The first three Canadian graduates of the Schulich School of Business’ pioneering Certificate in Managing International Trade and Investment (CMITI) program at York University, developed in partnership with Export Development Canada, will receive their CMITI certification at Schulich’s spring convocation.
Irida Jano and King Chun Kwong will receive their certification in June when they graduate with their international BBA (iBBA) degree. Matthew Cheuk will receive his CMITI certification along with his iBBA degree in October.
“Armed with the in-demand skills and expertise gained through our unique new CMITI program, these Schulich iBBA students are prepared to hit the ground running upon graduation and to help any company in the competitive world of international trade,” said Lorna Wright, director of Schulich’s Centre for Global Enterprise and EDC professor in international business. “Schulich is proud to be the first and so far only Canadian business school to offer this much-needed experiential and skills-based certification to our undergraduate students.”
Lorna Wright
The CMITI program is first of its kind in Canada and is offered as part of Export Development Canada’s five-year collaborative partnership with Schulich’s Centre for Global Enterprise. A second part of the partnership is to create materials for a National Curriculum in Integrative Trade for undergraduate business students anywhere in Canada. This will help develop business leaders who can successfully manage international trade, foreign investment and global supply chains.
Schulich’s CMITI program has been developed based on fact-finding interviews with key executives involved in international trade, to ensure students acquire the essential skills and knowledge required by globally oriented business.
The CMITI program includes an experiential component – an internship or an exchange semester abroad or both – as well as five required courses on different aspects of global business, including a capstone course that features opportunities for Schulich students to interact with international business executives and visit sites that highlight the global supply chain.
“Enrolling in Schulich’s Certificate in Managing International Trade and Investment program was one of the best decisions I made during my undergraduate studies,” said Jano, who will begin her career as a consulting analyst with Global Intelligence Alliance, an international consulting firm, soon after graduating this month. “It added further value to my iBBA degree and gave me a competitive advantage in the highly competitive work world. Having it on my resume definitely guaranteed me more interviews.”
In November 2013, Schulich launched the Centre for Global Enterprise, a one-stop consulting, research and teaching hub that will actively help Canada’s small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to compete internationally.
Announced during Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Centre for Global Enterprise’s mission is to motivate, enable and assist SMEs to build on their domestic success by taking advantage of global opportunities. The centre will also serve as a resource hub for all Canadian companies that aspire to expand internationally.
Canada’s estimated 1.4 million SMEs, defined by Industry Canada as companies that employ fewer than 500 people with revenues of less than $50 million, make up about 98 per cent of the nation’s businesses and employ almost 60 per cent of the country’s workforce. Despite this, only about eight per cent of Canadian SMEs have developed significant export markets so far, according to Industry Canada.