As 145 students in Ivey’s Master of Science in Management (MSc) program begin the year – 71 in Business Analytics and 74 in Digital Management – they are entering business at a time of rapid change and growing complexity.
At an orientation event for the new class, Hayri Tongarlak, Faculty Director of the MSc program, said the moment calls for more than technical knowledge alone.
“This year’s MSc cohort is arriving at a moment of real opportunity and real change,” he said. “Success today requires more than knowledge alone; it depends on curiosity, adaptability, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively with others. The MSc program is designed to help students build those capabilities and develop into thoughtful, responsible leaders.”
In her remarks to the students, Acting Dean Nicole Haggerty, HBA '89, PhD '04, spoke about uncertainty, opportunity, and the kind of leadership the future will demand.
“It can sometimes feel as though the future is something happening to us,” she said. “I want to suggest something different - The future is something we create.”
Drawing on her own path from Ivey student to faculty member and now Acting Dean, Haggerty said few lives unfold exactly as planned. She urged the students not to define themselves by someone else’s idea of success, but to use their time at Ivey to better understand who they are becoming, what matters to them, what problems they want to solve, what kind of leader they want to become, and what kind of life they want to create.
Developing the capabilities that matter
She also urged them to build the capabilities, confidence, relationships, and perspectives they will need to recognize opportunities and navigate challenges as they arise.
At Ivey, she said, the students will be asked to make decisions, defend positions, challenge assumptions, and work through situations where there is no obvious answer and no perfect information – whether in a case discussion, a live project with a client, a team assignment, or an experience outside the classroom.
In a world where information is easy to access and technology can generate answers in seconds, Haggerty said distinctly human capabilities will matter even more.
“The enduring question is not what AI can do,” she said. “The enduring question is what capabilities will define great leaders in a world where knowledge is abundant, and answers are increasingly easy to obtain. Judgment. Character. Courage. Empathy. The ability to build trust. The ability to bring people together around difficult challenges. The wisdom to decide not only what can be done, but what should be done.”
As the students begin their time at Ivey, Haggerty encouraged them to stay curious, take risks, change their minds when the evidence demands it, and give themselves permission not to have every answer today.
“I cannot wait to see the future you create,” she said.
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