UNB Faculty of Management Program Trains Real-World Problem Solvers
The University of New Brunswick Bachelor of Business Administration program is preparing a generation of problem-solvers for the region’s businesses looking to grow and become more profitable.
Experiential learning is built into every year of the BBA program offered by the Faculty of Management (FOM) which pushes students to test their academic knowledge in the community, creating real-world solutions.
This type of learning prepares students to enter the world of business with a combination of solid academic knowledge and real-world know-how, says Darcy Crowe, Experiential Learning Coordinator for the FOM.
Crowe says a good example is the strategic management course students complete in their final year. This capstone course has them apply just about everything they have learned through the program to a real business problem.
“They’re using the knowledge they’ve gained from all business disciplines to tackle a problem from all its different fronts,” says Crowe. “This helps make the transition from school into the marketplace more seamless.”
Many of the partnering organizations benefit from students’ insights.
This year, students from the course partnered with the Fredericton Local Immigration Partnership (FLIP) which operates under the umbrella of economic development agency, Ignite Fredericton. The course was taught by Dr. Ibrahim Shaikh.
Students were tasked with identifying and addressing hiring and retention barriers for employers and employment barriers in New Brunswick, in a bid to help FLIP integrate immigrants into the community more efficiently.
Nicole Andrade, the FLIP coordinator at Ignite Fredericton, says the students were able to think outside the box and find resources and opportunities for building a “one-stop-shop” of information for employers and newcomers alike.
Alaa Ratmi, a fourth-year student, praised the program’s practicality.
Ratmi and other students did “deep dives” researching problems faced by FLIP, using the insights gleaned in class to develop strategies that will work in the business world.
He was one of several students working with local employers to evaluate barriers employers were facing to hiring newcomers to Fredericton. Students were given feedback at the beginning and end of the semester.
“We were asked to formulate a solution to the issue, or to the most glaring errors we could find,” he said.
Ratmi investigated the problem, gathered information, and distilled it into an actionable plan, grounded in what he learned about strategic management.
“We had a chance to speak with panelists who are directly involved with FLIP and as employers in the region who face issues. It put pressure on us as students to actually apply concepts that we’ve learned into something real,” he says.
“The capstone course incorporated everything we learned in our degree. We had to apply from all sorts of disciplines that fall under the bachelor of business administration umbrella.”
Crowe said the experiential program allows the synthesis of theory with practice.
“They have to test it in the marketplace, in the field, to see how it plays out in the real world,” she says.
“We do that because it helps them understand business challenges with a more comprehensive perspective. Seeing the impact of their learning in the real world also gives them confidence as they go into the workforce.”
This story was sponsored by the UNB Faculty of Management.