When choosing an EMBA program with international travel components, consider where you would like to work after completing your degree.xavierarnau/Getty Images
Content from The Globe’s weekly Women and Work newsletter, part of The Globe’s Women’s Collective. To subscribe, click here.
Ask Women and Work
Question: I’m interested in getting an executive MBA, but I want to do at least part of it abroad. What are some of the best options for an EMBA at an international university or a Canadian university that offers part of the program in other countries? I’m keen to expand my horizons and experience other cultures while I upgrade my education.
We asked Amanda Mirizzi, student recruitment manager at CourseCompare, to tackle this one:
When it comes to programs with international travel components, here are three Canadian and three international institutions that I think are well worth looking at.
On the Canadian side, the first option I want to talk about is The Kellogg-Schulich EMBA, which is an EMBA partnership with York University’s Schulich School of Business and the Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois (17 months, approx. CAD $110,000). This was a very easy first choice because it has a very strong reputation and allows the most flexibility and travel out of the Canadian EMBAs. You have the option to take your elective classes at any of the six partnering campuses – Miami, Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong and Dusseldorf – over a couple of months, which gives you more time to immerse in a culture and understand the business setting.
The second one is from the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. They have a stream within their EMBA called the The Americas MBA for Executives (20 months, CAD $62,000). It’s a cool option because you’re going to travel through the largest economies within the Americas: Canada, the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. You start in Vancouver and end in Nashville, and it’s also the most affordable on this list.
The last Canadian option I want to talk about is the Queen’s University Smith School of Business EMBA (16 months, CAD $112,000). There is a two-week global experience in this program where you can choose between Singapore and Barcelona. This type of two-week travel experience is very common – you can find that at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, McGill Desautels Faculty of Management, U of T’s Rotman School of Management and others.
When it comes to international degrees, I want to focus on EMBAs that integrate travel throughout the program so you can get as much opportunity to travel as you like. The first one is the EMBA at HEC Paris (18 months, CAD $162,000). It’s an amazing brand name that carries a lot of weight in Canada and the world. The main curriculum takes place in Paris with one week spent in Qatar. You can also choose a specialization to allow for further travel to destinations like London, Frankfurt, San Francisco and New York City, and choose to do semesters at other campuses including Singapore, Brazil, India, Qatar, Italy and many more.
The second international option that I love is the Global Executive MBA at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain (16 months, CAD $194,000), which covers a lot of ground. You start off in Barcelona then you travel to Madrid, Munich, New York, Singapore and San Francisco. You also have the option to take electives in other cities like Tokyo and Sao Paolo. This EMBA focuses on leadership, entrepreneurship, tech and sustainability.
The last one I’ll talk about is INSEAD’s Global Executive MBA (14-17 months, roughly $209,000). You complete your studies over three different campuses – in Fontainebleau, France; Singapore and Abu Dhabi. It’s leadership-focused with a suite of courses on team management challenges, which is quite unique.
Before choosing a school, I always suggest that students speak to them directly. Interview the school before you let them interview you. Schools will package themselves as nicely as they possibly can through brochures, but you want to really understand the return investment of choosing that particular EMBA.
One tip is to filter through LinkedIn and find students with the degree you’re considering to see where they work and what types of positions they hold. You can even message them directly and ask, ‘How has your degree played a role in you leveling up in your career?’ We also have a rankings page for Executive MBAs in Canada, which can be a helpful starting point.
Then there is budget, of course. Larger employers may fund your EMBA. Usually it’s a negotiation – your employer will pay part or all of your EMBA and you will make a commitment to maintain employment for X number of years. Frame your request for funding in terms of what’s in it for your employer. Present a variety of options at different price points and shop around for the highest ROI for both you and your employer. Look into government grants and corporate tax incentives that could reduce your overall tuition bill.
Lastly, know how each option will affect your work schedule and plan ahead by drafting a learning plan. These programs are designed to be completed while you’re working. Present a plan for how you’ll address any scheduling conflicts and anticipate how you can help your employer feel more at ease with your busier schedule.
Submit your own questions to Ask Women and Work by e-mailing us at GWC@globeandmail.com.
This week’s must-read stories on women and work
You need a carefully crafted hiring script to win a job hunt
To land a job, you need a compelling story. For communications consultant Judith Humphrey, that means you need a script to deliver when opportunities arise during your job-seeking journey. From your resume to thank-you note after the interview, you must rouse the recruiters to see how you can help them in the years ahead.
Since the ultimate message is “Hire Me,” she frames the suggested script around the acronym HIRE:
- Hook – reach out to your audience with a grabber
- Inspire – articulate your message
- Reinforce – develop your message
- Engage – state your call to action
“It can be used for a 30-second elevator pitch or for a full interview. The HIRE template will enable you to structure your conversations and written communications and get a strong, clear and passionately felt message across throughout your job hunt,” she writes in The Job Seeker’s Script.
Read why “crucial” characteristics include humility and authenticity when communicating with potential employers.
Spirit Healthcare Group is bridging health gaps for Indigenous communities
Walk down the aisles of Northmart – and many other grocery, convenience or drug stores across Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nunavut – and you’ll increasingly find shelves stocked with products bearing the Spirit Healthcare Group logo.
With three banners under its name, this Manitoba-based company sells medical supplies and equipment and other health care products, as well as facilitates fast medication delivery to people in rural and remote communities. It offers health benefit plans to corporations. It provides diabetes education.
The Indigenous-owned company is dedicated to enhancing the quality of health care for Indigenous customers while scaling the business to compete with corporations that have had a decades-long head start.
“We’re not trying to be a Shopper’s Drug Mart – we’re trying to fill gaps in care,” says Heather Berthelette, CEO of Spirit Healthcare Group.
Read how Spirit Healthcare Group is disrupting the multibillion-dollar health-care industry, which Indigenous people have historically been shut out of.
Ten key indicators of professional potential that point to the leaders of tomorrow
“A leader’s role isn’t just to get things done in the present, it is also to ensure that an organization remains viable well into the future,” says Merge Gupta-Sunderji, CEO of leadership development consultancy Turning Managers Into Leaders. “Recognizing and nurturing talent isn’t a luxury, it’s a strategic imperative. Which makes it critical to plan for succession. The good news is that you can accomplish two things at once. If you identify and build on the potential in your people, you will not only drive your organization toward future success, but you will also foster individual growth, motivation and productivity in your people right now.
“In order to recognize and nurture talent in others, it is important to first understand the concept of professional potential. Potential, in a professional context, is more than just current skills and experience. It goes beyond to include a range of characteristics such as adaptability, continuous learning, resilience and goal orientation.”
Read Ms. Gupta-Sunderji’s 10 key indicators that point to leadership potential.
In case you missed it
You failed at work. Could that actually be a good thing?
If you’ve ever blamed traffic for being late for work but judge others for being tardy, you might be suffering from a universal human struggle: the inability to admit your own mistakes.
Despite the celebratory Silicon Valley mantra of “fail fast, fail often” and the recent popularity of corporate “failure parties,” the stigma associated with making a mistake persists. After all, no one should be celebrating a heart surgeon or automobile plant manager who fails fast or often.
The lack of nuance in the prevalent rhetoric around the topic of failure is what prompted Harvard Business School professor Amy C. Edmondson to write a book on the subject.
“The reason I wrote this book was to address and sharpen the happy talk about failure – to limit the idea of praising failure to those [failures] that are actually productive,” she says.
Read the full article.
From the archives
How to hustle: Program helps Black women entrepreneurs think bigger
In the business world, the term “hustle” has become synonymous with that relentless work ethic entrepreneurs need to achieve their goals.
When Amoye Henry and her colleagues at Pitch Better decided to create Modern Hustle Collective, a private membership network connecting Black women founders with mentors and strategic business planning, the idea was to support Black women in their hustle.
“There weren’t any real tangible workshops that were helping women of colour scale their businesses,” says Ms. Henry, co-founder of market research firm Pitch Better.
Data confirms that need. A 2021 report from the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub found that 30 per cent of self-employed Black Canadians are women and that Black entrepreneurs are less likely to have access to financing and support. Also, the 2021 FoundHers Report from Pitch Better found that 90 per cent of Canadian Black women rarely participate in professional development programs, due to a lack of information.
Read the full article.
The Globe and Mail
Interested in more perspectives about women in the workplace? Find all stories on The Globe Women’s Collective hub here, and subscribe to the new Women and Work newsletter here. Have feedback? E-mail us at GWC@globeandmail.com.