Ivey’s new partnership with Mitacs will connect students with local entrepreneurs at a critical time
LONDON, ON – June 24, 2020 – Today, the Ivey Business School announced the launch of a new internship initiative pairing current business students over the summer months with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the supervision of an Ivey faculty member, students participating in the internship will undertake a strategic analysis of their partner SME to help them restore or modify their business operations.
Ivey is partnering with Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that fosters Canadian growth and innovation, to deliver the Business Strategy Internship (BSI) program. The primary goal of the program is to provide students with the opportunity to apply business concepts and theories to real-world decision-making. Mutually, the BSI endeavours to support SMEs which need additional assistance in modifying their operations to adapt to the new economic reality. The projects will be tailored to the individual firm to address one or more business strategy components such as marketing, business operations, or finance.
“We are excited to engage in a program specifically addressing two issues that are critically important to students and entrepreneurs alike,” said Eric Morse, Executive Director, Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Ivey Business School. “How can we help students who are having a hard time finding meaningful summer employment and how can we help small entrepreneurial businesses get through these tough times?”
“Ivey’s partnership with Mitacs directly aligns with our mission to develop business leaders who think globally, act strategically and contribute to the societies within which they operate,” said Sharon Hodgson, Dean of the Ivey Business School at Western University. “I am thrilled to see Ivey giving back to our local business community in such an important way.”
Mitacs contributes $5,000 per student to work with an SME on an assigned project and, conversely, the SME contributes $2,500 per student. The remaining $2,500 is contributed by the School. As a result, each qualifying student will receive $10,000 in total compensation for delivering on a four-month project. The Mitacs initiative looks to match 40 current students with SMEs across Canada. Ivey has a goal to provide support for an additional 15 students with SME projects funded directly by the School, alumni and corporate donations.
Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from the best academic institutions. Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, along with the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, as well as by academic, industry, and not-for-profit partners.
For Mitacs news, visit: https://www.mitacs.ca/en/newsroom/news-release
