Since I arrived at Ivey, I have been asked the following two questions most commonly: (a) Why MBA and (b) Why Ivey? To answer the first question, I wanted to develop further my communication and business skills and acquire better understanding of the concepts of finance, accounting, marketing, strategy etc. For the second question, I did not do a lot of research in terms of rankings but knew what I wanted from a business school. I had been exposed to the case study method in 2005, when Pfizer sent me for a management development program at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad. Since then, I strongly believed that the case method would fit my needs and goals as the best way to learn about variety of industries and also providing everyday opportunities to learn from the talent pool among colleagues in the class discussion. Ivey was an obvious choice as I found that it is a leading case writing (I mean quality cases) school in the world, second only to HBS (Harvard Business School). Over last six months, I have also found that the faculty have mastered the art of case teaching method and as our operations professor, Larry Menor says that case method is a ‘process’ and if you get the ‘process’ right, you have made it. And our accounting professor, Vaughan Radcliff always has a plan, which unfolds as the case discussion moves forward. The teaching curriculum at Ivey is embedded in the business philosophy of Cross Enterprise Leadership and developing leaders for the future.
I want to alk a bit about Ivey’s healthcare sector. The healthcare sector was launched in 2003 as a biotechnology focused program. Since then, it has evolved to a more holistic program and offers courses in healthcare related environment, finance, strategy, pharmaco-economics etc. The healthcare faculty includes some of the best professors in the country, including Profs. Kellie Leitch, Jim Hatch, Murray Bryant, Michael Rouse and Greg Zaric. Dr. Kellie Leitch who is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and an international expert in the field of Kids and Youth health leads the program. The healthcare courses are offered as a package of six electives.
I am already finding the benefits of being a part of Ivey and the healthcare stream. My two colleagues from Spring 2009 cohort, Wei and Pier recently organized an Ivey healthcare alumni-networking event in Toronto. The event was a success with about 20 alumni in attendance. The alumni represented organizations like Eli Lilly, Johnson and Johnson, MaRS, Ontario Health etc. It was a great opportunity to network with alumni and learn about their experiences in various fields. I found them very open and benefited a lot from the interactions. Our dean Carol Stephenson also attended the event, along with Dr. Leitch and Prof. Michael Rouse.
On March 23rd 2009, the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Industry announced that the Government of Canada will help create the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership. The internationally recognized Richard Ivey School of Business will bring together expertise from the business, health sciences and medical sectors to develop specialized talent and commercialize health innovations that will benefit Canada’s health care providers and patients.
This is an exciting time to be at Ivey and the health sector program.
Chander Sehgal is a medical doctor, with specialization in Oncology. He practiced medicine for eight years before switching to industry. Chander worked with Pfizer as a Medical Research Specialist from 2004 to 2008, first in India and then in Canada, before joining Ivey. He is currently enrolled in the full time MBA program at Ivey specializing in the healthcare stream. You can visit Chander’s Canadian Healthcare Blog, which is focused on healthcare issues.