> New MBA program provides international experience

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Contact:
Colleen Collins, SFU Beedie School of Business, 778.782.5195; dodd@sfu.ca
Derek Moscato, SFU Beedie School of Business, 778.782.5038, derek.moscato@sfu.ca
Dixon Tam, SFU media relations, 778.782.8742, dixont@sfu.ca

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Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business is partnering with three other universities to offer a new master of business administration program for international executives beginning this August.

The two-year degree program, called Americas MBA for Executives, provides 60 students with the opportunity to study management issues in each of the four largest economies in the Americas.

According to Daniel Shapiro, dean of SFU’s Beedie School of Business, the Americas MBA for Executives is a reflection of Canada’s economic present and future in a regional and international context. “This is an exciting initiative that addresses head-on those areas that will define business in the 21st century,” he says.

The other three schools participating are:

• FIA Business School, Fundação Instituto De Administração, São Paulo, Brazil
• ITAM, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Mexico City, Mexico
• Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.

The program grew out of recognition that global businesses are increasingly aligning their operations around all of the Americas, not just particular regions such as central, north, and south. It also responds to a growing need among companies and students for business instruction focused more deeply around issues specific to the Americas markets.

“This is a program that recognizes the growing prominence of the Americas as a cohesive economic entity,” says Colleen Collins, associate dean of graduate programs for SFU’s Beedie School of Business. “We have brought the top scholars in cross-cultural management, global competitiveness and new ventures together to give students a unique perspective on international management.”

The highly selective program begins with each school assembling no more than 15 students to participate in the Americas MBA curriculum. During their first year, students will remain at their home school as part of its executive or part-time MBA program. Then, during the second year, students from all four schools will be grouped together in cross-cultural study teams, which will embark on a year-long, global capstone strategy project.

The teams will also rotate together to each campus to engage in class work, local business practices and cultural events. They will also have face-to-face time to share their project work. Each school will offer programming that draws on its core strengths:

• First in Canada, the Americas MBA candidates will take on cross-cultural communications and business strategy. The study groups will also begin their year-long capstone project here.
• Next they go to Brazil, where the Americas MBA students will learn about sustainability, how global markets operate, and bottom-of-the-pyramid product development.
• From there it’s on to Mexico City, where the Americas MBA participants tackle the topics of international trade and investments, and learn how to navigate the large family-owned businesses that are prevalent in the region.
• The Americas MBA students will spend their final on-campus visit in the U.S. focused on launching venture capital-based projects and learning how to nurture innovation.

While the schools all provide a similar level of academic rigor and share a common educational philosophy, each institution will determine separately admission and tuition requirements for its Americas MBA program applicants. Classes and coursework will be in English, though applicants with foreign language skills and international business experience will be given preference.

Upon completion of the program, students will receive a joint Americas MBA certificate awarded by the group of four schools, in addition to the degree conferred by their home school.

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