A group of 11 Strathmore University School of Management and Commerce students arrived in Vancouver to participate in the Inaugural UBC Sauder School Summer Business Program.

 

This 7 day study tour is part of an agreement signed between Strathmore University and UBC Sauder School, signed last year in August.

 

 “We are excited to welcome the students,” said UBC Sauder Professor Thomas Ross, who has been a leader in collaboration between Sauder and Strathmore and in developing student programs in Kenya. “My hope is that this will continue and we’ll see more student exchanges, joint research, and collaboration on curriculum with our partners in Africa.”

 

The students interacted with UBC Sauder students to share their perspectives on business. They experienced Vancouver culture, heard from local entrepreneurs and received lectures by UBC Sauder faculty. It was not all work though – students participated in taking ice-skating lessons.

 

SMC’s Dean, Dr. David Wang’ombe, accompanied the students.

 

For Ross, the visit was a significant milestone in UBC Sauder’s growing relationship with Strathmore University. The relationship grew out of Associate Professor Nancy Langton’s initiative, the Sauder Social Entrepreneurship program. Founded in 2005, the five-week program pairs students from UBC Sauder and Strathmore to share business skills with Kenyan youth developing their own ventures.

 

Since its inception, more than 80 UBC Sauder students in the BCom, MBA, and Master of Management programs have travelled to Kenya, connecting with more than 450 entrepreneurs in two disadvantaged areas of Nairobi city and Kibera and Mathare slums.

 

Ross has also spent some time teaching at Strathmore, while UBC Sauder Senior Associate Dean Darren Dahl is also scheduled to teach at Strathmore in September.

 

Focusing on Kenya’s economy, Ross recently completed a research project investigating Kenya’s competition policy in collaboration with two Strathmore researchers, and is in discussions about a follow-up project.

 

“Kenya is a developing country with many unique challenges and opportunities,” said Ross. “As a country develops, a lot of its wealth will be generated by private enterprise, so you need businesses to be well run to maximize those benefits. By partnering with a strong African business school, we’re participating in that development while doing what we do best.  And, at the same time, we are learning from them about the differences of managing in a developing economy.”

 

UBC Sauder also has a partnership agreement with the Strathmore Business School, in the graduate and executive education school at Strathmore University. 

 

 

Article by UBC Sauder School. Read more here.