The first 39 graduates of the executive MBA program offered by the University of Regina’s Kenneth Levene Graduate School of Business received their degrees at a convocation ceremony on Tuesday.

The convocation marked the culmination of an intensive, 16-month program designed for professional managers. The program is open to people with undergraduate degrees and at least five years of managerial experience, or people without undergraduate degrees with at least seven years of experience.

According to Anne Lavack, dean of the university’s faculty of business administration, the regular MBA program offered by the university — which requires two years of work experience — typically caters to younger students than the new executive program.

“We saw a need in the market place for a degree that would help senior managers and middle managers advance in their careers,” she said.

There are about 15 such programs offered by other universities in Canada, but this is the only one in the province, Lavack said.

“This was our opportunity to be able to offer something to business people in Saskatchewan that would help them in their careers,” she said.

Even though this year’s graduates made up the first class to go through the program, Lavack said things went fairly smoothly.

“Several of our faculty members have experience in executive MBA programs elsewhere so we knew what to expect. But there’s no question that we learned a great deal from our students,” she said.

Graduate Terry MacDonald, a vice-president with the insurance services division of CAA Saskatchewan, said the executive MBA program at the U of R finally made it feasible for her to pursue a degree she had wanted for some time.

“I think that there were lots of people like me who were looking to do this and jumped at the opportunity,” she said, referring to the size of the program’s first graduating class.

MacDonald said she valued the opportunity to network with other students, something that would not have been possible with correspondence courses.

Insp. Len Delpino — who heads the provincial Commercial Crimes section of RCMP — said he entered the program to hone his managerial skills and to serve as a role model for his three children. Like MacDonald, he said he benefited from the face-to-face meetings with classmates.

“That, for me, was a positive experience, being able to interact with other managers from all walks of life,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mike Blaisdell — the former Regina Pats player and NHL player, who also served as a Pats assistant coach — said the program offered an opportunity for him to complete his university education.

“I went to the University of Wisconsin on a hockey scholarship, but I didn’t complete my degree there because I wanted to play pro hockey,” he said.

Blaisdell said the broad-based program will serve him well in any professional endeavour, whether it be in hockey management, acting as a player agent or in business.

“It’s changed the way I think about a lot of things,” he said.

More : canada.com

U21Global, the world’s premier online Graduate School, announced its second cohort of graduates today. A special ceremony was held in Singapore to mark the graduation of 192 students, an increase of more than 100 over the previous year. The graduating class consists of working executives from 22 countries including Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Korea, China, Hong Kong, USA and Singapore.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Professor Sir Colin Campbell, Chairman of the U21Global Board and President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham said, “It gives me great pleasure to congratulate this year’s graduating class. At U21Global, we take pride in our reputation as pioneers in providing the highest quality of education in an online environment and the fact that our programmes are quality assured by leading international universities. We are confident that the education that has been provided towards this degree will allow our graduating students to surge ahead in their careers.”

At the ceremony, U21Global presented the Academic Excellence Award, an award that recognises Master degree graduates who not only achieved academic excellence but demonstrated high standards of social responsibility and ethics throughout their degree. This year five students were chosen from the graduating class to receive the award.

One of the graduating student, Imran Vohra, Product Manager at DA-Desk, Hamriya Free Zone Sharjah, UAE said, “My aim in doing the MBA programme was to make it easier for me to climb the corporate ladder from middle management to senior management, and I can see I am getting there. It has been worth the time and effort invested in getting my MBA at U21Global.”

Another graduate Stephen Pearce, Training Manager, Dubai, UAE added, “U21Global has surpassed my expectations of what an online degree entails. Without the flexibility, structure and ease of learning of the course materials I would not have been able to complete my MBA. I can also feel that my outlook on future employment is a lot more positive than it was two years ago and I am very much looking forward to utilising my newly learned skills by means of imparting my now comprehensive and up to date business knowledge on peers, colleagues and senior management alike.”

“This is indeed a momentous occasion and it gives me immense honour to congratulate all our graduates on their academic accomplishments. I take this opportunity to also wish them success in their chosen fields and personal pursuits,” said Nick Hutton, Chief Executive Officer, U21Global.

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Raj Soin College of Business’ Master of Business Administration (MBA) Weekend Program is expanding MBA offerings off-campus in the fall to become more aggressive in recruiting students for graduate programs.

The new Mason MBA Weekend Program will begin a cohort September 12 and 13 through a partnership with Sinclair Community College, who built the campus in Warren County.

These types of programs make obtaining a master’s degree more accessible to those working in industry, said Robert Premus, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Coordinator of South Dayton Programs.

Currently, there are two cohorts at the Mound Advanced Technology Center, through a partnership with the City of Miamisburg. A forth cohort is at Lake Campus.

A cohort is a group of about 30 students who begin and end the program at the same time. The students take two classes a quarter, taught by WSU faculty, every other weekend for two years.

“It really creates a strong bond between the students and networking,” said Premus.

Premus also said the program accepts any major with a good undergraduate record, about three to five years job experience and a good Graduate Management Admission Test score. There is an information session June 13, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., at Courseview Campus Center, at Sinclair Community College.

Tuition and fees are about $355 per credit hour. The program has 48 credit hours and 12 credit hours of prerequisites, so total costs range from about $16,080 to $21,400.

Applications are due July 1st. If applicants didn’t take the four prerequisite classes in statistics, accounting, economics and finance as undergrads, the program offers these at additional times throughout the quarter.

More : media.www.theguardianonline.com

JK Education foundation of the JK Group which runs the JK Business School in collaboration with Jambheshwar University, Hissar is coming up with a new eco-friendly campus in Gurgaon, starting from July first week.

JKBS will also be the first green B- school campus in India and is being developed with the expertise of the Center for Environment Education (CEE). The campus with all the modern facilities will ensure optimum utilization of energy and water resources, appropriate use of building material, designing energy efficient building and so on.

The school is expecting strength of 120 in its first year and will move to 300 in a span of 2 years. For admission into its varied courses, it will accept scores of Common Aptitude Test (CAT), Management Aptitude Test (MAT) and for NRI students it will accept Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). It has also applied for the approval from the regulatory body of technical education AICTE.

JK group has newly launched an education foundation that has been set up to spearhead its entry into technical higher education. It has adopted a path of growth through alliances. At the same breath, the institute has brought in 24 top industry leaders in its newly formed governing body to give shape to a futuristic “Industry lead academic program” currently lacking among Indian business management institutes.

More : financialexpress.com

A new master of business administration program has been added to the College of St. Scholastica lineup for fall, and officials hope it sets the college apart from the rest of the pack.

Based on feedback from focus groups in different parts of the state, the curriculum will include an emphasis on ethics and social responsibility, the international economy and personal coaching.

“The MBA is offered by a lot of institutions, and in some sense it’s a crowded field,” said Beth Domholdt, vice president of academic affairs at the college. “But it’s a field we can be competitive in by playing to our strengths.”

The school already has a master of arts in management degree program, and some students who have earned that degree have asked for an MBA program.

Students, senior executives and CEOs told the college it needs to not only teach about the global economy, but allow students to practice in it. The school is working to acquire relationships with businesses in China, Russia and the U.S. to work with students and instructors in the program, many of whom will travel overseas to do so.

“It doesn’t matter if you work for a dry cleaners in Duluth or whether you run a multinational down in the [Twin] Cities; we are in a global economy,” said Robert Sherman, dean of the School of Business and Technology at St. Scholastica.

The MBA program will include a capstone experience that allows students to take part in problem-solving with actual companies and deliver final reports to be critiqued by executives.

The ethics and social responsibility aspect already is threaded through undergraduate curriculum. A St. Scholastica Web site, csr.css.edu, is dedicated to corporate social responsibility, which includes businesses taking a larger role in solving problems by working with government and nonprofits, Sherman said. Most companies participate in some sort of philanthropy, and linking that with marketing programs is good for society and improves profitability, he said. Students will work with companies in Duluth and elsewhere to help them do this.

The final aspect — and what the college believes is rare among these types of programs — will pair students with personal coaches. During the first year of the program, students will be analyzed for strengths and weaknesses to learn their measure of motivation and work behavior. The coach, either a St. Scholastica graduate, faculty member or someone from the business community, will be paid and will hopefully foster a lifelong relationship with the student, Sherman said.

“It won’t be a casual relationship; we’ll have expectations of these coaches that will go beyond anything we’ve seen in any other MBA program,” he said.

The coach probably will be from an industry the student is interested in or is already in, and the second year will involve learning leadership styles. The coaching will help students understand themselves as managers and leaders in business, said Karen Gulliver, associate dean for the School of Business and Technology at the St. Paul campus.

More : duluthnewstribune.com

Manipal Education, in association with Subhash Ghai-promoted Whistling Woods, has introduced a two year MBA degree in media and entertainment. The course begins in July 2008 and admissions are open.

The MBA programme will have specialization in Film, Broadcasting, New and Interactive Media and Event Management. The first year will be conducted in Manipal University campus in Bangalore.

The second year will be a “hands on” training programme which will be conducted at the Whistling Woods premises located at Film City, Mumbai. The MBA degree will be provided by Manipal University on completion of the second year.

Whistling Woods founder Subhash Ghai said, “We have admired the growth of Manipal Education and its contribution to education. We are happy that they are moving into higher technical areas that would support the kind of explosive growth in entertainment that the IT sector has shown in the last few decades. Whistling Woods International, which has partnered with major technology players globally, and enjoys goodwill in the industry, is pleased to offer value to the students through its industry programme while adding value to education offered by Manipal Education. We are looking forward to a meaningful association”.

Manipal Education MD and CEO Anand Sudarshan said, “The new generations of youngsters are looking for education in areas of high growth and opportunity, and Media offers both the scope for creative and managerial growth. We are confident that students would seek this opportunity to further their prospects. We are pleased with the industry tie-up offered through Whistling Woods International which is based in the heart of the Mumbai Film Industry.”

More : indiantelevision.com

The University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business and Economics is launching a one of a kind master of business administration degree.

The program focuses on education for managers at mid-level and above in collaborating companies.

There will be an emphasis on biomedical, logistics and distribution, retailing and services marketing.

The program will be designed to focus on governance and ethics, emotional intelligence, teamwork and leadership as well as critical thinking, creativity, innovation and problem-solving.

Part-time and full-time internships will be built into the program.

More : wreg.com

Four teams of MBA students from the University at Buffalo School of Management are winners of the inaugural Thomas Dougherty Award in Entrepreneurial Studies, a business plan competition sponsored by Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) Office of Technology Transfer.
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Michael Brako-Bismarck, MBA ‘09, of Rochester; Max Buetow, MBA ‘09, of Denver, Colo; Scott Eidens, MBA ‘09, of Scotia; Luke Kankiewicz, MBA ‘09, of Laurens; and Ezra Staley, JD/MBA ‘09, of Lockport, won the top prize, $15,000 in tuition reimbursement, to be shared among team members.

A second-place award of $7,000 in tuition reimbursement will be shared by Nicole Crapez, M.Arch./MBA ‘08, of Lakeview; Nathan MacFarlane, MBA ‘08, of Newfane; and Haleh Mousavi, M.Arch./MBA ‘08,G of Amherst.

Two additional teams tied for third place and will split the $3,000 tuition reimbursement award.

RPCI and the UB School of Management provided guidance to aspiring student entrepreneurs in the creation of an economic development business plan based on an actual biotechnology initiative being developed by Roswell Park faculty. The purpose was to assess the commercial viability of a spin-off business being formed around an emerging technology at Roswell Park. Successful submission of the business plan also fulfilled a curriculum requirement in the UB School of Management’s MBA program.

“This competition united the expertise of UB and Roswell Park to fuel the drive and imagination of aspiring entrepreneurs,” said Donald L. Trump, M.D., RPCI president and CEO. “It gave the competitors practical, real-world experience, and their work has exciting potential for turning significant discoveries at Roswell Park into solid opportunities for economic development.”

“This event is an outstanding addition to our growing array of technology entrepreneurship opportunities for our students,” said John M. Thomas, Ph.D., dean of the UB School of Management. “It also fits into our larger mission at UB to help build Buffalo into a major player in the life sciences sector.”

Teams submitted complete business plans and made 30-minute presentations to a panel of six judges that included RPCI senior faculty and members of the RPCI Board of Directors. Plans were judged based on completeness and originality, and Roswell Park anticipates that they will provide significant direction to the potential biotech business vision.

In addition to working on the business plans, the students have been taking entrepreneurship courses under the direction of John Hannon, Ph.D., associate professor of entrepreneurship in the UB School of Management.’
More : buffalo.edu

The F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College has named Ursula Liff, M ‘09, winner of the 2008-2009 William G. McGowan Scholarship.

Babson’s William G. McGowan Scholar applicants must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and submit an essay. McGowan scholar candidates must demonstrate leadership ability, interpersonal skills, and involvement in academic, campus, and community activities. The award also recognizes intellectual curiosity, and a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial potential.

“Ursula has earned this award! Her leadership has great impact on the Babson community. She has a solid record of academic achievement, a spirit of curiosity, and a commitment to community building,” said Karen Maccaro, chair of the selection committee and associate dean of the graduate school. “In a strong pool of candidates, the Committee found her to be the embodiment of the characteristics the McGowan Foundation seeks to recognize and reward.”

“Being named the McGowan Scholar means a tremendous amount to me,” says Liff. “I am very thankful to the Babson community, my teachers and my colleagues who have supported me throughout the year and pushed me beyond my own expectations.”

Liff, a first-year student in the Two-year MBA program, is the daughter of Stephen Liff of Jamaica Plain and the late Boston Park Commissioner, June Mee Liff. She earned a B.A. degree in drama and art history from Vassar College. She currently lives in Boston’s Back Bay.

More : babson.edu

English is said to be the universal language of business so there is little incentive for UK managers to learn a foreign tongue. But in emerging economies such as Russia, China and South America, English is not widely spoken and Western managers who can communicate with the locals in these countries will have an edge.

So, should students learn a second language on their MBA programme so they can offer a well-rounded set of management skills?

At Cranfield School of Management, in Bedfordshire, a working knowledge of a second language is compulsory for all MBA students.

Sean Rickard, director of the full-time MBA programme, says: “We made it a requirement because we believe that in an increasingly global world we should encourage our students to communicate in at least one language other than their own.”

More : timesonline.co.uk