Through Schulich's Tech MBA, we place students with Canadian startups.
Last month, Amanda Fong traveled to Santiago, Chile to present her benchmarking analysis to the CEO and management of a local agriculture-focused venture capital firm.
Originally from Ottawa and now residing in Toronto, Fong has a commerce degree and previously worked as a product manager for the PC Health portfolio at Loblaw Companies Ltd. But she ended up taking a two-week study trip to Peru and Chile as part of an elective in her MBA in Technology Leadership offered by York University’s Schulich School of Business.
“We accept technology as a part of our lives, but no other program really looks at how technology impacts business.”
Dr. Murat Crystal
Phong and her classmates visited a major bank, a renewable energy startup, a recycling plant, a biofactory and a vineyard – a trip she called the “highlight” of her 16-month degree, known as the Tech MBA.
“The speed of change in the business world is unprecedented,” she explained. “I knew that to stay competitive and effective, I needed to invest in myself, continually hone my skills, and challenge the status quo.”
Basic principles with a tech twist
Schulich's Tech MBA curriculum challenges the status quo of traditional MBAs, offering courses in financial accounting, economics, marketing, financial reporting and strategic management, all viewed through a technology lens.
“We take technology for granted in our lives, but there's no other program that really thinks about how technology impacts business,” said Dr. Murat Kristal, director of the Technology Leadership MBA. “There was a disconnect between what we wanted to accomplish and how we could achieve it with technology.”
To bridge this gap, the 16-month Tech MBA combines the rigorous framework of an MBA with the dynamic forces of a technology-driven world, covering the fundamentals of business management while equipping students with an understanding of the realities of technology’s impact on business.
In addition to leading the program, Dr. Crystal also designed a course called “Digitalizing Supply Chain Operations” that incorporates technology into the curriculum while maintaining the core principles of the subject.
“If you're learning to digitize supply chain operations, you need to understand how the supply chain works, and our curriculum brings in this additional layer,” he said.
Related: Why Every Canadian Business Leader Should Have a Tech MBA
Dr. Crystal said some of the students' favorite courses include marketing and, perhaps surprisingly, accounting.
“If you really understand accounting, you understand how an organization really works. If accounting is taught properly, like in our program, it's a fun class because it shows you that every decision in a business impacts resources,” he explained.
Another prominent element of the curriculum is a first-semester class on technology ethics, which delves into the ethical underpinnings of a range of technology issues, including artificial intelligence, privacy and machine replacement. The course encourages students to challenge each other's ideas and consider different dilemmas, perspectives, and pros and cons of business decisions related to technology.
Fong said he also benefited from courses on emerging technologies such as blockchain, generative AI and data analytics, and participating in workshops from these courses helped him use Tableau to analyse large datasets, extract key insights and present the data in a compelling and engaging story.
Go outside the lecture hall
Dr. Crystal agrees that what makes the program unique is its emphasis on experiential learning.
The program offers guaranteed work experience under the guidance of the Tech MBA Advisory Board, which includes representatives from organizations such as Amazon, Google, Deloitte, Bell, KPMG, etc. Additionally, the Tech MBA program pairs students with established mentors for professional development.
The cornerstone of the program is the Schulich Venture Studio, co-run by Schulich and Toronto tech hub OneEleven. Students entering the program's third cohort will be teamed with fast-growing startups preparing to raise a Series A round of funding. Both startups and students are pre-screened by OneEleven and Schulich to ensure a good match.
Amanda Fong said the two-week study trip to Peru and Chile was a highlight of her Tech MBA program. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Fong)
“OneEleven is a partner committed to building the next generation of entrepreneurial training for both master's students and founders,” said Chris Carder, executive director of innovation and entrepreneurship at the Schulich School of Business. “We also saw this as a way for Schulich to give back to the startup community by bringing together the talents of our students to support great companies.”
Selected startups will receive a free, fully customized “Venture Investment Readiness Report” written by Tech MBA students under the guidance of industry instructors such as Matthew Lombardi from Telus Ventures, Jack Fraser from BDC Growth Fund, and Vincent Liu from Square.
This summer, students are working at companies under the OneEleven umbrella, including Onecliq.io, a personal AI assistant for content creation, ARKI, which works with building technology, Brizo FoodMetrics, a game-changer in foodservice market analytics, and Skinopathy, a pioneering dermatology AI tool created by Schulich MBA alumnus and Tech MBA Advisory Board member Keith Loo.
“The opportunity to not only advise these companies but also learn directly from their co-founders is a game-changing opportunity,” Carder said. “Students will have the opportunity to apply everything they've learned in the Tech MBA by helping these startups with their fundraising plans and product readiness.”
Phong is one of the students who joined Skinopathy this summer through its Venture Studio program, hoping the experience will broaden her leadership skills and understanding of technology companies.
“I met Keith recently and he embodies the qualities of a passionate, mission-driven and inspiring leader. I am excited to work with Al on the cutting edge of healthcare,” she said. “The Tech MBA for me is more than just a degree; it's a transformational journey to become a change leader who can solve real problems in an increasingly digital and technological world.”
Feature image courtesy of York University's Schulich School of Business.
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Strengthen your future in technology. Offering an evolving curriculum, experiential learning and connections to industry leaders, Schulich's Tech MBA positions students at the forefront of technology pioneers. Aim for innovation and leadership with Schulich's Tech MBA.
