Out of the classroom
Aaron Cao and Cathy Duan aren't quite finished their master
of business administration degrees, but they're already hard at work in the
finance industry.
The students just finished working on the fourth of five modules of their one-year concentrated MBA degrees at the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus. They each spent 10-week work terms with the New Brunswick Securities Commission (NBSC), researching e-Learning tools to be deployed through the commission's website to educate investors.
The commission was the perfect fit for the duo, who applied to work for the NBSC among numerous other internship opportunities.
Aaron has a background in adult education, which, combined with his business education, gives him an edge in designing e-Learning tools to educate investors.
Cathy studied finance in her undergraduate degree, and her interest in the field is still strong.
"After my MBA, I want to enter into the financial industry," says Cathy. "This term with the NBSC will be very helpful for me to get a job in the industry in the future."
Enhanced learning
The NBSC exists to protect investors and foster capital markets in the province of New Brunswick. It provides information for investors to make the right decisions when it comes to their financial well-being.
"Educating people is the core of our mandate," says Andrew Nicholson, director of education and market development with the NBSC. "By protecting investors, we're helping to foster the capital markets and helping companies grow."
By implementing e-Learning tools onto the NBSC website, the commission is making resources available to investors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Bringing on experienced MBA students like Aaron and Cathy enables the NBSC to do thorough research significantly faster, which in turn will accelerate the implementation of e-Learning tools.
"The quality of the students that we got to choose from was phenomenal. Being MBA students, they've all got undergraduate degrees and work experience that relates to the assignments we had. We're able to build upon the experience they have," says Andrew.
"They also bring new ways of looking at things that we at the staff level didn't have. It's great to be able to bring these people in from outside. It's a fresh set of eyes on a problem."
Providing resources on an unbiased basis to inform people how to make proper investment decisions is important for the NBSC, says Andrew.
"It helps investors make the right choice, and it helps the companies that need funding find the investors that they need. Investors should have confidence that they're being protected."
Opportunity abounds
The 10-week internship is a program available to UNB Saint John MBA students with concentrations in general management and innovation technology management.
The close relationships the program has with Saint John businesses give students a strong advantage in positioning themselves in the business community, says Michelle Scott, MBA program coordinator.
"Businesses always pull out all the stops to make sure that the students in the program get the experience they need," she says. "We work hard on those relationships."
With students from across the world, Cathy says it's an incredibly diverse learning experience to be a part of the UNB Saint John MBA program. Both she and Aaron hope to remain in Saint John after they graduate.
"Saint John needs young people to build a brighter future," she says.
The one-year concentrated program, says Aaron, is both time-effective and filled with opportunity.
"It's very busy, but it's great," he says. "We'll accomplish this program in 12 months and it provides us with internship opportunities. It's very practical for our future careers."
"It gives us the chance to practice our knowledge in real business life," says Cathy.
"UNB Saint John is a wonderful place to study," says Aaron. "It provides us a great facility to learn and a great faculty to support us."
