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Canadian Studies Center, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington

2008 Canada Study Tour

February 14, 2008

 

2008 Study Toursm

Dr. Sukumar Periwal (left), Faculty Representative for the 2008 Canada Study Tour with MBA co-chairs, Tania Elliott and Tim Randall with beautiful downtown Vancouver in the background.

Over President’s Day weekend, 12 MBA students from the UW Foster School of Business embarked on the second annual Canada Study Tour. These students took advantage of their long weekend by traveling from Seattle to neighboring Vancouver, British Columbia to learn about trade and sustainability around the region. The 2008 Canada Study Tour explored the rich economic, political and cultural environment of the city of Vancouver and the province of British Columbia. Students also discovered how Vancouver is gearing up for the 2010 Olympics and why it is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in North America.

Canucks 2008

Study Tour members in the Canucks store.

While in Vancouver, the students met with the US Consulate, the Trade Commissioner of Mexico to the Pacific Northwest, and the Director of International Relations for the Government of British Columbia. They discussed the vast business opportunities of the upcoming Winter Olympics with staff of the 2010 Commerce Centre; the importance of networking with the director of the Vancouver Board of Trade; and the strategy behind urban planning and environmental management with the Deputy Mayor of Vancouver and with a local urban planner, Lance Berelowitz. The group learned about the Canadian health care system while visiting Vancouver General Hospital; met with the Chief Operating Officer of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team; and dined with the executive chef of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, among other visits. The students were also able to start relationships with MBA students and faculty from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.

Pacific 2008

Study Tour members at the Pacific Culinary Institute.

The annual MBA Study Tour to Canada is a joint effort of the Global Business Center, Foster School of Business and the Canadian Studies Center. This program is made possible, in part, by a Title VI Grant, US Department of Education and a Program Enhancement Grant, Foreign Affairs Canada. Dr. Sukumar Periwal, 2006-07 Canada-US Fulbright Chair, was the Faculty Representative for the Tour.

 

Voss 2009

Kelly Voss, 2009 Canada Study Tour Co-Chair, trying out Vancouver Canucks paraphernalia.

 

 

The Canada-US trade relationship is the largest in the world and therefore it is critical that UW MBA students have an understanding of the market structures and overall political and trade relations between the two countries. The Center works in collaboration with UW’s Global Business Center in the Michael G Foster School of Business to offer an annual Canada Study Tour to Vancouver, British Columbia over President’s Day Weekend. In addition, the Center supports student applications to the annual Canadian Leadership Institute in Ottawa, Canada for an intensive week of training on the Canada-US trade relationship. 
***This program was available from 2007-2010 and is no longer available. 

About the Authors

Tania Elliott

Tania Elliott is a second year, full-time MBA student who is also working towards a Masters of International Studies from the Jackson School. Last summer she had the opportunity to be one of twenty MBA students from the US to attend the Canadian Leadership Conference in Ottawa and Montréal, hosted by the University of Ottawa. She used the knowledge gained at that conference to help develop a stellar curriculum for this year's Tour.

Tim Randall

Tim Randall is a second year evening-MBA student at the Foster School, who works full-time as an engineer at The Boeing Company. He was born in Montréal, Québec, and is a tri-citizen of Canada, Britain, and the United States.