London (Ontario), Canada
I
had an awesome time in Canada! I was at Ivey during the fall semester of 2014.
I had warm days, average days and super super cold days (-15 C).
Canadians
are super relaxed people that will want to help you and integrate you in the
community, especially Ivey students.
The
teaching method is very different from what I was used to though. Here they
used the case method, which means that you will have one or two cases plus
readings to prepare for every single class, and as around 35% of your grade
depends on relevant class participation, you will have/want to master those
materials. It is as if you had to give a class on the subject, being the
teacher the moderator of the student debate. Class sizes are small; at most you
will have 30 students per class.
If
I were to compare Ivey and Nova, I would say that at Ivey you work every day,
you read a lot; but it is way more relaxed than Nova’s teaching style. Here I
never felt over-charged with projects+reports+case analysis+exams, but I always
had something to do/read, being it a case preparation, a case analysis or a
group project.
Ah!
And I had no exams :)!
Courses
Global
Strategy: This is the mandatory course for the first semester of the CEMS year.
At Ivey, it was a really interesting learning experience with a final research
project on a company where you apply the theories learned to a Multinational
Company. Also, you will have to deliver three case analysis out of 7 possible
cases.
Global
Supply Chain Management: Very
interesting course that will change your perspective of the importance of
supply chain management in an organization’s strategy. Challenging class
discussions where you will be put in the role of a consultant and explain how
you would solve the issue at hand. One small commodity forecasting team
assignment and two out of three graded case write ups.
Legal
Environment in the Multinational Enterprise: This course will give you the basic legal tools that managers use
in a company. You will learn legal concepts and strategies that will be helpful
if you deal with legal issues in your future career, especially when talking
with lawyers. The difficulty level is not very demanding but the classes are a
little bit dull. One team assignment on a current legal issue in a
Multinational company and three case write ups.
Entrepreneurship
& Growth: This course does not need any introductions. It will not teach
you how to write business plans, but instead how to go from your problem
statement to a perfectly developed and targeted business opportunity that
solves a specific problem for a specific target of people that will want to pay
for it.
The
difficulty level is also average. You’ll have to develop a business opportunity
in teams and a business idea log that is graded on quantity of ideas.
Housing
The
best option for a CEMSie is to contact Varsity Housing and rent a room at
Varsity Mills. It was where I lived and the houses are super cool in a student
neighborhood. If you are tight on money, you can rent a room somewhere else but
the quality will not be as good as in Varsity Mills. Also, it is relatively
(considering Canadian distances) close from downtown where the clubs and bars
are and only 15 minute bus ride from Ivey.
Only
negative point is that the Renting Company does not provide any house
appliances or apparel. The most you get is a fridge, stove, dishwasher and laundry
machine. You will have to buy plates, forks, knifes, glasses, bed linen, bed
cover, light bulbs, hangers, etc.
University
Ivey
Building is probably the best campus in the CEMS network. Classrooms are
top-of-the-class and they have several meeting rooms equipped with everything
you need, even writable tables and walls! However, the rooms have to be booked
and you have a limit of 2 hours per student per day to use a room.
Wi-Fi
connection is good inside classrooms and the main atrium, but you’ll loose it
if you move around from one room to the other.
Food
offer at Ivey is below acceptable. You have a main eatery where you can only
have pizza, bacon cheeseburgers or Indian. Also, it is super expensive from a
quantity-cost perspective.
Sightseeing
The
city is the typical Canadian/American student city. Wide diversity of cultures
and a lot (really a lot) of students.
Expect
to go to a lot of student parties either hosted in students’ houses or
bar/clubs.
In
terms of sightseeing, there is nothing special to be seen in the city. But the
good part is that here we are 2 hour drive distance from Toronto, Niagara Falls
or Detroit so if you can rent a car you have plenty to see.
Furthermore
– and as a typical North American city – the concept of distance is not the
same as in Europe, i.e. here everything is really really far away and as
everyone has a car, public transportation services are not optimal (euphemism).
Visa
If
you your country is on Canada’s list of eligible countries for a visa waiver
AND you are staying in Canada for a period inferior to 6 months from the
arrival date, you do not need to apply for a Visa. Otherwise, you’ll need to do
it.
Vaccines
n/a
(Not that I was aware of)
Surprises
The
main positive surprises were the state of the art building that provides the
necessary conditions to get an exceptional learning experience in class. Then,
the academic services are really fast to address any issue you have and will do
everything in their power to help you. Finally, teachers at Ivey are really
approachable and you can even call them by their first name. They try to
establish a real connection with students from day 1, even calling us by our
name (although we have name plates at every class).
On
a negative side – and this is really IMPORTANT – YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY AROUND
500 CANADIAN DOLLARS (approx. 360€) per semester for insurance and casebooks.
This presented itself to be a surprise, as I was not counting on this amount of
school fees.
--
By Gonçalo Dias, Class of 2014/2015
Term abroad - Fall 2014
Nationality:
Portuguese
Country
of residence: Portugal
Home
School: Nova School of Business and Economics (NOVA)
Host
School: Ivey Business School (IVEY)
