Export Development Canada and Dalhousie University’s Rowe School of Business have launched a five-year partnership focused on equipping students with practical knowledge and hands-on experience in the business of international trade.
“We are excited to partner with Dalhousie to build Canada’s international trade capacity by encouraging our country’s next generation of global-minded business leaders,” says Robert Forbes, Vice-President, Business Transformation. “By lending our expertise and assistance to the Rowe School, we are helping to prepare students for careers in international trade.”
The program features an ambitious and demanding new course, “Doing Business in Emerging Markets,” which will give students the opportunity to get hands-on, in-market experience in international business.
Students will work with Canadian companies based in the Atlantic region exploring expansion opportunities in emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. The first cohort of students will travel to China in May 2017.
“The presence of Canadian business in these markets is relatively small, but the potential is great,” says Dr. Sergio Carvalho, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Centre for International Trade and Transportation (CITT), who was instrumental to the development of the program. “Giving students the opportunity to view the field of international trade through this lens, not only opens up new career paths, but is important for the future development of the Atlantic region.”
As part of its commitment to the program, EDC will assist the Rowe School of Business in selecting emerging markets, identifying Canadian exporters who are interested in evaluating target markets, and providing support through practical lectures and relevant materials.
Other partners of the program include Northstar Trade Finance Inc., the Bata family, and the Rowe School of Businesses’ Centre for International Trade and Transportation.