Why I Chose the Ivey MSc IB Stream
I was fortunate to have many international opportunities available to me in my bachelor’s degree. During my undergraduate degree, I represented my school at an international case competition in Thailand. At a social event following the conclusion of the competition, I met a student from the Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands. We were both about to finish our bachelor's degrees and were chatting about future plans. She mentioned that she would be starting her Master of Science in International Management that same year. Intrigued, I kept this piece of information in the back of my mind, not knowing that it would influence my future career only a year later. Following the competition, I secured an operations role in a large-sized company based in Edmonton, Alberta, my home province.
After growing in that role for 18 months, I felt that it was time for a new challenge and I set my eyes on completing a graduate-level business program. I wanted to find a highly respected school where I could explore international commerce and gain skills to help me solve complex business problems. I quickly discovered the MSc in Management: International Business which had a host of exciting courses, experiential learning opportunities, and the renowned case-based method of instruction. The case method forces you to prepare extensively and gain a deeper understanding of the company’s situation beyond the information provided. With the support of academic and career mentors, I was able to gain admission into this program.
I continued pursuing my passions for case competitions and placed sixth out of 19 teams in the “Hack the Case” competition, sponsored by Ivey Business School, SAS, and Scotiabank. It was a fun and intellectually enriching experience as my team designed a digital transformation strategy while incorporating generative AI. I also gained friendships with many individuals outside of my International Business cohort which has contributed to the richness of my network.
Putting Theory Into Practice With the Ivey Global Lab (IGL)
An important component of this program is the Ivey Global Lab. This seven-week internship places students with companies in Vietnam, Thailand, or Peru. The experience is designed to totally immerse students in an environment completely foreign to them. Students can also take advantage of this opportunity to travel their respective country and region before and after the placement, further enhancing their international experience. At my company, Hamsa Life, my role focused on sales and marketing in an online environment, which was a field I had little experience in. The tasks were ambiguous and had a high initial learning curve. I created product guides to be used by the company in future endeavours, and I gained a deep understanding of the value proposition of the company. By taking initiative to ask questions and leaning on my teammates for support, I was able to overcome cultural barriers and leave a positive impact on the organization.
Outside of the office, my cohort and I used our free time to explore the city of Hanoi and various cities around Vietnam. While the main tourist attractions provide a nice introduction to the host country, I feel like I learned the most by walking around the neighbourhoods and observing how everyday people lived their lives. These shared experiences of trying new foods, speaking with locals, and viewing museums brought us closer together as friends and classmates. For many of us, it was our first time in Vietnam so sharing those first moments with friends made it all the more memorable and special.
Bringing a Classroom Exercise to Life in Europe
One of the courses exclusively available to International Business students is “Cross-Cultural Communication”, taught in my year by Professor Martha Maznevski. A key component of the course is the “X-Culture” project, which is a consulting-style project where Ivey students work with students all over the globe to solve a small company’s problems.
There were many challenges that needed to be overcome such as coordinating schedules across four different countries, navigating intercultural communication differences, and simply agreeing on the objectives of the project! It was a true exercise in empathy and communication and my greatest takeaway from this project was how to better listen to people.
Due to the high standard Ivey places on its students to succeed, many of my classmates and myself earned high peer rankings, giving us a spot to the “X-Culture Global Symposium”. This event was hosted in Vaasa, Finland and allowed us to solve a complex business issue of a local company. Over the summer break, my teammates and I worked on the problem given to us before coming together in-person to refine our solution and present to company executives.
Final Takeaways
Classroom learning is valuable especially at an institution such as Ivey. However, in order to truly learn, one must also experience theories in the real world. I’ve learned how I can be a better teammate and listener, and I also learned how to leverage my unique strengths to bridge cultural distances. As the corporate world is disrupted by artificial intelligence, I’m confident in my abilities to bring a distinctly human element to the business. I’m going to leave this program with a greater drive and determination to apply my knowledge and experiences despite risk and uncertainty.