondary educa-tion for quite a while; others may never have studied business theory before.

Some students have been able to take their capstone coursework to the next level and into business case studies that hold academic as well as practical appeal. One such student, Andrea Butler, did her project about global sourcing at the Brick. Butler went on to present her findings at an academic conference. It’s a pretty high accomplishment for an undergraduate, especially one from a brand-new major.

MacEwan instructors Gordon Lucyk and Dr. Makarand Gulawani are currently evaluating coursework to incorporate the UN’s Principles for Responsible Manage-ment Education into MacEwan’s business programs. The pair has designed a new course for the fall of 2010 called Global Business and Sustainability. Students will analyze international business decision-making with consideration of environ-mental, ethical and social factors. They’ll

learn about the complexities and contro-versies of sustainability from a national and international viewpoint, as well as from the perspective of the management of an individual firm.

They’ll be required to study a company and report on how it’s living up to its commitment to sustainability. The results will be a combination project and case analysis designed to evaluate how companies are adhering to the UN’s global compact.

Want a head start? Take a peek at a few items that might be included on a reading list: • Bringing Business on Board, Sustain-

able Development and the B-School Curriculum, by Peter Nemetz, UBC Press (2003).

• Capitalism at the Crossroads, The Unlimited Business Opportunities In Solving the World’s Most Difficult Problems, by Stuart L. Hall, Wharton School Publishing (2005).

• In Earth’s Company, Business, Environ-ment and the Challenge of Sustain-ability, by Carl Frankel, New Society Publishers (1998).

The United Nations initiative called Principles for Responsible Management Education challenges business schools and other academic institutions to operate in a responsible, sustainable manner, in accordance with UN conventions. It has six main principles that guide its operations. Member schools like MacEwan adopt these principles. Find out more at: www.unprme.org

PURPOSE: PRME members develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and

society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.

VALUES: Schools incorporate the values of global social responsibility, as portrayed in international initiatives such as the

United Nations Global Compact, into their academic activities and curricula.

METHOD: Members agree to create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective

learning experiences for responsible leadership.

RESEARCH: Like MacEwan, these schools engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances understanding about

the role, dynamics and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value.

PARTNERSHIP: The PRME interacts with managers of business corporations to extend knowledge of their challenges

in meeting social and environmental responsibilities. Members agree to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting

these challenges.

DIALOGUE: The PRME facilitates and supports dialogue and debate among educators, business, government, consumers,

media, civil society organizations and other stakeholders on critical issues of global social responsibility and sustainability.


I don’t recall much from my Grade 6 class. Little Davey Jordan put a ham-ster down my shirt and I fell for the old, “Lick this pole” line at -25 C. But

I vividly recall my class field trip down to Drumheller. Field trips are like that; they make a lasting impression on students. Just ask any of the 18 MacEwan students who experienced the first-ever INTB 250: Doing Business Internationally – Study Tour to China and Japan course.

It’s undisputed among educators that learning through hands-on experi-ence is incredibly effective. So MacEwan Instructors Brian Keller and Kimberley Howard created a course from scratch to give all business students the opportun-ity to receive first-hand international

business experience. For those students interested in doing business in China and Japan, INTB 250 was the ultimate class field trip.

Designed to increase international knowledge, skills and abilities in an academic, corporate and cultural capacity, this three-credit course included one week in Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto) and one week in China (Beijing). But before anyone got on a plane, organizers had to make sure all participants were a good fit for both the course and international travel.

Students went through a one-week pre-departure orientation, which covered both cultural and business aspects of the two countries. Students also completed

an Intercultural Development Inven-tory. In one of their cultural sensitivity lessons, students learned that in China you should never place your chopsticks upright in a rice bowl as it replicates the bowl of sand or rice with two upright in-cense sticks that is traditionally placed at the shrine of a deceased loved one. Good to know.

Organizers designed this course so that a number of business students could access it. As a result, 18 students from six different programs participated: Supply Chain Management, Asia Pacific Management, Bachelor of Commerce, Human Resources, Management Studies and Bachelor of Science. It made for quite a diverse group. For example, one student

Experience is one of the best teachers. Ask any of the students who participated in INTB 250’s study tour to Asia.

1.Great Wall of China

2.First INTB 250 Study Tour class

1.

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had lived and worked in the Middle East, while another had never left Edmonton. This didn’t pose a problem on the tour. “The students were really good about helping each other out,” Howard says. “Quite often they would pair off someone who spoke Chinese with someone who didn’t.”

Howard explains how the trip was designed. “We decided to structure it as a mixture of corporate site visits, academic lectures and cultural site visits,” she says. Students made stops in several corporate offices and plants including Honda, Sub-aru, Panasonic and Toyota. They attended lectures, but also received one-on-one time with several guest speakers at pre-arranged lunches and dinners. They even squeezed in a visit to Tokyo Disneyland, albeit with a decidedly academic feel as students, “observed the effect of export-ing American culture.” Or at least that’s what they recorded in their journals.

Howard says the course was de-signed to provide context to international trade that was meaningful to students. “For instance, we visited a Japanese company that manufactures vegetable oil products using canola and flax from Alberta,” she says. “We actually went to the dock to watch the product arrive via Prince Rupert. That really gave the stu-dents a connection between an Alberta product and a Japanese product.”

One event that was not on the itin-erary was the deadly Chinese earthquake on May 12. The group’s arrival in Beijing on May 19 coincided with the beginning of three days of mourning by the Chinese people. All entertainment and athletic events were cancelled, which called for

17

some serious rescheduling by organizers. But there was another outcome from this event. Howard explains, “It was a very moving experience for the students to see the Chinese people come together.” Public mourning included a gathering at

Tiananmen Square and three minutes of silence.

Organizers are looking to repeat the success of their inaugural study tour with a trip to India. Along with prepar-ing detailed plans, Howard and Keller are seeking additional student funding opportunities, as this seems to be the biggest barrier in participation. They are

hoping to find success in their quest, as it would be unfortunate to deny a student an opportunity of this magnitude based solely on money. Understandably, a trip to Beijing is considerably higher in cost than a trip to Drumheller, but the re-

wards are exponentially higher as well.But you don’t have to take their

word for it. Alberta Advanced Educa-tion and Technology deemed this course worthy of the Internationalizing the Teaching and Learning Practice Award of Distinction. It’s always nice to receive a nod from one’s peers.

Judging by their comments, students gave this tour a solid A+ :“This course exceeded my expectations. I did more, saw more and learned more in a shorter period of time than I ever thought possible.”

By Laura England

2.

www.MacEwan.ca/business

Give your staff the training they need to propel your organization ahead of all others. MacEwan Corporate Learning provides customized training that is focused, practical and relevant.

Choose a class time that’s convenient for you – days, evenings or weekends.

Invest in your staff and drive your business to new levels of success.

Check out www.MacEwan.ca/corporatelearning or call 780.497.5207 for more information.

think Corporate Learning


NO TIME TO WASTEWaste management centres, whether they are in Canada or China, need co-operation from all people to positively impact the environment.

By Stephanie Sparks

19

W illiam Wei wants you to know how great the Edmonton Waste Management Centre

(EWMC) is. But he doesn’t want just you to know, he wants everyone in the entire world to know. And he wants to share the centre’s ideas with developing nations.

Wei is the chair of the MacEwan School of Business’s Asia Pacific Manage-ment program, in which students are ex-posed to Asian culture and the emerging economy.

“For a program focusing on Asia, we need to let our students be aware of the consequences related to global environ-mental changes and how a developed country can offer leadership, innovation and [co-operation] with developing coun-tries in the long run,” Wei explains.

He uses the EWMC as an example of Canada’s positive actions to amelior-ate climate change and environmental degradation. “Technology and innovation here need to be transferred to inter-ested developing countries,” he says. His interest in the EWMC and existing similar programs running in the city of Chengdu, China garnered the attention of Dr. Haifeng Huang, director of China’s Research Center for Economic Transition (CRCET). Wei and Huang are working on a possible co-operative effort between the EWMC, CRCET and the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies at the MacEwan School of Business, as a means of protecting the environment and reducing pollution, particularly the use of plastic bags in China. “This was very interesting,” Wei says, “because from January 1, 2009, in China, no shopping malls will use plastic bags anymore.” Like Real Canadian Superstore shoppers, Chinese consumers are required to bring their own bags or purchase plastic bags.

Canada and China are dedicated to ending “white pollution,” the over-whelming use of non-biodegradable bags in landfills. White pollution in China is becoming a major problem, one that people need to combat. Huang came to Edmonton in May to give presentations on environmental challenges in con-

NO TIME TO WASTE


nection with China’s place in the world. “China has a reputation for being very poor and polluted, with serious environ-mental issues, but for the last five years the national policy is emphasizing an environmentally friendly society,” says Huang. “With hard work and inter-national collaboration, China could be successful.”

Success, he says, will begin with reducing the number of new plastic bags produced and recycling the existing ones. He adds that this would be a good opportunity to make new products out of the waste. The old stand-by phrase of “Reduce, reuse and recycle” are all steps that Canadians could be doing more often. But, as it is in Canada, completely stopping the manufacture and use of the

1.

2.

At the Edmonton Waste

Management Centre,

kitchen waste is sorted

into biosolids and made

into fertilizer.

21

bags is next to impossible at this time because the cost of production is very low and people have built a dependency on the availability of plastic. It will take a lot of encouragement to get consumers into the habit of shopping with their own bags and bringing their own thermoses for cof-fee. “Canada may be [one of the richest countries] in the world, but it needs to pay attention to the environment,” says Huang.

Wei explains that when it comes to pollution, whether caused by plastic bags or factories spewing carbon dioxide emis-sions, “not a single country can be separ-ated from global environmental problems associated with global production.” There’s room for everyone to improve and developing nations cannot be blamed

entirely for the amount of pollution they produce. Multinational corporations out of Europe and North America have established factories in China, India and other places. It’s time to dig a little deeper and get all our facts straight. So, while developed nations may revel in fewer emissions in their skies, it’s important to note it’s their multinationals that are contributing to pollution levels.

“It’s really interesting with the financial crisis because, traditionally in North America, we’re a high-consump-tion society. That means we use a lot of energy and a lot of materials to build a highly developed economy,” says Wei. He insists on looking at the lifestyle of people living in developing countries, which have higher personal savings

rates. When it comes to Canada saving energy, “it’s the idea of changing people’s behaviour” that needs to be embraced. The EWMC offers education and training for people keen to learn what they can do and what the centre is doing to help the environment. The centre has an attached facility that includes a lecture theatre and classrooms. Interested in having a look around? It’s well worth the trip and staff can organize group tours.

People need to think of their homes, cities and nations as being under one big eco-society. We can’t forget that the actions we take have much larger con-sequences now. “We can help the Earth if we think globally, and businesses can still make money in an environmentally friendly way.”

1. The education centre attached to the EWMC is used for classes and training. Plan a tour for a group of 10-plus people.

2. The EWMC has the largest composting facility, located on 25 hectares, in North America. This is where the city recycles 15 per cent of its waste.


He

Keeps Going

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Craig Worobec is all about grabbing the brass ring. But he knows that sometimes opportunities are to be created as much as seized.

By Laura England

Some folks look for the right op-portunity and make a leap for it. MacEwan student Craig Worobec finds all the opportunities that

exist and leaps for all of them. Then, when he runs out, he creates new ones for himself, for future students and even for the broader world. Worobec wrings as much from life as possible. Give him the chance to enhance his experience and he’ll probably take you up on it, espe-cially when it comes to his education.

Worobec’s name pops up in such a myriad of MacEwan extracurricular activ-ities that the guy could give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money. And shortly after class wrapped up for the summer break, Worobec left for Nicaragua on a humanitarian project/intercultural field study. The guy is a keener – but not the annoying kind.

Worobec was already heading down his academic path when he enrolled in MacEwan’s four-year Bachelor of Com-merce degree program. He left the Uni-versity of Alberta after two years of study-ing economics to see if smaller class sizes

really are an advantage. Turns out, they are. “It does make a difference,” Worobec says. “One thing I’ve noticed, especially since being in fourth year, is the attention and the opportunities that are available, and the willingness of everybody – from your professors all the way up to the dean – to show support. Dean Elford was with

us in Winnipeg. She took two days off work and her weekend to be there. That’s pretty good.”

The road trip to Winnipeg Worobec is referring to was the Manitoba Inter-national Marketing Competition. Team MacEwan picked up the Best Strategy Statement award and a whole lot of life experience. The group’s statement en-compassed among other aspects, product, promotion and expansion strategy using a differentiation approach. Worobec describes his team as such, “We had a very competitive team and we were very

serious. We could taste winning.” Team MacEwan received rock-star treatment from organizers in the mighty ‘Peg and appreciated the help and guidance. Among the take-aways for Worobec was

“the experience of learning about run-ning your own firm instead of learning it from a textbook” and in fact, how at times, real-life situations actually differed from in-class experiences.

If Worobec learned a lot in Win-nipeg, imagine how much he gleaned in Asia. Always the adventurer, Worobec

Then it was off to the jungle for 22 days. They lived in a field house with no running water, electricity or cellphone service.

He

Keeps Going

1.


took part in the maiden voyage of the INTB 250 course, Doing Business Internationally – Study Tour to China and Japan. As a Bachelor of Commerce student, Worobec had no previous educa-

tion in Asian studies, and he reiterates the importance of actually travelling to the countries and experiencing the culture and way of life of the Chinese and Japanese people.

The full itinerary of academic, cultural and corporate visits definately meshed with Worobec’s full steam ahead attitude. After graduation, he may very well draw upon his time there when putting together those international, multimillion-dollar deals in his fabulous new business career.

Next stop on the Worobec academic train was New Jersey and the Sustainable Business Practices Conference. Worobec chose to write a paper in which he dis-cusses issues that Albertans are dealing with at the moment, namely the econ-omy, oil revenues and resource develop-ment, from both a business and environ-mental perspective. Worobec also looked to other oil-producing countries to learn from their experiences. Being the only representative from Canada, Worobec reluctantly fell into the role of an expert in Alberta oil. He received a lot of interest from fellow conference goers, but not a lot of background knowledge. He does not claim to be an authority on Alberta’s oil reserve situation, but has completed a fair amount of research from several sources. This is reflected in the title of his paper, Alberta Oil: Sustainability Lessons from International Jurisdictions. “Oil has been developed in many different countries and there have been mistakes made,” Worobec says. “If we all broaden our perspectives, we can learn from them. I’ve taken an inventory of all these dif-ferent examples and looked at what has worked and what hasn’t.”

Worobec cites examples from such countries as Baku, the United Arab Emir-ates, Kuwait, Oman, Norway and the U.S.A. In his paper, Worobec explains how rapid development destroyed the environment in return for short-term benefit in Azerbaijan, and how Norway suffered huge financial losses in its oil-revenue based investments, mostly due to the collapse of American investment banks. According to Worobec, Alberta can learn from Oman’s statement of goals and visions, a document that helps the country develop from the outside in and rallies citizens to uphold those goals. Also worth a long look, he says, is the State of Alaska’s transparent, equitable distribution of wealth to the owners of their natural resources.

As for a recommended course of action for Alberta, Worobec says, “I don’t know if I know enough to make a suggestion yet; at the same time, from everything that I’ve read, the environ-mental aspect of the development of the oilsands and the Alberta oil resources is, in general, something we can be less than proud of. You read some books that are very anti-oil development and are very convincing. But you take them in stride and you keep studying and you look at it from a business perspective and there are benefits, although the Energy Royalty Panel would question whether or not Albertans were receiving their fair share of oil royalties.”

In his paper, Worobec writes that

his goal was not to present either an environmental conservationist argument or a corporate argument, but to take a look at what has happened around the world and perhaps adopt a wait-and-see approach.

“We’re doing a lot better that the other provinces because we have so much saved, but not as much as we possibly could,” says Worobec. He says recession brings with it opportunity for investment, but that investing heavily is not necessar-ily the best course at this time. “I’m still not convinced that we have the financial resources in the province, especially in the Heritage Trust Fund,” he says. “That’s where the saving philosophy comes in. Saving is one of the most important things anybody can do – especially the government. And it’s a really easy place to start.”

Worobec is concerned about oil de-velopment in northern Alberta. “It’s not a good or bad thing,” he says. “We just have to do it the right way. The worst thing is right now you hear stories about how awful it is in Azerbaijan and then you hear stories about Fort McMurray and they’re starting to paint a similar picture.” Worobec fully admits he can’t quite put his finger on what the best solution is. “This is kind of a work in progress and I’d like to keep going on it.”

For a few weeks in the summer, Worobec left the world of academia to lend a helping hand to some people in real need. He was co-team leader for a group of 14 students participating in Pro-ject Hope, which is a part of the MacEwan Students’ Association Global Projects Program designed to promote awareness of global issues and help build needed infrastructure. Worobec assisted with improvements and repairs to the water system, power source and schoolhouse in San Andrés, northern Nicaragua. Hurri-cane Mitch was largely to blame for much of damage and local residents simply did not have access to materials needed

Worobec is concerned about oil development in northern Alberta. “It’s not a good or bad thing,” he says. “We just have to do it the right way.”

2.

1. Project HOPE team members hiking through the Nicaraguan jungle to repair pipes bringing drinking water to locals.

2. Craig Worobec takes time to reflect on his trip in Las Penitas, Nicaragua.

3. L to R, Christina Kuzyk and Bree Kullman completing a mural on La Casa de las Mujeres, a meeting place and venue for social programing for women.

4. Knees and toes, knees and toes... Project HOPE team members on their last day in Bosa singing songs with the local grade one class.

25

to repair essential services. The team in-itially had planned to bring in fruit trees to combat the devastation of Hurricane Mitch, but the sextupled price of the trees made that idea financially unrealistic.

But before they boarded the plane,

team leaders Worobec and Caitlin Jack-son had to recruit, write grant proposals and fundraise like crazy. With assist-ance from the now-defunct Wild Rose Foundation, the team was able to raise the $65,000 needed for the project. Then it was off to the jungle for 22 days with no running water, electricity or cellphone service. They lived in a field house that partner organization Change For Chil-dren Association built, and spent their days working in the community.

First on the agenda was to install solar panels to help eliminate environ-mentally unfriendly power sources such as the diesel generators in use when they arrived. Then it was on to repairing the water system, which was essentially a series of pipes located in the mountain springs and leading down into the com-munity. Currently, the community draws water from the Rio Coco – a less than ideal situation as the water is quite dirty. Finally, the team repaired and painted a school built by the Project Hope team two years ago.

“People talk about these being kind of small repairs for the most part and not bringing in a whole lot,” states Worobec, “but the problem is that the community doesn’t have any money, so if something breaks you can’t go out and buy a nail. This is the reason why we’re here. This is so necessary, they don’t care if they get a brand new building, they just want the basics.”

And in true cool-keener fashion, Worobec is trying to take this program to the next level by potentially turning it into a six-credit course. He says, “I got approval from the School of Business to do an intercultural field study while I was

down there.” He interviewed community leaders and team members and under-took historical travelling to add context to the project. “With a broader proposal and an added educational component, there might be a bit of a precedent to move towards official course status,” he says. Worobec believes there’s a lot of potential with Project Hope but there is

a need to formalize its policies and struc-tures. There’s still a lot of work ahead for Worobec and his team, but it’s inspiring to hear him talk about the “big picture” plans for this very worthy program.

Project Hope wrapped up in early July, but Worobec continued on to other

Latin American countries to get some more perspective for his proposal. He believes these countries are so diverse, it’s almost necessary to take a look at them a little more.

After his stint in the jungle, Worobec plans to hit the pavement and start looking for gainful employment. He’d like to get a job for a year or two to pay off some student loans and then work towards attaining his law degree.

Recession or not, no organization should let this guy walk away; he’d be an asset to any company.

And he holds a lot of hope for society. “I still have faith in us and I still think there are a lot of opportunities out there,” he says. “There are a lot of changes that have to be made, but I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Worobec feels a huge debt of gratitude to the School of Business and to instructors he feels were instrumental in his success. He’d like to send a shout out to Brian Keller and Gordon Lucyk. He’s depending on Keller to guide him through his continuing education in law school and he thanks Lucyk for his unwavering mentorship. “Gordon was absolutely fantastic and very support-ive. The thing I love about the guy is he doesn’t look for any of the credit or glory. He’s just there to teach.”

Worobec has the world at his finger-tips and can look forward to many more rewarding experiences around the world. This super student is always looking for ways to improve his situation, and the situation of others. The world is better off for having him in it.

As for his overall MacEwan experi-ence, Worobec has no doubt he’s made the right choice when he says, “It’s been such an amazing experience at MacEwan. It’s all been so rewarding and fullfilling. I’ve had so many fantastic opportunities here at the School of Business and when something new and interesting comes up, I don’t let it slip by. I’ll relax when I’m dead, right?”

Words to live by, indeed.

3.

4.

“This is the reason why we’re here. This is so necessary, they don’t care if they get a brand new building, they just want the basics.”


27

Graduates of MacEwan’s new Bachelor of Commerce degree program offer high praise for their college experience as they continue on into rewarding careers.

W inston Churchill once said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direc-

tion.” Grant MacEwan College has certainly gone through significant changes since it was first established in 1971. It’s substantially bigger and offers a lot more programs yet still manages to maintain its core value beliefs – small class sizes and lots of individual at-tention. Dr. MacEwan would no doubt approve of the college’s path thus far.

MacEwan continues to grow because the programs it offers are cur-rent, relevant and in sync with both the current economic climate and student demand. By observing, asking questions and listening, the faculty and staff of this institution have a clear picture of what students need in order to thrive and prosper in Edmonton’s business com-munity and beyond. Which is why in 2007, the MacEwan School of Business first offered students the opportunity to earn a bachelor of commerce degree, and on Thursday, June 18, 2009, faculty and staff proudly looked on as the first class of graduates walked across the Winspear stage.

Prior to 2007, MacEwan business students had successfully transferred into such institutions as the University of Al-berta, and continued on to earn degrees. But after conducting surveys, observing trends, and at the behest of the provin-cial government, the MacEwan School of Business decided it was time to offer students four full years at the college.

Research showed that transfer stu-dents were very interested in completing their education at MacEwan. They were very appreciative of the small class sizes, frequent contact with instructors and lower tuition. They wanted to stay at the school they knew. As well, high school students were concerned about getting

into universities due to increasingly higher grade point average requirements. They considered MacEwan a legitimate alternative.

Studies also showed that more and more businesses were seeking employees with a business degree. MacEwan cur-riculum coordinators also believed that a workforce with a higher education would garner higher wages.

These factors, combined with the harsh reality that universities were es-sentially full, provided ample reason to bring a bachelor of commerce degree into being. Dr. Leslie Blyth, the chair of the Bachelor of Commerce program, was the man responsible for making this program a reality. But Blyth was not alone. “As a group, we nominated champions to work on different parts of the degree. Everyone had to generate something,” he says. After countless hours of preparation, planning, proposals, critiques and adjustments, Blyth and his team of MacEwan faculty and staff achieved their goal: approval to offer the degree-granting program. Now it was full steam ahead and onto the cur-riculum development.

MacEwan’s degree consists of 40 courses, and entwined within are seven integrated professional skills including: • Technological fluency • Group work skills • Case study analysis • Research skills • Presentation skills • Ethical business practice • Writing skills

In their first two years, students complete core business courses which cover such areas as: • Introductory accounting • Business law • Strategic management • Business writing • Elementary calculus • Basic linear algebra

In years three and four, students move into their chosen majors to receive training in specific fields. Students can major in international business, manage-ment or supply chain management.

So after a great deal of hard work, students, staff and faculty gathered at the Winspear Centre to celebrate a very special convocation ceremony. Before turning the microphone over to Dr. Blyth to announce the graduates, Dean Elsie Elford took a moment to recognize the very first class of Bachelor of Commerce graduates and to thank those involved in its creation.

Then, one by one, 49 students shook hands with their peers, picked up their parchment, became degree holders and were let loose upon the wide world of business. Congratulations to all, and here’s to a successful, rewarding career.

These new graduates are pioneers of this program, and those of us at Aspire wanted to hear about their “MacEwan experience.” So read on as we hear from a few of the grads in their own words.Brad Woronuk

I can’t speak highly enough about my time at MacEwan. Even though I’ve only recently graduated, I already miss the team-oriented atmosphere and hands-on learning approach that have helped my integration into Edmonton’s professional community.

Through MacEwan’s strategic alliances with Edmonton businesses, I was able to work directly with local organizations to increase my personal skill set and build a reputation with prospective employers. Less than a month after graduating, I was offered a career opportunity and am currently employed with Fusedlogic Inc., a social media-focused marketing and strategy develop-ment firm based out of Sherwood Park, Alberta, as a client relations and market-ing specialist.

First ClassBy Laura England


The instructors at MacEwan are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and helpful. Professors are always willing to take some time outside of class to assist and encour-age students on a personal level. The sup-port staff is easily accessible, and keeps getting more organized as time goes on. Without the support of the friendly and helpful staff at MacEwan, I may not have been as prepared as I was to take the next step in my life into the business com-munity.

I would highly recommend the MacEwan School of Business to anybody looking to take the next step in working towards a bright future and a great career. Sheena MacInnis

My experience at MacEwan was great. Coming from Ross Sheppard High

School, I was excited to start my post-secondary schooling while also being a part of the MacEwan Women’s Volleyball team. The athletic program and facili-ties are excellent! Throughout my years of schooling and playing volleyball, my schedule was a little hectic at times. All of my professors and instructors were very accommodating, which made things easier and took away a lot of stress.

At the beginning of my commerce degree, I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to take. After a few years of a well-rounded mix of classes, I finally figured out that I was most interested in manage-ment and marketing. I do not anticipate any problems with finding employment. Of the employers I have talked with, they are very pleased with the variety of courses I have taken at MacEwan, as they are relevant to the work and tasks that are necessary in the real world.

Patrick FineganI first began my degree in the

general studies program based out of MacEwan’s South Campus. I arrived in college straight out of high school not sure what I was doing there, having spent most of my Grade 12 year socializing. I transferred over to the arts faculty and focused on the areas of political science and psychology.

I soon found that, although the courses were very interesting, the path I had chosen lacked a clear destination. Then, with the implementation of MacE-wan’s own commerce degree, I discovered my calling.

My last two years at MacEwan were without a doubt the most fulfilling years of my degree. The opportunity to create

and grow was never more evident and was strongly encouraged and supported by every member of the commerce fac-ulty. Though the program was new, the instructors (professors) were confident and flexible, encouraging in class discus-sion and sometimes debate - a significant part of acquiring knowledge.

In my last year I participated in many extracurricular activities while tak-ing a heavy course load, yet obtained the highest GPA of my degree due to my in-terest and excitement to be a part of such an enthusiastic and well-run program.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at MacEwan and would recommend it to anyone looking for an opportunity to grow. At MacEwan they are fully commit-ted to helping you every step of the way. Alexander Sorokin

After finishing high school in Nelson, B.C., I spent my first year in

Edmonton at MacEwan, upgrading. I then enrolled in MacEwan’s Bachelor of Com-merce transfer program. I had originally planned to study engineering, but found myself drawn to the commerce program at MacEwan because of its interesting cur-riculum and small class sizes.

I would describe myself as the ultimate procrastinator. Due to this habit, my grades suffered and I decided to take a year off and pursue my passion for music, apprenticing as a guitar technician. Dur-ing this time, I realized how much I liked the business side of the industry and decided to finish my degree.

MacEwan then started offer-ing a full degree in business, and the thought of finishing my degree where I had started was exciting. For the next 22 months, I was enrolled full time and felt much more a part of the school. My grades improved and I found myself par-ticipating in academic activities like at-tending a conference in Kananaskis, and joining a team representing MacEwan at the Manitoba International Marketing Competition.

I could not be happier with my experience at MacEwan. I received a world-class education from instructors who were genuinely interested in my overall success. While finishing exams, I was fortunate enough to find an excit-ing career opportunity as a marketing associate with one of North America’s top Fortune 500 companies.

Did you know…Grant MacEwan College

serves almost 40,000 learners

annually, including 689

international students?

And…

At the School of Business,

students can choose from 17

programs, most of which are

available full-time, part-time

or online.

Plus…

In 2007, 97% of our grads found

jobs within six months

of graduation.

Well, it’s true.

First Class Bachelor of Commerce Degree

29

Daniel Mireault is taking his Bach-

elor of Commerce degree and

turning it into a master’s degree

at the University of Waterloo, and

we at MacEwan couldn’t be prouder. Read

on to learn about the next chapter in this

young student’s academic life.

Tell me about your post-secondary aca-

demic background.

I started at MacEwan in 2003 and spent two

years completing my Management Studies

diploma. Afterwards, I took some time off

to travel before returning in 2006. I went

to SAIT and completed my concrete trade

apprenticeship. In fall of 2007, I decided to

go back to MacEwan and discovered they

offered a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Why did you choose MacEwan?

I chose MacEwan because I heard it’s a

great place to start my post-secondary

education. It seemed like a good stepping

stone between high school and a further

education.

Did your time at MacEwan live up to your

expectations?

I didn’t expect to enjoy the process of learn-

ing as much as I have, but I knew I wanted

an education. I met a lot of great instructors

while obtaining my degree. My time spent

at MacEwan left me with a desire for lifelong

learning and taught me some essential

study habits that I lacked in high school.

Did you participate in any extracurricular

activities while at MacEwan?

I ran on the MacEwan cross-country team.

I also participated in the ASAC case confer-

ence.

Tell me about the applied environmental

sciences program at Waterloo and why you

chose it.

During my final semester at MacEwan, I

decided I wanted to further my education

with something that looked at business and

its effects on the environment. I looked at

some MBA programs that related to sustain-

ability on the Internet and started research-

MacEwan… then Grad SchoolLike a mother hen checking on her chicks, the folks at MacEwan like to keep tabs on their grads.

ing some universities. While I was looking at

MBA programs, I found two other programs

that really caught my eye. The first was the

master of applied environmental sciences

in local economic development at Waterloo.

The second was the master of sustainable

environmental management at the University

of Saskatchewan. Both programs were very

appealing, but I chose Waterloo because of

its reputation and because it offered an in-

ternship that allows me industry experience.

Were your MacEwan credits easily recog-

nized and transferred?

Yes. I was a little worried because the bach-

elor of commerce program was so new but I

had no problems.

What will you do after you graduate?

Not sure. I plan on figuring that out while I

attend university. I want to find a career that

involves applying sustainable practices to

current and future business models in hopes

of bridging the gap between the ideas of

business and environmentalism.

Have Knowledge – Will TravelMacEwan welcomes visiting scholars delivering their global message.

Not everyone can complete their

education abroad, so MacEwan

faculty and staff thought, “Why

not bring the brightest, most

dynamics scholars here?” The MacEwan

School of Business was pleased to host

several visiting scholars for the 2008/09

academic year.

First to arrive was Dr. Ilan Alon from Florida.

Dr. Alon, the Executive Director of Rollins

China Center, Rollins College, Florida, is

the author/editor of 10 books, and over 80

publications. He has taught International

Business extensively in China and Europe.

Dr. Alon met faculty and staff to review the

International Strategy of MacEwan and to

explore research initiatives.

Dr. Alon also played a part in the organiza-

tion of MacEwan’s International Business

Conference entitled Competition or Coop-

eration: East vs. West.

Dutch scholar Jan Versteeg was next on the

MacEwan tour. Jan Versteeg’s professional

experience spans nearly 40 years. While

at MacEwan, Jan shared his expertise on

numerous topics. His itinerary included a

number of speaking events including a pro-

fessional development session on “Creating

Management and Leadership Development

Structures” and a student seminar on “What

does Leadership Development Mean after

Graduation?

Dr. Sam Dzever visited MacEwan dur-

ing Global College Week. Dr. Dzever is a

professor of Management at the Institut

National des Télécommunications (INT),

Evry, France. He is also President of CASS

Graduate School of International Manage-

ment, Brussels, Belgium. Highlights of his

visit included a student seminar on “Strate-

gic Marketing in the Information Age” and a

Global College Week lecture entitled “Sup-

ply Chain Management in a Hyper Competi-

tive Global Market Environment”.

Visiting scholars enrich the community

intellect by sharing their knowledge, passion

and experience. These individuals work

with students, staff and faculty to help them

gain a more international perspective. As a

result, the college as a whole is miles ahead

– globally speaking.

By Laura England

By Laura England


A eureka moment doesn’t just happen every day, smack-ing a teacher right in the noggin. But a few years

ago, a nifty teaching concept emerged as a real educational opportunity for Ryan Orchard, an instructor in the supply chain management program at the MacEwan School of Business.

It was the fall of 2006 and Orchard was teaching a global sourcing and logis-

tics class when he learned that the nation of Panama was about to have a referen-dum as to whether or not to expand the canal that bisects the country. The canal is a critical international waterway for ocean shipping. The issue concerning the canal’s near-capacity status perfectly fit the class objectives, which included such items as logistics, transportation man-agement, material flow, technology and current events. As an added bonus, the

timing was perfect.“Because that was very relevant

to the topics of the class, the students did an analysis of the canal’s expansion proposal,” says Orchard. Each week, the class looked at the canal, identifying issues that would impact the expansion, such as artifacts in the area, corruption in Panama’s government, cultural elements, the environment and economic benefits. Finally, the class looked at who would

Sometime life imitates art, and sometimes academic coursework taps right into real-world events as they unfold.

PROJECTPANAMAPROJECTPANAMAPROJECTPANAMAPROJECTPROJECTPANAMA

By Gene Kosowan

31

pay for the canal’s expansion and how, and examined logistics. “Essentially, the expansion of the Panama Canal was to accommodate China-to-U.S. traffic as much as anything else,” Orchard says, “so we talked about that.”

But Orchard took analysis of the issue a step further. The students were assigned to work on a term paper discuss-ing their position on the canal issue with the deadline being October 23, 2006, the date of the actual referendum in Panama. In short, their papers doubled as a mock vote.

“It was a term paper based on some-thing that was happening in the world at

the time,” says Orchard. “My hope was that the class would spark an interest. It also encouraged them to take a position on the issue. They couldn’t vote for a maybe; it had to be either yes or no.”

In their weekly discussions, the class brainstormed about ideas that would make for a good position paper and agreed on certain criteria that needed to be included. Orchard adopted those ideas into his grading scheme for the project.

There was no shortage of source ma-terial for students to pore over. One major source was the Panama Canal Author-ity’s website, which offered background info on the expansion, an overview of the canal and an animation of how the waterway’s three sets of locks moved vessels through the isthmus. They also analyzed information on the proposal, which claimed expansion would double cargo volume by 2025 and reduce the na-tion’s poverty rate by 30 per cent.

Students also had to take into account detrimental factors, including a $5.25-billion price tag, the potential for increased intrusion of salt water into Gatun Lake (Panama’s primary source of drinking water) and whether ram-pant corruption in Panama’s National Assembly would subvert any attempts to properly supervise the project. Weighing the pros and cons in Orchard’s classroom, students were no doubt less animated about the issue than Panama’s electorate, who exchanged their opinions in lively debates. But the students were fascinated with the project, their interest fuelled by their broad knowledge of the canal.

“In earlier courses, they did an introduction to transportation and dis-tribution,” says Orchard. “They learned about the ocean vessels and different con-tainer ships, which are broadly categor-ized into ‘Panamax’ and ‘Post-Panamax.’ Post-Panamax means the vessel can’t fit through the canal’s locks. Students actually watch the locks in operation and get a strong sense of intrigue about that canal. So that was one reason I was able to bring that in a year later. They were already familiar with the canal.”

Orchard regularly scans the inter-national news and business media for events that are relevant to the class and stand to heighten their interest in supply chain management.

“For sure, it’s not hard to find good ones, but I haven’t been able to match the Panama Canal situation,” says Orchard. “That referendum was happening right in the middle of our school term. In fact, the next term, even though the referendum was over, I did the whole thing all over again.”

Orchard has done a session on fair trade, as it also fit the course’s global sourcing and logistics requirements. Orchard says that while there are plenty of current events to cover, that sense of drama and intrigue has to be there for students.

“The Panama Canal had a lot of video and footage and it was a very inter-esting location, so I was able to leverage that,” he says. “Other topics are some-what less appealing.”

Some are too sensitive to cover, even if logistical implications over-lap with the class curriculum. “I don’t think the subject matter should be too explosive,” Orchard says. “There are those events that may be too volatile or religious. I don’t feel like I could treat the Middle East situation properly because I don’t have enough experience with the cultural aspects of it. Besides, my area of teaching is from the operational standpoint, so students may get the other aspects from other international classes.”

While Orchard finds topical events a boon to discussing the implications of supply chain management, some basic knowledge of culture as it impacts business is also critical. “I think in this program, students get the nuts and bolts of the infrastructure around the world, transportation-wise,” Orchard says. Students also take other classes in which they learn about culture in other parts of the world.

Orchard says that students may not be cultural experts, but they do learn how to prepare themselves for international business culture. “There is some prepara-

The issue concerning the strategic waterway’s near-capacity status perfectly fit the class objectives. As an added bonus, the timing was perfect.

PROJECTPANAMAPROJECTPANAMAPROJECTPANAMAPROJECTPROJECTPANAMA


tion, empathy and mindset developed,” he says. “If they are going to trade with Brazil, for example, they’ll know where to look to start research. They learn how to get their ducks in a row.”

If there’s one thing Orchard hopes his students retain upon graduation, it’s the ability to learn and think.

“I don’t expect them to leave with answers to everything,” he says. “I expect them to leave them with the ability to know how to find answers and how to analyze.” He says that real world prob-

lems don’t look exactly like ones they’ve learned at school. “But hopefully from school you have the confidence and skills to analyze problems.”

It’s rare that academia mirrors the real world, but Orchard’s Panama project seems to have been an exception. As for the official results, Panamanians voted overwhelmingly in favour of the expan-sion, taking nearly 77 per cent of the national vote. The students in both of Ryan Orchard’s classes also approved the expansion by a wide margin.

My hope was that the class would spark an interest, says Orchard. It encouraged them to take a position. They couldn’t vote for a maybe; it had to be yes or no.

Major Development

If all goes according to plan, 3rd and 4th

year Bachelor of Commerce students

can choose to focus on the numerical

aspect of business by majoring in

accounting.

The School of Business has put forward a

proposal for the new major which has been

approved by the school and the college, and

is currently awaiting final approval at Quality

Council.

After being given the green light, the college

hopes to officially implement the new major

in September of 2010 with two cohorts of 30

students each.

The program was designed to allow grads to

enter into any of the three professional

accounting programs including Chartered

Accountants, Certified Management

Accountants and Certified General

Accountants.

While many people were involved in the

development of this major, Ken Sutley, was

given the title of Accounting Discipline Lead.

Sutley, a Phd, MBA and B.Com holder,

definitely knows his way around a calculator

and answered the initial question of, “What

do we need in an accounting program?”

Sutley will help design the content of the

program which includes courses such as:

• Income Tax

• Auditing

• International Accounting

• Information Systems

• Financial & Business Accounting

In addition to Sutley’s role as a resource, he

will also be involved in recruitment of faculty

and act as a liason between the college and

professional accounting organizations.

According to Sutley, “We’ve designed the

program to be flexible. Students can take

options which will also allow them to enter

into other streams of accounting such as

Chartered Financial Analysts or Certified

Financial Planners.”

Students will no doubt agree - it’s always

nice to have choices.

What’s better than having three majors to choose from? How about four?

By Laura England

What’s your response to

this question: Is the East a

competitive or cooperative

partner in trade, investment

and business relations? MacEwan staff and

faculty gathered together 80 participants

from all over the world to this international

conference to discuss this very timely topic.

The conference focused on the emerging

markets of the Asia Pacific region and their

role in the rapidly changing global economy.

The MacEwan School of Business sees

internationalization as an important educa-

tional component and events such as these

place this institution miles ahead of others.

Competition or Cooperation:East vs. WestFirst-ever conference explores business relations between the west and the evolving east.

Panama con’t...

33

MacEwan’s new Bachelor of Commerce degree is a four-year baccalaureate degree with a difference. This supercharged degree is on top of the

trends for the global economy and offers three majors: Management, International Business and Supply Chain Management.

Do you have a business diploma from MacEwan or another college?

You could be halfway to earning your degree. And select courses are available part-time and online.

For more information call 780-497-5162. www.MacEwan.ca/bcom

be here

be calm


M ost people hold the opinion that students enrolled in MacEwan’s Travel Pro-gram should, um, travel.

So every year the program offers a study tour to some exotic, exciting, enchant-ing destination. This year’s tour defi-nitely fits the bill as 30 students made their way across the globe to China.

First of all, let’s delve into the program itself and learn how the study tour differs from a typical vacation. As explained by Carla Lemaire, Curriculum Coordinator and Travel instructor, “Travel is a career program that prepares students for employment in the travel industry. The study tour is an opportunity to put into practice the elements of travel they

have been studying, as well as develop a deeper understanding of the customs and culture of the destination.”

“Because our students are going to work as travel professionals,” continues Lemaire, “and they’re going to be promot-ing the destinations people are travelling to, we set up things a little differently on the tour. For example we want to do some typical things that are done on a famil-iarization tour, like hotel inspections, as well as seeing some sights.”

These trips are understandably more than just an intense study of poolside lounge chairs and the search of the best mai tai. Students are given assignments to complete before, during and after their tour. Last year’s group travelled to

A group of students from the MacEwan Travel Program boarded a plane bound for the far east on a first-ever trip to China.

Hawaii. A project had them determine their top three island destinations and the different methods of seeing them. Travel students may also be required to complete industry training courses prior to departure.

It’s all about gaining information to share with future customers. “While we’re on the tour,” Lemaire says, “I like to in-clude as many tourist attractions as pos-sible, but at the same time allow students to experience some of the culture and do things on their own.” Students sum up these experiences in a report they prepare after they return home. This mirrors industry practice; working travel consult-ants share a written account of their tour with co-workers.

By Laura England

The Trip Business

35

Day 1/Day 2 Departed at 09:50 and arrived in Beijing some 15 hours later.

Day 3 We began our journey by exploring the largest public plaza in the world – Tian-anmen Square. From there we went to the Forbidden City, the Chinese Imperial Palace. Once inside the city, we made our way to the Palace Museum, one of 980 surviving buildings in this complex. In the afternoon (yes, that was just the morning’s activities), we visited the beautiful Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven.

Day 4 What would a trip to China be witout walking the mighty Great Wall? We couldn’t walk the entire 4,000 miles because we had to make time to visit the Beijing Zoo to see the charming giant pandas, and experience the art of Chinese pottery-making at a cloisonné factory.

Day 5 We woke from an overnight train trip in Xian and visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Grand Mosque.

Day 6 This was the mid-point of our tour. Today we saw Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s 8,000 terracotta warriors, and it was awe-inspir-ing. Considered to be the most significant archeological excavation of the 20th century, these life-size figures were ar-ranged in battle formation with columns of soldiers at the front followed by war chariots. Then we were treated to a Tang Dynasty dancing show and dinner.

Day 7 After flying to Hangzhou, we visited the Six Harmonies Pagoda and Hefang Street – known for its Ming Dynasty carvings, paintings and coins.

Day 8 We quenched our physical and meta-physical thirst by visiting the Longjing Tea Plantation, which produces Dragon Well tea, the most famous green tea in the world. Next, our group enjoyed a boat cruise on the tranquil water of the West Lake.

Day 9 We delved into a significant aspect of China’s culture and heritage by visit-ing the silkworm factory in Suzhou. We rounded out the day by taking a Grand Canal boat cruise and visiting the Master of Nets Garden.

Day 10 After a visit to the Embroidery Institute, we continued on to Shanghai where we had some free time to explore this diverse, metropolitan city.

Day 11 On our last day of touring, we visited the Jade Buddha Temple in Nanjing and the exquisite Yu Garden. We climbed the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and visited the History and Wax Museum. After a Mon-golian barbecue buffet, we were treated to an amazing acrobatic show.

Day 12 We bid farewell to China and began the long march home. Exhausted, but en-chanted with the country.

The Trip Business1. One of the many colourful actors in

the Tang Dynasty show in Xian

2. A small sample of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s terracotta warrior army

3. Experiencing a popular mode of Chinese transportation

4. A scenic route for many Chinese commuters

The 2009 Travel tour itinerary reads like must-see list of Chinese landmarks.

By Carla Lemaire

1.

2.

3.

4.


www.MacEwan.ca/business

Insurance and RiskManagement CertificateFire, flood, drought… bad things can happen. Be part of the team that restores lives and businesses. Choose a career in the insurance industry.

If you have some post-secondary education, MacEwan can fast-track you into the insurance industry with its brand-new Insurance and Risk Management career certificate.

This nine-month certificate will provide the insurance-specific education you need while you work in the industry. Why not earn while you learn?

Insurance is a hot industry with a serious shortage of insurance and risk management professionals. MacEwan grads have an outstanding record of almost 100% employment rate.

Check www.MacEwan.ca/insure or call (780) 497-5384.

In August 2001, the city of Edmonton

proudly hosted the IAAF World Cham-

pionships in Athletics, an international

sporting event that would put Edmonton

on the world map. And it did, but not always

in the way Edmonton wanted. Unfortunately,

international news reporters started to

refer to the city as “Deadmonton”. The new

moniker was blamed on a boring downtown

that was busy with office workers by day but

tumbleweeds by night.

The City of Edmonton knew they had a

Downtown Excitementproblem. But, if you want to create a vibrant

downtown, where do you start?

This year’s CN Lecture, held on March 31,

featured Bob Caldwell, former Manager

of Planning and Policy Services with the

City of Edmonton (he now works for that

post-secondary institution on the other

side of the river). Bob’s talk focused on the

elements that make up a vibrant downtown

core, and how the City of Edmonton has

found success. “We knew early on that

just building projects was not the way to

go. We needed to work on public percep-

tion,” Mr. Caldwell stated, “and we had to

pull together a lot of people and make them

work together to get it done.” Approved in

1997, the Capital City Downtown plan was

created from a wide range of input, includ-

ing historic, arts, transportation, retail and

commercial business. The resulting plan fo-

cused on increasing downtown’s residential

population. This would be done through tax

incentives to builders, and improvements to

residential services including: greenspace,

pedestrian circulation, public art, transpor-

tation and more.

The plan was award winning but, as Bob

pointed out, success was due to the dili-

gence of the individuals involved, “Ultimate-

ly, the key to success was the combination

of development targeted to residents and

working to change public perception. This

plan provided ways to build the downtown

brand, and enough people believed in it to

make it happen.” Since 1997, the residential

population of Edmonton’s downtown has

increased by 81 per cent. Would they call

it ‘Deadmonton’ now? P.S. MacEwan has

recently announced plans to consolidate

its operations—currently divided between

four campuses around the city—to a single

downtown location.

By Jana Clarke

37

an agricultural scientist, professor, histor-ian and politician, Dr. MacEwan’s belief that we are responsible for establishing a helpful, caring, sustainable relationship with nature will remain a big part of his legacy.

Now, universities and colleges are endeavouring to create greener campuses by implementing sustainable policies, building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings and showing their commitment to sustain-ability by joining forces with University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF). On MacEwan Day, February 12, 2009, MacEwan joined members of this group in signing the Talloires Declaration. The declaration was created by presidents of post secondary institutions in 1990 at Talloires, France. It’s a commitment by these institutions to become world lead-ers in developing, creating, supporting and maintaining sustainability. The sign-ing was a highlight of MacEwan’s first-ever week devoted to sustainability.

A memorable and favourite part of that special morning was the “100-Mile menu” a meal consisting of locally produced items that guests enjoyed while publicly recognizing their colleagues and friends at the annual Employee Recog-

E ach February, Grant Mac-Ewan College celebrates its annual MacEwan Day, hon-ouring the late J.W. Grant

MacEwan for his contributions to the college, the city, the province and this year, the global community.

To commemorate Grant MacEwan’s life, college officials decided to build on the annual MacEwan Day festivities by expanding the celebrations to one week, and declaring it “Sustainability Week.” People know Dr. MacEwan as a philan-thropist and pillar of the community, but many might not know that he was a dedicated environmentalist as well.

Before “going green” had become a common phrase, Dr. Grant MacEwan was using his knowledge and passion for the environment to educate western Can-adians. As an environmental advocate, he shared his values through various publications, including a 1966 book called Entrust to My Care. In it, Dr. Mac-Ewan expresses his concerns for various environmental issues such as air pollu-tion, forest protection and petroleum and mineral extraction.

In 1985, Dr. MacEwan received the Governor General’s Conservation Award. Along with his many accomplishments as

By Erin Walton

J.W. Grant MacEwan’s environmental beliefs live on as the college commits to a sustainable future.

nition Awards Ceremony – a tradition that Grant MacEwan himself began and treasured over the years. The col-lege introduced a special initiative: the replacement of customary decor with organic elements including potted chrys-anthemums, which were recycled later presented to award recipients along with their awards.

Guests of the special day were entertained by MacEwan’s own Chloe Albert, winner of the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards’ New/Emerging Art-ist of the Year, and were presented with complimentary Alberta wildflower seeds in a customized MacEwan packet. It was fitting, as MacEwan the man was a lover of the province’s natural beauty.

“I am prepared to stand before my maker, the ruler of the entire universe, with no other plea than that I have tried to leave things in His vineyard better than I found them,” wrote Grant Mac-Ewan in 1969. Although he died in 2000 and is no longer here to celebrate events such as MacEwan Day, his writing echoes the sentiment that drives the college named after him. We celebrate his mem-ory as the college strives to create and implement sustainable practices, making the world a little better.

The Man in Green


T aking liberties with an old Muppets classic, it’s not easy being green. But ac-cording to Stuart MacLean,

MacEwan’s Director of Facilities, the goal to reach emerald environmental status is certainly worth the effort.

“There are real, good, solid green initiatives but there’s always a lot more to be done,” says MacLean, who’s launched a series of initiatives to make all of MacEwan’s campuses more ecologically friendly.

That said, MacLean is proud to say there has been a lot of “good stuff” going on over the past year to make the college more environmentally sustainable. While many departments have launched their own initiatives, MacLean’s Facilities Department has taken some great strides to get the college closer to realizing its environmental mission statement. One initiative was the completion of a lighting retrofit at Alberta College and one forth-coming at the City Centre Campus to cut down on energy consumption while boosting the design life cycles of equip-ment and improving light quality.

The department also increased dry cooler capacity to provide off-season

cooling to equipment and information technology rooms (eliminating the need to operate the building’s cooling plant during the winter). The department has also introduced a classroom occupancy lighting control system that automatically switches off lights in rooms when not in use.

Additional projects included more campus-wide recycling, carpooling and a roundup of electronic and electric equip-ment that was no longer needed and consumed far more energy than newer models.

So far, the results have been en-couraging. The lighting retrofit at Alberta College and City Centre is well on its way to MacEwan’s goal of saving at least $240,000 annually in energy output. The dry cooler initiative could save up to $50,000 annually, while extending the design life-cycle of the cooling equip-ment.

“A greener campus means respect-ing the resources and energy used in our day-to-day activities and preparing for a future that renews and preserves,” Mac-Lean says. “I am trying to grow sustain-ability and environmentalism, and I’ve got a small role here.”

Probably the most visible indicator of MacEwan’s seriousness about sustain-ability took place on February 12 during MacEwan Day. The college showcased an organic breakfast menu, free access to the MacEwan Centre for Sport and Wellness, an Eco-bition exhibit of local organizations dedicated to sustainability, carpooling contests and a behind-the-scenes tour of green initiatives at the Mac-Ewan Residence and the Robbins Health Learning Centre, which received a 2007 award of merit for sustainable design by the Consulting Engineers of Alberta. That day, the college also signed the Talloires Declaration, an international initiative to increase sustainability on campus and throughout the community.

The college also introduced Sus-tainability Week (February 9 to 13), which saw recycling depots set up across campus, a roundup of electronic equip-ment and batteries and a series of green lunch ’n’ learn workshops facilitated by the Sierra Club. The college also tapped into environmentally friendly power that provided energy to the schools during the week and provided discounts on MacEwan clothing and green lines at the college’s bookstores. Especially popular

GreensCollege sustainability initiatives are making MacEwan campuses greener. It requires planning and forethought, but nobody said it would be easy.

Daily By Gene Kosowan

39

with the students was the availability of free fair trade coffee on all campuses.

One aspect of the week that received the greatest reaction was Six Degrees of Sustainability in which the Facili-ties Department turned down all the thermostats one degree Celcius across the campus, encouraging students and staff to wear sweaters to adjust to the heat loss.

Although the Facilities Depart-ment was on the receiving end of calls requesting the temperatures be raised, most of the callers obligingly relented when they realized the motive behind the measures. MacLean was proud of the results during the week, especially with the temperature change. “The energy sav-ings contributed towards the cost of 450 megawatt hours of renewable supply that was purchased during that same week,” he says.

In May, MacEwan expanded on its promises to fulfil green aspirations by signing two accords. One was the Associa-tion of Canadian Community Colleges’ Pan-Canadian Protocol for Sustainability, which lists among its eight stipulations a plan to integrate sustainability practices from green standards for buildings to alternative energy sources. The other was the University and College Presidents’ Climate Change Statement of Action. Started by six post-secondary schools in British Columbia and since signed on by NAIT and the University of Calgary, the program aims to collaborate on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

MacLean points out the buildings on campus are designed to operate more efficiently than standards set by Natural Resources Canada. The Residence and Robbins Centre, for example, operate as much as 40 per cent more efficiently than energy expenditure guidelines set out by the Model National Energy Code for Buildings. Both facilities are designed to conform to the LEED rating system, a recognized international standard for measuring building sustainability.

Future plans include implementing a major campus-wide recycling system, adding native and hardy plant material at the City Centre Campus to cut down on watering, and preparing a comprehensive inventory of greenhouse gas emissions on each campus. “There’s been a lot accom-plished, but as we increase our awareness of campus sustainability, there is much further we have to go,” says MacLean. “Overall, it’s been very positive. For many students – they would like to see more.”

GreensDaily

39

450

125

IN OTHER WORDS...AMOUNT OF POWER SAVED BY TURNING DOWN THERMOSTAT ONE DEGREE:

MEGAWATT HOURS - EQUAL TO:

combined amount generated by two wind farms near Seattle

in 2006 (enough to power more than 150,000 homes annually

in the state of Washington)

$40,000ENERGY COST SAVINGS IN LIGHTING RETROFIT:

CARBON REDUCTION IMPACT OF LIGHTING PROJECT:

EQUIVALENT TO REMOVING

NUMBER OF RECYCLING DEPOTS ON CAMPUSES:

ALBERTA COLLEGE

CITY CENTRE CAMPUS

CARS OFF THE ROAD

PLUS ONE IN EVERY CLASSROOM AND COFFEE STATION

$200,000

1,250


Some MacEwan students set their sights on far off

destinations – whether for a practicum placement, a study

tour or to continue their education. But this July, five

Ukrainian Management Studies students chose to

complete their practicum some 8000 kilometers out of town by

travelling to Edmonton.

It’s all the result of a partnership between MacEwan and the Inter-

national Institute of Business in Kyiv, Ukraine. Students enrolled in

MacEwan’s Management Studies diploma program must complete a

practicum component. While most choose to work in Ukraine, a few

adventurous souls decided to immerse themselves in another culture

and learn some international business practices.

Since its inception in 1997, 211 Ukrainian students have received their

Management Studies diploma. In 2004, MacEwan’s Human Resourc-

es program got involved as well and has graduated seven students.

Each student is partnered with an Edmonton business and program

coordinators Joanne Christie and Monika Weber take great pains to

make sure both the student and employer are comfortable in their

new partnership.

Shortly after the students’ arrival, MacEwan faculty and staff orga-

nized a meet and greet welcome breakfast designed to allow

student/employee interaction in a casual setting. Dean Elford

welcomed everyone and thanked the businesses for their trust and

participation.

Joanne Christie also extended her welcome and shared some ad-

vice, “Take this time to really get to know your student.

You may not be aware of all the skills they have.” Attendees of the

meet and greet got to know a bit about each student as they rose to

introduce themselves, say who they were partnered with and why

they came to Canada.

Student Oleg Grabovetskyy stated, “I’m here to practice not only my

language skills, but my communication skills. I’ve got some construc-

tion experience with hotels and now I’m here at the Westin to gain

some hospitality skills.”

Anna Melekh and Danylo Bezmenov were both partnered with Wal-

Mart. Melekh came to Edmonton to “learn new things and be help-

ful”, while Bezmenov “wanted to learn more about the supply chain

aspect of retail”.

Sergii Sokurenko was partnered with ATB financial and was looking

forward to “improving my language skills and learning as much

as possible”.

When asked why she came to Canada, Svitlana Kukhtina replied,

“Why not? I thought working at BMO (Bank of Montreal) would be a

good experience.”

MacEwan’s Management Studies program welcomes five students from Kyiv, Ukraine ready to take on the business world.

By Laura England

DestinationEdmonton

Wally Jaciuk, Area Manager, BMO Bank of Montreal with his practicum student, Svitlana Kukhtina

41

The MacEwan Student Business Conference is the premiere event for the School of Business, effectively connecting students and industry leaders since 1982. Find out about the many opportunities to pass your business smarts onto the next generation. Let your hindsight become their foresight.

For more information contact Sarah Parker at [email protected] or call 780 633-3474.

Student Business Conference – Thursday, March 11, 2010

I remember a time when bringing a cal-

culator into class was strictly forbidden.

My, how times have changed. Today’s

business requires instant global com-

munications and manipulation of massive

amounts of data. This is pretty hard to do

with a textbook and a calculator.

Integrating computers into the classroom

is one step. Integrating laptops into student

learning, both in and out of the classroom,

is another.

Technology Integrated Programs, or TIP, is a

MacEwan initiative wherein laptop comput-

ers and other technologies are integrated

into the learning process. Students are

required to bring their laptops to most

classes, and upload assignments during

study times. TIP is robust, forcing the stu-

dent to utilize technology.

TIP TOP STUDENTSThe TIP program - yet another tool in a MacEwan student’s arsenal.

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRA

TED PR

OGRA

M

By Laura England

This is done in several ways:

• Accessing course web sites

• Taking notes in class

• Completing online assessments

• Accessing the library database

• Working through problems in class

• Viewing instructor files such as Power-

Point and solution examples

• Submitting assignments

• Viewing instructor feedback and grades

• Communicating with fellow students,

instructors, and advisors

• Working with simulations

• Conducting research via the Internet

• Creating presentations and papers

Instructors are speaking the language of

today and are presenting information in a

manner in which their students are quite

familiar and comfortable with.

While not all programs are a part of TIP,

wireless networking is available throughout

all four MacEwan campuses. To date, the

programs participating in TIP are:

• Management Studies diploma

• Golf Management diplomas

• Accounting Technology certificate

• Accounting & Strategic Measurement

diplomas, including Co-operative

Education major

• Bachelor of Applied Business

Administration – Accounting

MacEwan can offer students a great deal on

a laptop and all the technical support they

will ever need. So they’ll leave will loads of

business skills and the hands-on expertise

to take on business in an electronic world.


Since taking the project manage-ment certificate course in the fall of 2008, I went on to chal-lenge and receive my project

management professional certification in January of 2009. There is no doubt in my mind that the courses I took through the MacEwan program helped me prepare for and pass the exam. My company is a well-respected engineering firm in Edmonton and it recognizes this certification as an important credential for me personally and for our corporate résumé.

I was pleased with the diversity of backgrounds and level of professional-ism demonstrated by the instructors at MacEwan. Their myriad methods to present and teach what might otherwise be considered dry material was inspir-ing – especially a certain Larry Fox, who introduced us to the historical figure of General Groves, commander of the Man-hattan Project to develop the atomic bomb during the Second World War. Groves’ methods became the precursor to many of the management protocols now embedded in the manuals of the Project Management Institute (PMI), a non-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing proj-ect management.

Fox taught courses in time and cost management as well as risk management. He shared some of his own experiences, explaining how his company applied the steps from initiating to planning, execut-ing and closing its projects. It was very interesting and went a long way towards helping me understand why certain

By Ray Ambeault

Manager for todayaspects of the PMI curriculum, which at first seemed pedantic and intolerant of shortcuts, could in fact be useful when utilized properly.

One of his lessons had us applying Post-it notes outlining activities to a 10-foot-long network diagram. The purpose was to physically render a workable schedule and a foolproof explanation of the concept of a critical path, important to PMI teachings. I found this particularly helpful and very relevant to my job. Now, before I go to my scheduling department with a project, I use this method to first make sure I understand what the final product should look like.

During the discussion on risk, Fox showed us clips from Ewan McGregor’s motorcycle trip across Asia to prompt us to think about how the risks of this ad-venture might compare to risk identifica-tion and mitigation strategies in our own varied business dealings. This approach – although not entirely practical – kept the class awake and engaged. After I thought about it, I had to admit that the film was useful to get the point across in terms that we could all grasp.

In conclusion, the experience was good for me as I hadn’t been in a classroom since the Trudeau administration and was somewhat apprehensive going in. But I am very proud of myself for signing up and following through on the commitment. Thanks to Mr. Fox and the other instruc-tors for their help, and to MacEwan for providing a good atmosphere for learning.

Student View

43

Manager for today

MacEwan School of BusinessWhere business minds come to grow

Graduates of the MacEwan School of Business reap

the benefits of small class sizes, industry-savvy

instructors and cutting-edge technology.

They’re ready to take on the world of business and

become leaders in a global economy.

MacEwan works hand-in-hand with

Edmonton’s business community through

advisory committees, co-op students and

practicum placements.

Find out how you can get involved by visiting

www.MacEwan.ca/business.

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aspire - The Global Issue - Summer 2009