This year, Dalhousie is excited to offer a new class – Doing Business in Emerging Markets – at the Rowe School of Business, bringing together students from the CRMBA, Bachelor of Commerce, and Bachelor of Management programs. Those lucky enough to be selected work on live projects with local businesses looking to expand internationally; this affords students the opportunity to collaborate both with students from other programs and top industry leaders.

A key component of this year’s class is a capstone two-week trip to China, where students will have the chance to learn and experience Chinese customs and business practices. To learn more about this exciting opportunity, Coburg Consultants sat down with the course’s instructor, Dr. Valerie Trifts:

Q: Why are emerging markets important to Nova Scotians & Canadians?

A: Our largest trading partner has always been the US. However, in the Trump era of increased protectionism, it is even more important to lessen our reliance on the US. Global trade is expanding worldwide, and emerging markets continue to outpace developed economies in terms of growth. The opportunities are enormous if managed effectively.

Q: What made you want to teach the Doing Business in Emerging Markets course?

A: This course is the first of its kind in the Rowe School of Business. I’ve been able to secure several guest speakers from academia, industry and government to provide students with a broader perspective of emerging markets. Our trip to China in May will culminate months of planning, and expose our students to international organizations currently operating in China. As an educator, I feel privileged to be able to facilitate such a valuable learning experience for our students, while broadening my own teaching portfolio and knowledge base as well.

Q: What do you expect the long-term impact of this program to be on both students and client partners?

A: The hands-on experience will benefit students greatly in their careers. First, this course will help them build their resume, through expanding their consulting experience and international business acumen through financial support from our primary sponsors (Export Development Canada, Northstar Trade Finance, and the Bata Foundation). Secondly, students will be exposed to a wide variety of academic, industry and government representatives throughout the program, all with expertise and different perspectives on the importance of emerging markets for Canadian companies.

For our client partners, I anticipate they will benefit from the detailed analyses of the Chinese marketplace that the students are undertaking as part of the course. Each project is tailored to the unique informational needs of the companies involved, and the focus of our meetings in China will help students find specific information relevant to their client firms.

We also asked CRMBA students Mathew Hepburn and Arnaud Kubwakristo their thoughts on the class thus far:

I am very interested in working in international business when I finish the CRMBA program. I saw this course as opportunity to learn more about business practices in China and other emerging markets. I hope to take these lessons and apply them to my future career” – Mathew Hepburn, CRMBA Class of 2017

In a world that is growing more and more interconnected, globalization and free trade is an inevitable necessity. I knew this class would be an opportunity for me to expand my knowledge in terms of global business, cultural literacy and China in particular, arguably the soon-to-be world’s largest economy – Arnaud Kubwakristo, CRMBA Class of 2017