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B10 G THE GLOBE AND MAIL | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018BUSINESS EDUCATION

When Colombia-bornAndres Sanchez Vascodecided to pursue amas-

ter of business administration –“a rite of passage” to becoming asenior executive, in his view – hewanted to study abroad in an im-migrant-friendly country wherehe andhiswife couldwork legallywhile he earned his degree, andafterward.Those criteria put Canada at

the top of his list, thanks to wel-coming rules (compared withother countries) that permit in-ternational postsecondary stu-dents to work here for up to threeyears after graduating from a full-time program, with spouses al-lowed to work as well.In September,Mr. SanchezVas-

co joined the incoming class at Si-mon Fraser University’s BeedieSchool of Business in Vancouver,one of four students from LatinAmerica, an increasingly impor-tant recruitment target for manyCanadian business schools.“Mywife and I wanted to come

together,” saysMr. SanchezVasco,a 34-year-old former financialanalyst from Bogota who eyes acareer in a different sector aftergraduation.For its study and work rules,

competitive tuitioncostsandoth-er factors, Canada is gainingground in attracting internation-al MBA candidates. The uptick ininterest is a welcome trend forCanadian business schools,manywith flat or waning domestic de-mand for full-time MBA pro-grams.In a recent global survey, the

Graduate Management Admis-sion Council reported that inter-national student applications toCanada rose 16.4per cent this year

over 2017, compared with 15.1 percent for Asia-Pacific schools, 3.4per cent in Europe but a drop of10.5 per cent to the United States.Canada’s surge in international

applications masks an 11.2-per-cent drop in domestic applica-tions, as reported by Virginia-based GMAC. However, the vol-umeofoverseasapplications isal-most three times that of domesticstudents,whichmeantoverall ap-plications to Canada grew 7.7 percent this year over 2017. Applica-tions to Asia-Pacific, fuelled bywithin-regiongrowth, rose8.9percent compared to a 3.2-per-centrise in Europe and a decline ofnearly 7 per cent for the UnitedStates.“It is not just a political thing,”

says Gregg Schoenfeld, director ofresearch forGMAC. “Wehave seena shift away from the U.S. as qual-ity education has been growingoutside the U.S., and economicconditions are changing.”Evenwithanti-immigrantrhet-

oric and tightening rules in theUnited States, Britain and the restof Europe, students remain eagerto study and work outside theirhome country. MBA candidateswant to broaden their experienceand enrich their résumé, Mr.Schoenfeld says, while employersare hungry for skilled candidateswho add diversity to the workforce.Beedie dean Ali Dastmalchian

says this year “we noticed a hugeincrease in our application poolfrom international students.” For-eignstudentsaccountedfor85percentof all applications toBeedie’stwo full-time programs – anMBAand amaster of science in finance– up from 80 per cent last year.Andrew Gemino, Beedie’s as-

sociate dean of graduate pro-grams, says “[student]diversity issuper important,”with the schoolstepping up recruitment in theMiddle East and Latin America.Other schools also put a premi-

um on diversity.

At HECMontréal, overseas stu-dents accounted for 53.8 per centof all applications to the full-timeFrench and English MBA tracks.Despite a high volume of candi-dates from China and India, theschool enrols students from 29countries, with Canadians repre-senting 55 per cent of the class.“You have to reach some bal-

ance in the group,” saysHECdeanMichel Patry, noting a 38-per-centrise in total applications this yearover 2017. “The cachet of theMBAis important.”ThoughGMACdata show glob-

al applications are flat this yearcompared with 2017, Dr. Patry isamong those convinced aboutthe long-term resiliency of theMBA.“I still think the MBA has a

great future,” he says. “You haveall those cadres – a large numberof executives training in [under-graduate] business, engineeringand science – who at some pointwant to take on line positions.”

Notsurprisingly, global compe-tition for top MBA candidates iskeen.In adding to its global recruit-

ment strategy several years ago,the University of Toronto’s Rot-man School of Management in-tensified efforts in Latin America.This year, Rotman enrolled morethan 50 candidates from the re-gion, up from 18 four years ago, ina total class of almost 350 full-timeMBA students.Last month, the school added

to its recruitment arsenal, hold-ing a joint event with Bank of No-va Scotia in Lima for Peruvianprospective students. In Sao Pau-lo, Brazil, the school invited pro-spective students to a session fea-turing RotmanMBA alumni bornin Latin America.Twoyears ago, recognizing that

a high proportion of Latin Amer-ican candidates are married, Rot-man introduced career counsel-ling for spouses (of any studentsin the class) who want to work inCanada. “It has been met withhuge success,” Ms. Gauthier says.For its high-touch activities, Rot-manmakes the top-10 list of glob-al business schools ranked by theAssociation of InternationalGraduate Admission Consultantsfor responsiveness to candidates.For many international stu-

dents, MBA fairs held in theirhome region are an efficient wayto meet global business schoolrepresentatives in person.Mr. Sanchez Vasco, for exam-

ple, attended a fair in Bogota thatdrew recruiters from Beedie inBritish Columbia’s Lower Main-land and half a dozen otherschools from Canada. In the end,he says chose Beedie for its WestCoast location and program con-tent featuring sustainability andIndigenous issues.Two months after arriving in

Canada, Mr. Sanchez Vasco sayshe and his wife, Diana Sofia, aresettling in to a new life, both ofthem studying, working and en-joying the outdoors. “Wehave feltwelcome and it is not difficult tomake this our environment.”

Special to The Globe and Mail

Global students embrace Canada as MBA destinationStudy and work options,competitive tuitioncosts and other factorscontribute to a surgein applications

JENNIFER LEWINGTON

Simon Fraser MBA student Andres Sanchez Vasco hails from Colombia. Latin America is an increasinglyimportant recruitment target for many Canadian business schools. DARRYL DYCK/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Product: TGAM PubDate: 11-07-2018 Zone: GTA Edition: 1 Page: ROB_2552751 User: SLaloudakis Time: 11-06-2018 17:38 Color: CMYK

for yourMBAtime

time for your career

For more information on our MBA:1.800.561.4650business.athabascau.ca/mba

Athabasca University’s asynchronouslearning environment provided anopportunity for me to dream of futurepossibilities through educationalachievement, while meeting withmy home and work responsibilities.”

Nathan W. Sack, MBA ‘18Capacity Development ManagerFirst Nations Financial Management BoardHalifax, Nova Scotia

2018

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018 | THE GLOBE AND MAIL G B11BUSINESS EDUCATION

Over the past three decades,Michael Wilson has car-ried out several successful

careerpivots: fromstock trader toplumber, equipment supervisorand then construction companygeneral manager.But in 2016, with the Calgary

economy in an oil-sector slump,he voluntarily left his mid-man-ager job to return to school for hisnext career move.Then 46, the married father of

two teenagers dipped into sav-ings to enrol in a $69,000 execu-tive master of business adminis-tration (EMBA) program at theUniversity of Calgary’s HaskayneSchool of Business. At the time,he says, “I realized I cannot pro-gress in my career any furtherwithout more credentials.”Next month he wraps up the

two-year program, saying it hasmade him “more efficient, morecompetent and more confident”than when he signed up. He in-tends to go into operations man-agement.His decision to pay his own

way for his mid-career businessdegree illustrates a growing trendin the global EMBA market: therise of the self-financing student.A recent survey by the Execu-

tiveMBACouncil, a non-profit or-ganization of business schoolsfrom more than 30 countries, in-cluding Canada, found this year

more than 45 per cent of studentspaid their own tuition, up from40 per cent in 2014, without reim-bursement from employers. Theproportion of those receiving acompany subsidy shrank toabout 20 per cent this year, downfrom 24.6 per cent four years ago,though global enrolment gener-ally has held steady.“The demand is there even

though more students are self-funding themselves,” says Mi-chael Desiderio, executive direc-tor of the California-based coun-cil. “It speaks to the value of thedegree.”Haskayne dean Jim Dewald

sees the same self-funding trendat his school, which offers twoEMBA cohorts a year. “We haveseen growth in the category ofpeople putting themselvesthrough the program,” he says.“It’s where we have seen the big-gest growth for sure.”In 2018, 76mid-career students

were enrolled in two cohorts, upfrom 60 two years ago.At Haskayne, teams of stu-

dents study as a cohort, attendingon-campus, day-long classes onalternate Fridays and Saturdaysover two years. Between formallectures, studentsmeet in-personor online to work on projects, at-

tend sessions with industry lead-ers and travel abroad, this year toHong Kong and Vietnam.Mr. Dewald says the cohort

model ensures a tight-knit atmo-sphere, with at least one pairfrom each class deciding to worktogether after graduation.Mr.Wilson, a big believer in the

value of education, pursued anonline credential (unrelated toHaskayne) while he worked as aplumber and later amaintenanceand equipment supervisor in FortMcMurray, until 2013. But he onlyhad an almost-completed degreefrom his undergraduate days andfelt intimidated when he return-

ed to a university classroom of 40mid-career professionals in early2017.The nerves quickly dissipated,

he says, because in the first weekof theprogramall EMBA studentsare required to study, work andlive together at a hotel on cam-pus, bonding over case studies.“By the end of the week, we eachknew each other’s strengths andwhat role each would take in the[team] group,” he recalls.Like Mr. Wilson, Toronto-

based Marina Di Pancrazio is astrong advocate of life-long learn-ing. After saving for several years(and tapping a low-cost educa-tion line of credit fromher bank),the director of sales services forDisneyABCHomeEntertainmentand Television Distributionsigned up last year for a 16-month$102,000 executive MBA offeredin Toronto by Kingston-basedSmith School of Business atQueen’s University.“For me, it was about personal

growth,” she says. “I always want-ed to do my MBA.” She receivedno financial assistance from Dis-ney, but creditsher companywithproviding encouragement andsupport, including time off workto attend full-day classes on alter-nate Fridays and Saturdays. Asshe nears completion of her de-gree, Ms. Di Pancrazio says her in-vestment already is paying divi-dends.“I think it hasmademe amore

efficient thinker in all areas ofmylife,” she says, especially enthusi-astic about the program’s team-based approach to learning.“It has made me more confi-

dent in my knowledge.”

Special to The Globe and Mail

EMBA students pay their way to change careersA growing percentageis paying the full freightof tuition as companysubsidies shrink

JENNIFER LEWINGTON

Michael Wilson is taking an EMBA at Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business to help him pivot careers. ‘I realized Icannot progress in my career any further without more credentials.’ JEFF MCINTOSH/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Ryan O’Byrne was accus-tomed to getting somegood-natured ribbing while

spending more than a decadeplaying professional hockey, in-cluding eight years in the Nation-al Hockey League.That’s because Mr. O’Byrne –

who played more than 300 NHLgames for the Montreal Cana-diens, Colorado Avalanche andToronto Maple Leafs – forfeitedhis final year of college at CornellUniversity, an Ivy League schoolin Ithaca, N.Y., to start his on-icecareer.“There were definitely some

chirps, and some ‘that Ivy Leagueguy’ type comments,” recalls asmiling Mr. O’Byrne of a bygonetime.But now the 34-year-old is get-

ting the last laugh, and he’s out toprove hockey’s tough guys can bejust as effective in the office asthey were on open ice.WhenMr. O’Byrne retired from

professional hockey in 2016, hereturned to Cornell as a 32-year-old to wrap up his undergraduatedegree. He’s now in themidst of amaster of business administra-tion at theKellogg School ofMan-agement atNorthwesternUniver-sity just outside of Chicago. Heexpects to graduate in June of2019.With front offices of NHL

teams skewing younger and filledwith analytical minds, the nativeof Victoria thinks he could be akey addition to any team, com-bining his body-checking pastwith his book-smarts present.“It’s always been in the back of

my head, working for a front of-fice in theNHL,”Mr. O’Byrne says.“I think I can add a lot of value.It’s still a big passion of mine, ob-viously. I still follow the NHL veryclosely.”He would be part of a growing

group of highly educated NHLbrass. Tampa Bay Lightning gen-eral manager Julien BriseBois, forexample, is a graduate of the Uni-versity of Montreal’s faculty oflaw and has an MBA from Con-cordia University’s John MolsonSchool of Business, also in Mon-treal. John Chayka, GM of the Ari-zona Coyotes, is just 29 and hasan honours business administra-tion degree from Ivey BusinessSchool at the University of West-ern Ontario in London, Ont.Mr. O’Byrne’s former team, the

Maple Leafs, tapped 32-year-oldKyle Dubas, a bachelor of sportmanagement graduate fromBrock University in St. Catharin-es, Ont., to replace 76-year-oldLou Lamoriello as its GM this pastoff-season.And Jason Botterill, GM of the

Buffalo Sabres, got his MBA fromthe University of Michigan in2007, a coupleof years after a con-cussion abruptly ended his NHLcareer at just 88 games.In less than 10 years, he went

frombeing a retiredplayer to run-ning a franchise. “Getting myMBAandcombining thatwithbe-ing aproplayer allowedme todif-ferentiate myself from other can-didates … and so many things Ilearned at business school havehelped me with my career.”Mr. O’Byrne envisages a similar

path and says he’s going to reachout to a number of NHL execu-tives to see if there is a fit after hegraduates. “In the NHL, there ismore and more of a transition tothat analytical side, and that’ssomething you learn at businessschool,” he says.Hockey has encouraged this

trend, too, through the emer-gence of training programs spe-cifically aimed at the front-officeexecutive of the future. The Uni-versityofAthabasca, for example,launched a “business of hockeyMBA” a couple of years ago,spearheaded by long-time execu-tive Brian Burke.Mr. O’Byrne settled on North-

western because of its culture ofinclusivity and its location in thesmaller city of Evanston, Ill. But,he says, he still felt intimidatedwhenhe startedhisMBA.Manyofhis classmates had spent upwardof seven years working for top-tier consulting firms or at compa-nies such as Uber.“It took me a number of

months to find my footing andfeel confident,” he says. Mr.O’Byrne spent last summerwork-ing in New York in real estate fi-nance for Allianz, a German fi-nancial services company. He al-so took the Canadian SecuritiesCourse prior to returning to Cor-nell, andhas expressed interest inworking in wealth managementif his pursuit of an NHL front-of-fice gig doesn’t come to fruition.Although the future isn’t as

clear as it wasmore than a decadeearlier, he knows he made theright decision to head back toschool. He had hip surgery priorto what was going to be his finalyear of professional hockey.“Iwouldn’t trade those 10years

of professional hockey for any-thing,” he says. “I learned a lot ofvaluable life skills and madesome incredible friendships, butit was time to move on.”

Special to The Globe and Mail

Former NHLer aspiresto wear a different kindof hockey uniform

Ryan O’Byrne returnsto university to get hisMBA, hoping to jointhe growing legionof NHL executives

ADAM STANLEY