Bissett students from Social Innovation and Accounting place third in Alberta Not-for-Profit Association case competition
Bissett students, Mia Baines, Jan Santiago (Accounting Majors) and Kolten Nelson and Xander Jensen (Social Innovation program) placed third in the Alberta Not-for-Profit Association (ANPA) case competition at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The students, who had been preparing for the competition since late November 2019, were mentored by Catherine Pearl PhD, (Social Innovation) and Simon Magennis, BSc, CPA, (Accounting). The Bissett faculty mentors were contacted by the organizers based on previous involvement in student case competitions. This was the first time that Bissett participated in the ANPA case competition.
The competition took place from Wednesday, February 26 to Sunday, March 1 and involved students from eight universities (seven Canadian, and one from Indiana, U.S.) spending 24 hours analyzing and preparing solutions to a live business problem relating to a local Not-for-Profit organization. They presented their solutions firstly in a preliminary round and then a four-team final, to a judging panel made up of representatives from the not-for-profit organization, local business, University of Alberta, and the competition sponsor, the Muttart Foundation.
The ANPA has been organizing the not-for-profit business case competition since 2013. Canadian and international universities participate each year. This year’s finalists and prizewinners were from: 1. University of Alberta, 2. McMaster University, 3. Mount Royal University, and 4. Laurentian University. Our team received $2,000 to donate to the charity of their choice.
Congratulations to the Bissett team on their win and a special thank you to the faculty mentors, Simon and Catherine for their commitment and service to our Bissett students!
James Stauch, Director of the Institute for Community Prosperity announces the Student Guide to Mapping a System is complete!
“The Student Guide to Mapping a System, which we are proud to say is an MRU-Oxford U co-production, along with Daniela Papi-Thornton’s organization, Systems-Led Leadership. Hats off to Anna as well for her work in helping author and compile. This will be shared with 3000+ students worldwide registered in the Map the System Challenge, and with participating educators at 16 Canadian universities and 19 universities outside of Canada (including Harvard, Yale and Northwestern).” – James Stauch
Institute for Community Prosperity hosting information session for Canada’s first MBA in Social Enterprise from Memorial University
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Trico Changemakers Studio EB 3000
If social enterprise is a passion and you wish to make a difference in the world, you will want to attend this information session about Canada’ s first MBA in social enterprise at memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN).
“MUN’s MBA in social enterprise and entrepreneurship is purposefully designed to prepare students to become a new kind of leader for a new way of doing business – one that’s based on the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profits. We aim to develop graduates who will be agents of social change — whether that be in the non-profit, public or for-profit sectors — capable of addressing complex social problems in creative and effective ways.”
Learn more about the presentation and register here.
The Institute is also hosting a Breakfast & Keynote with JUMP Math founder and Ashoka Fellow, John Mighton. Discover how a social enterprise like JUMP math is transforming academic and life opportunities for children in Canada and around the world.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
7:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Ideas Visualization Lounge, RLLC
Learn more about the presentation and how to register here.
Linking North and South: A Place based project to share the art, culture and geography of the North
Bissett’s Victoria Calvert alongside Mount Royal University Geology professor, Lynn Moorman, hope to share and educate Mount Royal students about art, culture and geography of the Canadian north.
Lynn co-led an expedition throughout the Northwest Passage and used her extensive relationships within the Innu community to organize buying opportunities from many isolated Innu communities.
The unique sculptures represent the rich cultural heritage and the habitat of the Innu communities. This art work will become part of the MRU teaching collection and will also be displayed for the first time at an art exhibit in the Interactive Centre this coming March (2018).
Calvert and Moorman, are in the process of making the exhibit, and other resources available to a variety of faculties with the hope they develope and utilize modules within their own curricula. One possible such inclusion may be the Bissett Marketing department under the direction of David Finch, who is looking to develop a project in the 2018 Marketing capstone course to develop a distributing system/strategy for the Innu Artists.
For more information regarding the possible opportunities, please contact Victoria Calvert.
Eight time JUNO award winner and humanitarian, Paul Brandt, named as “Storyteller in Residence” for Bissett School of Business
Famous for his story-telling through song, Paul Brandt is lending his expertise and time to the faculty, students and the community at large, by becoming the “Story-teller-in-residence” at Mount Royal University.
“We couldn’t be happier to have such a talented storyteller, as well as humanitarian, on board.” – Valerie Kinnear, Dean, Bissett School of Business
As an alumnus, and successful artist, Paul will help bring awareness to a variety of issues including that of missing and murdered indigenous women and human trafficking. Working closely with senior marketing students, an awareness campaign, W at MRU, is ongoing from March 21 through April 7th, beginning with a number of exhibits throughout the university as well as an evening of “talking, screenings and music” on March 30th in the Bella Concert Hall. More information on this campaign and the events can be found at www.mruimpact.com.
The Bissett School of Business welcomes Paul and looks forward to having him in residence for the next two years as he mentors students and continues to provide leadership for a number of student led initiatives.
Related news articles on Paul Brandt’s joining forces with MRU can be found on the following links:
http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2016/03/21/paul-brandt-telling-stories-at-mru.html
http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/03/21/paul-brandt-takes-on-mount-royal-roll
Fortney: Paul Brandt brings storytelling skills to Mount Royal University
Bissett student, Tim Lipp accepted into the Social Impact Incubator at the University of Waterloo
Wendelin Fraser, MRU Associate Professor and key advisor for Project Stoke reports: “Tim and his partner, fellow MRU student Paisley Dressler, have been “key to the success of this Mount Royal student initiative these past six months and as a result, this project won the Western Regional Challenge for Entrepreneurial Projects. Tim and his team will present their work at the National Enactus Exposition in Toronto, this coming May.”
- Dedicated space that fosters creativity and collaboration
- Weekly programming to help students conceive an idea that tackles a pressing environmental or social problem along with testing, launching and measuring the impact of their idea.
- Mentorship from entrepreneurs as well as consultation with professionals in areas such as: sales, legal, finance and communications.
- Peer-to-peer support
from like-minded, passionate people representing all six faculties.
- Access to startup funding in the form of grants and social financing opportunities
“The activities at St, Paul’s GreenHouse, University of Waterloo directly align with the University of Waterloo’s vision to be “recognized as a uniquely entrepreneurial university that applies innovative approaches to technology, social innovation, and social entrepreneurship in ways that create recognizable impact both in economic growth and improving the human condition.”
Congratulations Tim and enjoy your summer at Waterloo!
Enactus Western Regional Exposition will be held in Calgary March 4, 2016
The Enactus Canada team is anticipating 16 Enactus teams (almost 500 students) from post-secondary institutions across western Canada will be meeting to share stories of their community engagement and impact on community.While there are several events during the 2 day exposition, faculty and administrators from Mount Royal are welcome to watch any of the presentations beginning at 9 am on Friday, March 4th, 2016 at the Westin Hotel.
Title: Enactus Western Regional Exposition
- Date: Friday, March 4
- Venue: Westin Hotel
- Presentations From 9 am to 4 pm
We have approximately 120 students from across Mount Royal active in this international student organization.
It is anticipated our Enactus Mount Royal team will present four presentations between 9 am and 4 pm. Times will be confirmed by March 3, 2016. Please contact Wendelin Fraser for more details.
Further information on our Enactus Mount Royal community outreach initiatives include;
- GreenCupYYC – EcoLiving Green Challenge – You will have seen the “Green Cups” at our recent Bissett Networking Day.
- Project Stoke – Entrepreneurship Challenge – Students are continuing to move forward to bring safe and efficient stoves in Kenya through social enterprise, job creation and partnerships.
- Project ReCreate – Youth Empowerment Challenge – an ongoing partnership with children in Grades 4 to 6 in Calgary Schools
- EmpowerU – Financial Education Challenge – a program with 11 non-profit partners thanks to work with the United Way of Canada.
Please Register – No Charge for Faculty/Administrators
If you would like to come to watch the event, your are most welcome, but event organizers suggest you Register. There is no cost to attend to support our Mount Royal University students. Registration Link
Annual Enactus International Figures:
- 36 countries
- 1,600 universities
- 66,000 students
- 7.5 million volunteer hours
For your reference, the National Enactus Exposition will be held in Toronto on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 2, 3 and 4th.Faculty and Administrators are welcome to attend this event or should they have other business in Ontario at that time.
Report: How social innovation is emerging across Canadian campuses
“The report provides an overview of other post-secondary institutions that have also sought to create a support system for students and community groups involved in change making, social entrepreneurship and community innovation. This national and regional context has helped to inform our own direction at Mount Royal University, and we hope there are insights and lessons herein that will help others shape their own initiatives and programming, in particular co-working spaces, social venture incubators, community R&D labs and other collaborative spaces, whether on or off campus”. – James Stauch
Bissett School of Business Associate Professor, Wendelin Fraser discusses Calgary’s generosity
Frequent media commentator and our own Associate Professor, Wendelin Fraser sat down with News Talk 770 to discuss how Calgarian’s are still generous, despite the economic downturn.
To read the article, follow the link:
Bissett School of Business Associate Professor, Wendelin Fraser weighs in on the Volunteer Shortage Facing Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity homes delayed because of volunteer shortage
CBC News Calgary recently reported that the economic downturn has provided a third less, or an approximate loss of 720 volunteer hours, resulting in significant delays for completing scheduled projects.
The drop in corporate support is to be expected, according to Wendelin Fraser, an instructor at Mount Royal University’s Bissett School of Business.
“We should suspect that financial donations certainly are going to have to be rolled back a bit, and over the past few years we’ve seen organizations, particularly in Calgary, being extremely generous,” she said.
To see the report in it’s entirety, please click on the link: