Saunder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. (University of British Columbia) University of British Columbia

Sauder School of Business MBA

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

By Maclean’s

November 1, 2018

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Every MBA student at UBC Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School spends two weeks abroad as part of the school’s global immersion experience. The work begins before they leave, as participants research a company in their destination country. Once they arrive, they present recommendations to the firm’s management team, learning about different cultures and decision-making processes along the way. Students in 2018 visited Israel, Germany, Japan and Chile. Next year, Hong Kong has been added as a new study destination.

Participants in the 16-month program can choose between three career tracks—finance, product and service management, or business innovation and entrepreneurship—or customize a program for their own interests. Finance students become fluent in capital budgeting and mergers and acquisitions, while product and service management participants learn to transform market insights into opportunities. The innovation and entrepreneurship program is aimed at students who want to launch their own company, join a start-up or drive innovation at a large company.

Regardless of a student’s track, their program will teach critical business skills, including accounting, organizational behaviour, marketing and managerial economics.

All Sauder students must complete either a summer internship or an entrepreneurial project. Students receive one-on-one career coaching and have access to development workshops on topics such as networking, personal branding and salary negotiations. The school’s business career centre even conducts mock job interviews with students to help prepare.

Notable alumni include Gregg Saretsky, former president and CEO of WestJet, and Lindsay Gordon, former CEO of HSBC Canada.

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