The Dean's News

This year, the course had the support of CPA Ontario. Tizy Gunaratne, the CPA representative that helped the Accounting Faculty judge the capstone presentations and also provided financial recognition to the student's projects qualifying for the first two places.

First place went to Rafael Borges, Jake Nowak, Holly Smith, Max Vero for their project titled, "Establishment Debt Development Program.” Each student was award with a cheque of 175 dollars. The judges thought that the students' topic was " innovative, well thought out and displayed a good foundation of accounting knowledge," and that the students all demonstrated passion, strong teamwork, communication and creative thinking.

The second-place prize went to Mae Mendoza, Sheila Viteri, Xiayan Wu for their project, “Impact of Ethics on Investing – Lessons Learned!” Students received 100 dollars and received feedback from the judges: "this presentation showcased a fair amount of research, accounting knowledge and growth over the two rounds of presentations. It was evident to all of us that you were open to feedback and showed development over time. Moreover, your team showed passion, strong teamwork and good communication skills. These are all fundamental soft skills that we want to see in our future CPAs."

Congrats to all students in the 4th-Year Capstone Accounting Course!

The donation establishes four scholarships aimed at attracting top talent and recognizing academic excellence in the IMPG program. In addition, the donation provides critical needs-based bursaries for those students who need extra financial assistance. Wawanesa has demonstrated tremendous leadership as a company committed to education and to advancing the insurance industry.

Wawanesa Insurance is one of the largest insurance companies in Canada, with assets of over $9.5 billion, and employing a workforce of over 3,500 people. The company is also one of the oldest companies in Canada, as it was founded in 1896 in Wawanesa, Manitoba.

On behalf of the Faculty of Business at Humber College, I would like to thank Wawanesa Insurance for their commitment to our students.

Applying their knowledge and problem-solving techniques, student groups must develop a strategic business plan to address industry issues. The most successful groups are provided the exciting (and yet scary) opportunity to present their findings to the industry professionals.

On Thursday, April 25, the three winning groups of 4th-semester students presented (2 groups to Choice Hotels Canada, 1 group to Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel - photo above) to rave reviews from the industry partners! With positive and professional demeanors and with confident presentation styles, students had the opportunity to showcase their findings. Our industry partners were impressed and in awe. Recommendations and suggestions were clearly welcomed and are considered for implementation. Well done Teams! We look forward to their continued growth and success from Humber and beyond.

Thanks to Wendy Burgess for her dedication to our industry partners and especially to our H-HROM students. Long hours were devoted both in and out of the classroom (industry meetings and calls, student coaching and advising sessions, encouraging pep talks) and her dedication shone when we saw the smiles on the students' faces as well as the strong nods from the industry professionals.

As well, thank you to the many HRT team members who supported the students throughout this course and semester. To Janet and Stephanie, thank you for attending the presentations to provide moral support and to meet with the industry partners.

In the Marketing Management competition, students are challenged with analyzing a real-world case study situation involving marketing and/or management. Environments may include but are not limited to, place/location marketing, transportation marketing, charity/event marketing, marketing research, strategic marketing planning, distribution strategies, target marketing and Internet marketing.

In addition to her second place win, MaryJo also took home four other medals, which included:

• Silver Ribbon Medals - Top 10 Test Score & Top 10 Case Study
• Blue Ribbon Medal - Top 15 Overall Finalist
• Large, Multi-colour ribbon Medal - Top 10 Finalist

Congratulations, MaryJo, on your DECA winning streak!

The Law School is ranked 17th out of 101 Law Schools in the United Kingdom. Devin was our first student to do his field placement with the Tax Law Services Section of the Department of Justice Canada in Ottawa. 

The Aboriginal Moot was the capstone assignment for students in the Indigenous Legal Perspectives course. To open the Second Annual Aboriginal Moot, students toured the Indigenous Cultural Markers recently installed at the Lakeshore campus.

The Faculty of Business is meeting Humber’s aspirations pursuant to the Indigenous Education Protocol, and has responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, by modifying the Paralegal Degree Program curriculum. The new course compares Aboriginal Law with Indigenous Legal Traditions. Professor Shirley Wales, a lawyer and former Adjudicator for the survivors of the Indian Residential Schools, designed and taught the new course. She incorporated research from her PhD studies, including the Indigenous Legal Traditions course taught by an Elder.

The Aboriginal Moot follows the format of the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot. Most Canadian Law Schools participate in the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot. The Moot is also known as “The Talking Circle”. Students engage in roundtable negotiations with the aim of reaching a consensus-based settlement. They rely on Indigenous Legal Traditions, as well as provincial, federal, and international law. The students were honoured to be joined at the Second Annual Aboriginal Moot by Associate Dean James Cullin, and by Paralegal Degree faculty members Dr. Karen Schucher and Dr. John Allen.

This collaboration provides our 4th-semester students the opportunity to work hands-on with Mall Leasing, Marketing & Tourism Management teams to create business concepts that meet the evolving needs of the retail center. Students draw on their knowledge from previous semesters and in the Global Retail Operations course are assigned their mission: To think like retail consultants and create or source business concepts that shopping centers can implement.

As a group, students review global retail trends, mall demographics & psychographics and select a business concept worth exploring. They prepare strategies for visual presentation, marketing and customer experiences that bring this concept to life. Their sales pitch to the mall management team provides them with an opportunity to hone their presentation and selling skills. This year our managers from Vaughan Mill said: “The students had great ideas, presented well and really did a great job in coming up with unique experiences. We will surely take some ideas away with us." In addition, Vaughan Mills took the next step, " We were so impressed by the caliber of students that we would like to arrange a JOB FAIR at Humber College.”

Congratulations to all of the students, who will be able to add this element of experiential learning to their personal resumes and portfolios. Thank you to their Professor, Anna Zamparo.

During the visit, Rossie Kadiyska observed classes in Biomimicry, Sustainable technologies and Design, met with Humber exchange students, conducted interviews with KEA students on sustainability and gave a guest lecture on sustainability framework in the luxury fashion.

The visit in Denmark was a peek into a world where sustainability is weaved into the everyday activities of the Danes and has become a permanent and inseparable part of their lives: from the daily commute with bicycles (2:1 per person) to sustainable buildings, healthy and slow food, sustainable textiles and fashion and the stress free Danish way of living "hygge".

During the trip, both sides explored opportunities for collaboration and deepening the partnership. As a result of the trip, our first Fashion Management and Promotions Graduate Certificate student will complete an internship with two Danish companies working in sustainable fashion and shoes.

The conference and workshop was a part of International Development Week at Humber and was co-sponsored by the International Development Graduate Certificate Program and the Ontario Council for International Cooperation. 

This event hosted a panel including members of the NGO community, Humber academics, UN representatives and Global Affairs Canada speaking to an audience of largely high-level industry executives and Humber graduate certificate and degree students.

The afternoon workshop allowed Humber students to engage with industry professionals on a series of case studies highlighting the complexities of this sensitive issue in an international setting.

This event highlighted Humber’s mission of developing global citizens and fostered collaboration across Humber schools and departments.

Upon graduation from the International Development Degree at Humber, Ryan Geleynse began working with EduDeo Ministries as the Eastern Canada Key Relationship Manager. EduDeo is an organization that works to advance and support Christian education around the world. Ryan’s job is to build relationships with EduDeo’s donors, whether households, schools, churches or foundations, and to find alignment between their passions and the organization’s projects.

Ryan secured a placement during his degree with World Renew, an organization linked to the Christian Reformed Church. His placement in the Global Volunteer Department became a source of income and employment as he completed his degree. World Renew places hundreds of volunteers in roles around the world every year to respond to disasters, work in community development or to service communities. Ryan loved that the organization’s volunteers would range from students to retirees.

Ryan says, “I’m so thankful for education I received at Humber. My degree provided a critical lens for engaging some of the challenges within the sector. I can approach our donors with confidence, knowing I’m there to advocate on behalf of our partners, providing necessary nuance to conversations that may head off the rails, otherwise. However, I miss the readings, the papers around topics I found provoking, and classroom discussions we had at Humber.”

Ryan married during his time at Humber College. His wife works in the international development field, too; however, her career has been suspended as she gave birth to their first child in July, Oliver, a baby boy. Congratulations!