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It’s also an essential component of organizational strategy, especially in an age of rapidly changing technology, regulations, best practices, and techniques. Ivey aims to cultivate a growth mindset in its community members, alumni, and other organizational leaders by creating a system of focused learning experiences on current issues that will elevate individuals’ and organizations’ development at every stage of their journeys. A key element of this work  is to encourage and enable our community members to support, mentor, and share their experiences with each other so we can build an ecosystem of leaders who can thrive and make a positive impact in an ever-changing world.

Cultivating a lifelong learning journey

Continuous development can change your world

As Canada’s first and leading provider of executive education, Ivey has already built up a wealth of in-person and online programs, livestreams, and career coaching opportunities for management education and professional development over the past 75 years. Our recent work in fostering a lifelong pursuit of knowledge has centred on expanding offerings, formats, and topics so that our alumni and other learners have a roadmap for continuous learning at every stage of their careers.

EMBA alumni and Ivey faculty at the inaugural Lifelong Learning event at the Donald K. Johnson Centre in Toronto

EMBA alumni and Ivey faculty at the inaugural Lifelong Learning event at the Donald K. Johnson Centre in Toronto

In addition to opening up our existing Ivey Leadership Program and Ivey Emerging Leaders Program to Ivey staff in late 2023 and early 2024, we have been creating new workshops, livestreams, videos, podcasts, and articles on critical business issues. One notable example is the launch in fall 2023 of three new Advanced Impact Certificates that offer flexible and customized programs by way of a rotating selection of workshops on sustainability, inclusion, and digital transformation. We have also expanded the Leadership in Practice livestream series to include timely topics such as neurodiversity in the workplace and preparing for an AI-driven future as a means of offering our community short bursts of learning.

Our latest initiative builds on the inaugural Lifelong Learning Event for Ivey EMBA alumni last spring. We recently launched several more targeted events, including an event for early-career HBA alumni and a virtual coaching workshop for EMBA alumni. We will continue to develop new offerings as we identify gaps in the lifelong learning journey.

Progress highlights

Content aligned to critical issues
Livestream events
Alumni Lifelong Learning programs
Leadership programs for Ivey staff
Programming innovations
Measuring impact

Ivey Academy launched three new Advanced Impact Certificates (Digital Leader, Inclusive Leader and Sustainable Leader) in late 2023. These certificates combine a core Ivey Academy multi-day program with targeted workshops on critical issues and the opportunity to work directly with an Ivey faculty member on an action learning project. What differentiates these certificates in the market is the focus on critical issues facing leaders and organizations and the opportunity to work one-on-one with Ivey faculty on a pressing challenge. This makes the certificates highly relevant and applied. More than 60 Ivey alumni have already participated in one of the new critical issues workshops. New critical issues-focused workshops will continue to be developed on an ongoing basis and alumni will have direct input into selecting the topics that matter most.

Our successful Livestream series continues to grow, with more than 800 subscribers and an average of 300 participants per session. More than 20 per cent of participants are Ivey alumni. We are pleased to consistently have participants joining from right across Canada as well as an additional 32 countries, contributing to the diverse and dynamic discussions. Recent topics have ranged from Neurodiversity and Blockchain to Responsible Leadership and Regenerative Agriculture. These sessions have featured many great industry experts, Ivey faculty, and alumni.

Building on the inaugural EMBA Lifelong Learning workshop (Navigating Uncertainty: Leading your organization and the people within it to embrace the unknown), the commitment to developing and delivering dedicated programming for Ivey alumni continues. The next events include:

  • Career workshop (Ivey Early Career Connect) for HBAs to support building early career meta-skills within the first five years of a career;
  • Virtual coaching series for EMBAs (Ivey masterclass: Leading for Resilience) – four x two-hour sessions over eight weeks that explore digital change, responsible decision-making and leading for resilience;
  • Building digital resilience for an AI-driven future workshop in Calgary with an alumni roundtable; and,
  • Communicating with confidence following a negative event workshop for Ivey and Western alumni in Hong Kong.

In an effort to accelerate Ivey staff development and embed a lifelong learning mindset and habit, we delivered two inaugural Ivey-dedicated staff leadership development programs. This was the first-time running Ivey Academy programming just for Ivey staff. The first was the five-day Ivey Leadership Program in December 2023. And the second was the three-day Ivey Emerging Leader program in January 2024. Both programs had more than 30 Ivey staff. Not only did this provide Ivey staff with an exceptional learning experience, it was an opportunity for staff to build relationships and connections across the School. Areas in which staff reported progress include: leading individuals and teams for exceptional performance, elevating strategic thinking, practicing interpersonal leadership, leading collaborative high-performance teams, navigating conflict effectively to create value, leading with candour, and managing relationships upward.

As the needs and expectations of leaders continue to shift and evolve, focused efforts are being directed to ensure programming is timely and relevant. Of note, more than 10 new workshops have been designed and delivered that are directly tied to critical issues. These include Digital Agility in Global Markets, Accelerating Leadership with AI, Neurodiversity and Belonging at Work, Leading People Through Stress, Sustainability and Digital Innovation. In addition, we continue to look for opportunities to enhance the learner experience. This includes the introduction of new Digital Learning Experiences. We also continue to host regular faculty workshops on topics ranging from Accessibility in Learning to Experiential Learning.

A strategic priority has been to measure the real-world impact of our leadership development programs and learning events.  In pursuit of a more comprehensive and meaningful evaluation framework, we began transitioning to an approach that includes multiple levels of evaluation, including longer-term impact. This covers pre- and post-program surveys to assess the immediate shift in confidence aligned with program learning objectives. In addition, follow-up surveys are now being used to measure organizational and community impact six months+ following the completion of programs. Key benefits include: validation of learning outcomes, alignment with organizational goals, facilitating personal and professional growth, driving continuous improvement, demonstrating social and economic contributions, and enhancing credibility and reputation.

Content aligned to critical issues

Ivey Academy launched three new Advanced Impact Certificates (Digital Leader, Inclusive Leader and Sustainable Leader) in late 2023. These certificates combine a core Ivey Academy multi-day program with targeted workshops on critical issues and the opportunity to work directly with an Ivey faculty member on an action learning project. What differentiates these certificates in the market is the focus on critical issues facing leaders and organizations and the opportunity to work one-on-one with Ivey faculty on a pressing challenge. This makes the certificates highly relevant and applied. More than 60 Ivey alumni have already participated in one of the new critical issues workshops. New critical issues-focused workshops will continue to be developed on an ongoing basis and alumni will have direct input into selecting the topics that matter most.

Livestream events

Our successful Livestream series continues to grow, with more than 800 subscribers and an average of 300 participants per session. More than 20 per cent of participants are Ivey alumni. We are pleased to consistently have participants joining from right across Canada as well as an additional 32 countries, contributing to the diverse and dynamic discussions. Recent topics have ranged from Neurodiversity and Blockchain to Responsible Leadership and Regenerative Agriculture. These sessions have featured many great industry experts, Ivey faculty, and alumni.

Alumni Lifelong Learning programs

Building on the inaugural EMBA Lifelong Learning workshop (Navigating Uncertainty: Leading your organization and the people within it to embrace the unknown), the commitment to developing and delivering dedicated programming for Ivey alumni continues. The next events include:

  • Career workshop (Ivey Early Career Connect) for HBAs to support building early career meta-skills within the first five years of a career;
  • Virtual coaching series for EMBAs (Ivey masterclass: Leading for Resilience) – four x two-hour sessions over eight weeks that explore digital change, responsible decision-making and leading for resilience;
  • Building digital resilience for an AI-driven future workshop in Calgary with an alumni roundtable; and,
  • Communicating with confidence following a negative event workshop for Ivey and Western alumni in Hong Kong.

Leadership programs for Ivey staff

In an effort to accelerate Ivey staff development and embed a lifelong learning mindset and habit, we delivered two inaugural Ivey-dedicated staff leadership development programs. This was the first-time running Ivey Academy programming just for Ivey staff. The first was the five-day Ivey Leadership Program in December 2023. And the second was the three-day Ivey Emerging Leader program in January 2024. Both programs had more than 30 Ivey staff. Not only did this provide Ivey staff with an exceptional learning experience, it was an opportunity for staff to build relationships and connections across the School. Areas in which staff reported progress include: leading individuals and teams for exceptional performance, elevating strategic thinking, practicing interpersonal leadership, leading collaborative high-performance teams, navigating conflict effectively to create value, leading with candour, and managing relationships upward.

Programming innovations

As the needs and expectations of leaders continue to shift and evolve, focused efforts are being directed to ensure programming is timely and relevant. Of note, more than 10 new workshops have been designed and delivered that are directly tied to critical issues. These include Digital Agility in Global Markets, Accelerating Leadership with AI, Neurodiversity and Belonging at Work, Leading People Through Stress, Sustainability and Digital Innovation. In addition, we continue to look for opportunities to enhance the learner experience. This includes the introduction of new Digital Learning Experiences. We also continue to host regular faculty workshops on topics ranging from Accessibility in Learning to Experiential Learning.

Measuring impact

A strategic priority has been to measure the real-world impact of our leadership development programs and learning events.  In pursuit of a more comprehensive and meaningful evaluation framework, we began transitioning to an approach that includes multiple levels of evaluation, including longer-term impact. This covers pre- and post-program surveys to assess the immediate shift in confidence aligned with program learning objectives. In addition, follow-up surveys are now being used to measure organizational and community impact six months+ following the completion of programs. Key benefits include: validation of learning outcomes, alignment with organizational goals, facilitating personal and professional growth, driving continuous improvement, demonstrating social and economic contributions, and enhancing credibility and reputation.

What's next

A roadmap for lifelong learning

As the Lifelong Learning ecosystem continues to evolve, the focus is now concentrated on building a roadmap that crosses four key priorities: 1) Targeted programming (programming and workshops to meet specific alumni needs based on feedback and requests); 2) Making Ivey research and thought leadership accessible and practical; 3) Connecting alumni to timely and engaging experiences (e.g., Livestreams); and, 4) Aligning existing events, programs, and faculty travel to create active learning opportunities for alumni across geographies.

Alumni Relations

Recent work from Ivey’s Alumni Relations team has also been focused on forging strong relationships and creating mentorship opportunities, which all help to create a lifelong learning ecosystem. Below are some recent initiatives.

Alumni Hub

New Alumni Hub

The Advancement team launched a new Alumni Hub in early May 2024 to replace the old Alumni Portal. After two years of collaborative work with colleagues across the School, especially the Advancement Operations and IT teams, the Alumni Hub will serve as the go-to place for alumni to easily access curated news content based on their interests. It’s also home to an Alumni Directory, allows alumni to direct message fellow grads, and offers a new Discussion platform, which allows alumni to connect with others across the globe about shared interests, challenges, and opportunities. The Alumni Hub can be found at alumnihub.ivey.ca and login details are your O365 credentials (i.e. jdoe.hba2004@ivey.ca).

Alumni Connections Committee on the Ivey Alumni Network Board

The Alumni Connections Committee's goal is twofold: 1) To develop alumni-to-alumni programming focused on career advancement and personal effectiveness; and, 2) To support the School by amplifying its lifelong learning strategic objective. Two events have been held to date. One was a webinar in October 2023 called Leadership Under Fire with Jacqueline Chapman, MBA '03. It focused on navigating burnout in high stress roles and had more than 200 registrants. The second was an Artificial Intelligence Open House at Deloitte in Toronto on March 21. This event was a combination of TED Talk-like sessions and a panel of alumni showcasing the work they're doing in the artificial intelligence space.

Next steps include developing a series of events on women's health and helping to inform a relaunch of an alumni-to-alumni mentorship program.

Alumni at the Artificial Intelligence Open House at Deloitte

Alumni at the Artificial Intelligence Open House at Deloitte

Engaging alumni through events

Alumni events help forge lifelong connections and mentorship opportunities as well as keep the Ivey experience top of mind. Below is a look at some recent events that brought alumni together to celebrate, reminisce, or expand their learning.

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