Vancouver University Canada

An entrepreneurial semester in Vancouver, Canada

2014 has brought a New Year in Vancouver, Canada for 30 students from Grenoble EM. Over the next semester they will taking part in Grenoble EM Transcontinental Programme set up with Simon Fraser University. This is the third programme of this type created in the last two years by the Centre for International Affairs and comes on the back of the two highly successful programmes in Finance in New York and Asia Business at Beihang University, Beijing.

The Centre for International Affairs sends nearly 500 students abroad each year on academic programmes. These are often restricted to 2 or 3 places per destination. The 3 Transcontinental Programmes that now exist give a greater number of students the possibility to benefit from an international one semester programme but also to ensure that theses students were very much involved in the university in which they are studying.

“These programmes bring the best of both worlds.” said Mark Thomas, Director of the Centre for International Affairs. “They allow us to send larger numbers of students without them becoming a group that is isolated from the local community. And for the local students participating in the programme, it gives them a taste of internationalisation without leaving home. More often that not, they then get the ‘international bug’ and they never look back.”

Professor Casey Dorin, Liana Schwedal and Justin Lieu of Simon Fraser University were also on hand to give the French students an excellent welcome to the university and to life in Canada in general. Not only does the university offer a first rate-learning environment, students can also take part in the 170 clubs and associations that are organised on the Burnaby campus.

The classes will be taught by faculty from both Simon Fraser University and Grenoble EM. Dr. Sarah Lubik, Professor of New Venture Planning at Simon Fraser University not only has a PhD from the University of Cambridge in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, but also runs her own company.

The joint programme offers a specialisation in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Both Grenoble and Vancouver have developed global reputations as hubs of high tech development. In the class, they will get course in New Venture Planning, Sustainability, Finance.

Dr. Severine Le Loarne, Department Head in Management, Technology and Strategy at Grenoble EM will be the first faculty member to teach in Vancouver. Her course begins this week.

The students will not only be receiving excellent courses at one of Canada’s best comprehensive universities, they will also get the chance to visit some local companies such as KPMG, Grow Labs, Aprio, Electronic Arts, Hootsuites etc. Vancouver has been making a new for itself in the past few years as a place where niche high tech companies can develop. The programme also includes a short visit to Seattle just across the border where companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing are organising special VIP tours for the students.