Skip to main content

Laptop on grassOleksiy Mark/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The University of Waterloo's School of Environment, Enterprise and Development offers an environment and business undergraduate program that consistently earns top billing in an annual ranking by Corporate Knights. The Toronto-based magazine, which writes about corporate responsibility, models its report on the Aspen Institute's Grey Pinstripes survey.

For the fourth year in a row, Waterloo's school ranked first for its curriculum in Corporate Knights' survey of Canadian business schools. "A strong focus on the environment and sustainability in required coursework helped set Waterloo apart from the rest," the magazine said in a press release.

In the survey, released this week, McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management placed second in the undergraduate education category, up from sixth place last year. In the Master of Business Administration category, York University's Schulich School of Business took top honours, followed by the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.

'Beyond Grey Pinstripes' ranking

Four Canadian business schools made the Aspen Institute's international list, released this week, of "Top 100 MBA Programs" that integrate social, environmental and economic realities of business into management teaching and research. York University's Schulich School of Business (2), the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business (24), the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business (35) and the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University (42) scored in the top half of the "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" survey, an evaluation of 149 MBA programs in 22 countries by the American think tank.

Schulich's India campus starting to emerge

Dezso Horvath, dean of York University's Schulich School of Business was in India this week, reviewing architectural drawings for his school's new MBA campus in Hyderabad.

"I'm very excited now when I see this building starting to emerge," says Dr. Horvath of his school's partnership with GMR Group, a major Indian infrastructure company.

Under the deal, GMR will build a $100-million campus (including classrooms and residences for students and faculty) and lease it over 20 years to Schulich for $1 a year. A ground-breaking ceremony for the facility was held in June, with the first students coming in September, 2013, for a two-year MBA.

Many Canadian schools, including Schulich, have overseas locations to deliver executive MBA programs. Some have partnerships with foreign institutions. In Mumbai, Schulich and S.P. Jain Institute of Management Research, a private business school, deliver a master of business administration that requires students to spend one year in Toronto.

But Schulich is among only a handful of North American institutions setting up new facilities abroad. Duke University, a top American school, and China's Wuhan University are building a 200-acre global university in Kunshan, anchored by Duke's Fuqua School of Business. As well, the University of Chicago has campuses in London and Singapore, teaching the same business curriculum as at home.

The decision to locate in India, where Schulich has ties that date to the early 1990s, is an acknowledgment of changing global demands, says Dr. Horvath.

"Transnational companies need students who are exposed to the global environment and to deliver the program, I need to expose faculty to teach in the global environment," he says. Establishing a campus in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world is also good for Canada, he adds, addressing this country's demand for skilled immigrants.

In 2013, about 120 students are expected to enroll in the two-year MBA in Hyderabad, where students from Toronto can come for a semester or a full year for the same curriculum delivered at home. The following year, the new campus will deliver executive MBA programs to about 60 students. By 2015, Dr. Horvath hopes to offer a master of finance to between 50 and 60 students.

He believes that Canada's reputation abroad and the quality of its education institutions at home put the country in a strong position to become a major exporter of higher education.

"The competitive advantage in the world is not money; it is money and brain power," he observes. "If Canada wants to survive and do well, yes we have the raw materials, energy and food, but in the final analysis we have to train good people with a high-quality and global perspective."

Research paper winners

Three professors from two business schools share a $1,000 prize from the Bank of Canada for the best research paper on Canadian financial markets. Ari Pandes and Michael Robinson, finance professors at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business, and co-author Douglas Cumming from York University's Schulich School of Business, were recognized for their paper on the role of agents in private financings.

jlewington@bell.net

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe