‘Responsibility, inclusiveness and engagement’
Under Dean Anne-Marie Croteau, the John Molson School of Business was certified by Women in Governance.
The John Molson School of Business (JMSB) drafted a strategic plan in 2019 to propel it to new heights and solidify its position as an institution that produces valuable business research, prepares students for the job market and contributes meaningfully to society.
“When we began working on our plan, we did it knowing that it had to support Concordia’s nine strategic directions, which lay out the actions required for a future-ready, next-generation university,” explains Anne-Marie Croteau, BSc 86, JMSB’s dean since 2017.
“We went through the exercise of looking at who we are as a business school. What do we know about ourselves? What are we good at and what drives our decisions? It was pretty clear that there are a few fundamental principles JMSB has always been committed to upholding: responsibility, inclusiveness and engagement.”
In 2019, The John Molson School of Business became the first business school ever certified by Women in Governance. The non-profit supports initiatives related to leadership development, career advancement and access to board seats for women across Canada. The certification recognizes organizations that have achieved results by articulating a commitment to gender parity in the workplace, integrating it into the ecosystem of the organization and implementing mechanisms to achieve that commitment and sustain it over time.
The school also signed a partnership agreement last year with Manulife Investment Management that established the first sustainable investing practicum at a Canadian university. After months of preparation, the inaugural cohort of students started the program on May 1.
The three-credit Sustainable Investing Practicum (SIP) enables undergraduate business students to better understand the principles of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in a capital market environment. Students will make fund management recommendations to a supervisory committee based on sustainable investing criteria.
“The ultimate goal is to demonstrate the superiority of ESG investing as an investment philosophy,” explains Amr Addas, adjunct professor of finance at JMSB and supervisor of the SIP.
Important new trends and areas of focus have emerged over the past few years, particularly in data intelligence, analytics and data mining. With the Minor in Data Intelligence, business undergraduate students receive supplemental training in areas such as data modelling, data mining and forecasting. This minor provides the tools to build models for analyzing business problems that help organizations avoid risk and take advantage of opportunities.
As part of the MBA program, students can pursue the SAS Certification in Data Analytics. Over the past year, this option has seen an almost 50 per cent increase in enrolment. Courses included in the certification are Statistical Software for Data Management and Analysis, Business Forecasting, Data Mining Techniques, and Statistical Models and Data Analysis.