UNB Program Helps Students ‘Make A Market’ For Themselves
UNB’s Catalyst Program is the crucial link between knowledge in the classroom and its real-world application.
Pairing students with employers to cut their teeth in the business world, the Catalyst Program is creating successive waves of skilled graduates for prospective employers, taking knowledge and skills gleaned from the classroom and putting them into action.
Catalyst is a consulting-based experiential learning program created by UNB’s Office of Experiential Education that prepares students to help NB-based organizations respond to immediate challenges. This year, the program matched students from UNB’s Faculty of Management with mentorship and support from IBM Canada to help them succeed in their internships.
Skilled and knowledgeable faculty in the Faculty of Management led a course – a consulting practicum – to prepare students with the academic skills they needed to succeed. The program was funded by UNB’s McKenna Institute, Mitacs, and New Brunswick’s Future NB International initiative, providing funding specifically for international students engaged in experiential learning with New Brunswick partners.
Later in the term, students completed internships with businesses and non-profits to help tackle digital innovation problems identified by those partners.
Catalyst Program participant Ruchin Dobriyal worked with SimpTek, an energy data management company, on selling its software that aggregates and analyzes data on energy use to provincial and municipal governments.
“You’re learning something and doing real-time implementation, as well,” says Dobriyal of his experience.
“The experience through the Catalyst Program is the vital connection between knowledge and proving that knowledge.”
Dobriyal navigated reams of data to narrow down and qualify a list of clients for SimpTek across Atlantic Canada, in a thorough product-validation process.
Dobriyal created a series of questionnaires for municipal and provincial officials, helping SimpTek hone in on promising potential customers, and finding client needs.
His work saw him conduct a series of interviews with representatives from provincial governments and municipalities across Atlantic Canada.
“We took the time to analyze the data and deal with the whole scenario and it was okay in the end,” Dobriyal said.
“We were able to understand exactly what we were doing and how, and what our expectations were, from the company – and that makes things easier.”
With the results of that work, Dobriyal was able to show potential clients what SimpTek’s services looked like, with respect to their needs, helping SimpTek with one of its key needs.
“Ruchin was part of that process from beginning to end,” said SimpTek COO Keelen Gagnon.
“It’s a good thing they were able to use the knowledge gained in the classroom and apply it to real-world problems. Creating that link between the two is extremely important.”
Gagnon also studied at UNB, building that same link through co-op terms, applying his knowledge to create real-world solutions.
He says Dobriyal and the other MBA students he worked with were able to translate their knowledge and familiarize themselves with the Canadian business ecosystem.
“It was important Ruchin and the others do that because they were all from outside Canada.”
Micheline Joyce, Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships with SimpTek, praised Dobriyal’s research skills, quick learning and understanding of the company’s business, platform and value proposition.
Dobriyal says the program was crucial for him, noting that it’s indispensable for people who don’t have experience – especially as an international student.
“You want exposure, basically, and it’s not about the money,” he said.
“In addition to learning how to use my knowledge on the job, this program has helped me showcase my strengths in a professional setting.”
This story was sponsored by UNB’s Faculty of Management.