A conversation with Ivey PhD Candidate Maya Kumar
Having lived and worked on three continents over 10 years, PhD Candidate Maya Kumar is no stranger to international business and working abroad. Though she is currently settled in London to complete her doctorate, her research, focusing on innovation strategies of firms in emerging markets, will take her around the world.
Kumar’s background made her the perfect candidate to undertake a unique challenge this summer: Guiding 29 Ivey MSc students through the challenges and opportunities of working in India during their 10-week practicum. Many of them had never worked outside of their home country.
“What I really wanted them to experience was the excitement of living and working in a new, foreign environment,” she said.
Launched in 2010, Ivey’s Master of Science in Management program offers students an opportunity to learn in up to four different countries, with three terms at three schools and one 10-week hands on work experience in an emerging market, the Ivey Global Lab. The practicum ensures students have a hands-on opportunity within an organization during the 16-month program.
“While we were still in Canada, we took the students through preliminary sessions on how to approach consulting projects and also had students do presentations on topics such as food, culture, religion, and lifestyles in India,” she explained. “But nothing can truly prepare you for being there until you are on the ground.”
This was the second year of the practicum and the first where an Academic Coordinator went alongside students. The MSc program created the role to give students a familiar resource on the ground in India while they learned to work and live in a vastly different environment than home. Given her personal and professional understanding of life abroad, Kumar was a natural fit to be there as a role model when students may have felt overwhelmed at times.
“The role is a combination of teaching, mentoring and looking out for students while they’re on the practicum. For many of them, it’s their first experience in a foreign country. It can be an abrupt change from what they are used to,” said Kumar.
Given the increasingly global nature of business, it is important for students to gain international experience early, which is why the MSc program made the practicum a requirement for graduation.
As one of 28 CEMS partner schools, Ivey’s MSc program also enables students to go on an exchange during two terms. The CEMS Master’s in International Management, considered a “passport for an international career”, is geared specifically to expose students to many unique business environments while they learn.
“Having an openness to new experiences, even if they’re unfamiliar and a little scary, is essential during the practicum. It’s a very light experience compared to being an ex-pat,” she said. “Students receive support from Ivey and don’t need navigate foreign territory totally alone. I see a lot of value in the practicum because it is a way to have a first glimpse into what it means to have an international career.”
Kumar admits the trip wasn’t always easy for the students, but in the end they delivered on projects that were valuable to the firms. Now that the students have returned to Ivey, they are back with an entirely new outlook. When faced with cases on emerging markets, they can put themselves in the situation. And if they are given an opportunity to lead in another part of the globe once they graduate, they will have already taken that first step.
