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Loyalist Business Students’ Learning Enhanced Through Industry Professionals

February 20, 2009

Relevant, innovative and professional are all adjectives that can be used to describe the Business programs at Loyalist College. One of the many ways this is achieved is by providing students with the opportunity to interact and work with members of the business community.

Recently the college hosted a guest lecture by Dawn Desjardins, RBC Assistant Chief Economist. The students listened intently as she acknowledged “we are in difficult and uncertain times with the global economy.” She discussed the global recession, the financial market crisis and RBC’s forecast that the Canadian economy would begin its recovery by 2010. They attribute this in part to the stimulative fiscal packages being put into place by the American and Canadian governments. The students questioned and commented, intent on gaining a clearer understanding.

A few days later a very different learning experience took place in the same lecture theatre. A total of 22 business and industry representatives came to participate in the Business Administration students’ Alliance Excellence Achievement Program (AEAP), Show and Tell event. The AEAP has been a component of the College’s Business Administration program for the past six years and provides a platform for businesses and students to work together. Each of the industry representatives gave a presentation, outlining specific projects they would like business students to work on within their organizations. The potential clients were as diverse as the projects they described. Batawa Development Corporation, Quinte Health Care, Continental Conveyor and Habitat for Humanity were some of those attending. Students were offered projects that included research, assessments, and business and marketing plan development. Based on these presentations the students will choose the projects they would like to work on.

“It’s almost like an auction,” said Keshia Cassibo, a second-year Business student from Stirling. “They propose the projects and then we pursue the ones we would like to work on. I’m really interested in public administration so I’m hoping for an opportunity in that line. The representatives are from such a wide variety of places that we are able to see the diverse ways we can apply the things we are learning. It’s a great way to meet business people. When I graduated from Trent University I came to Loyalist planning to take one year of Business to gain some general skills — I fell in love with the program and I’m staying here now for my diploma.”

Loyalist offers both a September and January start date for the two-year Business diploma and three-year advanced diploma in Business Administration, in which students specialize in Human Resources, Materials and Operations Management or a combination of both. For more information call (613) 969-1913, ext. 2204.

 

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