Travel report 240585 Queen’s University, Smith School of Business

Introduction

I did an exchange semester at Queen’s University, Smith School of Business (formerly known as Queen’s School of Business, but it was renamed after C$50 million donation to the School), which is among the leading business schools in Canada. It is located in Kingston, , roughly three hours from , and the capital, . Aalto MSc students study in MBA program in fall and in MIB (master in international business) in spring. The MBA class of 2016 was fairly small, consisting of around 60 degree students and 20 exchange students.

Preparing for the exchange

After being nominated by Aalto for an exchange semester at Queens University, first contact with the university was in March, when they sent an email asking to complete an online application form for some personal information. This information is used to produce a letter of acceptance, which is later needed at the Canadian border in order to enter the country. The letter was send by email in late April. After this the formal application process is over. Finnish citizens do not visa to study in Canada, if the length of stay is less than nine months. Starting in 2016, however, travelers flying to Canada need to complete an online travel authorization similar to ESTA in USA. Later in the summer there are course selections and you need also send your photo for the student card. You may also apply for a place in dormitories. Generally, I did not encounter problems when preparing for the exchange. There is a large number of exchange students arriving Queen’s every semester, and you are given detailed instructions answering every problem imaginable.

Introduction date for incoming MBA exchange students was in 7.9 and my last course ended in 17.12. However, you may choose to arrive later or leave earlier depending on your course schedule. For example, some exchange students only started their studies in October. Schedule of studies for MBA students depends entirely on chosen courses and their exams and there are no actual holidays in fall semester. Therefore I would recommend studies and travels accordingly, as during the courses opportunities for travelling can be limited, as class attendance is (at least in theory) mandatory and there are large number group projects and assignments that require presence in the campus.

Kingston is located roughly midway between Montreal and Toronto, and the best way to travel from Helsinki to Kingston is to first fly to Toronto and then take a bus, although there is also a flight connection between Kingston and Toronto. The bus trip (operated by Megabus Canada) takes around four hours and costs 50 CAD. I flew via Reykjavik and flights cost around 700-800 euros.

Besides introduction day, there is no other official introduction or buddy program. However, there is a student run NEWTS week before courses start. You need to sign up and pay for this week separately. The program seemed to be targeted more towards undergraduate students, and in my experience, only minority of the MBA exchange students participated it. Nevertheless, it is nice way to meet new people and familiarize yourself with Queens and its campus.

Exchange Studies

The courses were selected in July in an internet portal. Exchange students can only take MBA program’s electives, so there are not many courses to choose from. I am not aware whether it is possible to take courses from other programs. The courses are comparable to those of Aalto in the terms of workload. Content and teaching methods, however, are closer to Aalto undergraduate courses than MSc courses. This is because of fundamental difference in teaching philosophy: in my experience MSc programs in Aalto prepare students for writing doctoral dissertation while Queen’s MBA prepares for a career in corporate world i.e. teaching is very practical and real-life oriented. Consequently, there is a large number of cases, team presentations and assignments and a few or no scientific articles and essays. Exams also play smaller part in grading. Courses are generally intensive and last 4-5 weeks. Each MBA course is worth 6 ECTS. Therefore it is not allowed to have more two courses simultaneously due to high workload.

Active participation is generally expected, and in some courses classroom activity makes a part of the grading (in my case, however, only dynamic pricing –course had activity included in the grading). Nevertheless Canadians are accustomed in classroom discussion and contribute even if no additional points are provided, while some other nationalities are less active during classes. It is recommended to bring a business suit with you to Queen`s as it required (at least in theory) in presentations, although in practice most students give presentations wearing casual clothing. Being an MBA student carries several advantages compared to undergraduate business students such as being allowed to use School`s board (conference) rooms and having an access to a dedicated team room, among others.

Courses

Management Accounting

This course provides a comprehensive, graduate-level exploration of management accounting. The course focuses on the strategic use of accounting to facilitate business decision-making - for manufacturers and service firms as well as governmental and non-profit sector organizations. Topics covered include cost- volume-profit analysis, product costing, capital budgeting, activity-based costing, performance measurement, and decision-making. The professor, Kurt Schobel, was formerly a financial officer at Canadian Air Force, and he frequently shared stories of using various management accounting tools in Canadian Forces. For example, he used management accounting techniques successfully to persuade fighter pilots to fly slower in order to conserve fuel.

The content of this course was similar to undergraduate Management accounting I at Aalto. Main difference was that during this course it was not only required to understand accounting techniques, but it was also required to produce a meaningful analysis based on the numbers. Grading consisted of three assignment sets, a case and an open-book exam.

Investments

The purpose of this course was to examine valuation, risk assessment, and strategic management of financial assets, as well as the markets in which these assets trade. In practice the course consisted of overview to financial markets and different financing vehicles, such as bonds, equities and various derivatives. Additionally, the course included elements of portfolio theory. The teacher of the course was Ryan Riordan, a former trader and one of the leading researchers of high-frequency trading in Canada. Grading consisted of three cases, which were presented in class, and an open-book exam. Cases consisted of stock pitch, bond portfolio and portfolio optimization using given instruments.

International finance

International finance considers financial issues that managers confront in an international setting and develops a framework for evaluating the many opportunities, costs, and risks associated with multinational operations. The course employs cases extensively to provide students with a detailed and analytic look at investment and financial decisions undertaken by multinational firms. Topics covered included: Determination of exchange rates, foreign exchange market, relationships among inflation rates, interest rates & exchange rates, currency futures, options & swaps, foreign exchange exposure and hedging. Furthermore issues in international investing and cross-border valuation were covered. Grading consists of a case, problem set and closed-book exam. I found the course interesting but demanding as it combined finance and macroeconomics, while keeping very practical approach. For example, one of the cases done during the course involved planning hedging strategy for Disney using a currency swap. The course was lectured by Selim Topaloglu.

Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management

Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management focuses on how a firm should set and update pricing and product availability decisions across its various selling channels in order to maximize its profitability. An example comes from the airline industry, where tickets for the same flight may be sold at many different fares, the availability of which is changing as a function of purchase restrictions, the forecasted future demand, and the number of unsold seats. Through a combination of case studies, lectures and guest speakers, the course reviewed the main methodologies that are used in various industries. Within the broader area of pricing theory, the course placed particular emphasis on tactical optimization of pricing and capacity allocation decisions, tackled using quantitative models of consumer behavior (e.g., captured via appropriate price-response relations), demand forecasts and market uncertainty, and the tools of constrained optimization. The course required proficiency in statistical models. Grade consists of three assignments, each including few problems and a case, and a larger project involving designing and implementation of a pricing optimization model using real-life data, as well as class participation. Thus there was no exam. The course was fairly challenging, but interesting, for example, I learned a great deal about pricing in airline industry. The professor of the course was Anton Ovchinnikov.

Free time and other information

Probably the single most difficult thing during my exchange semester was housing. There are dormitories available for exchange students, but as more students are coming than there are places, rooms are assigned in a lottery in July. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to secure a place in a dormitory, but needed to rent a room from markets. However, the dormitory is fairly expensive (a semester costs around C$3000) and they are located quite far from the main campus. Therefore if one is willing to put some effort for finding a place stay, free market options may very well be more attractive than the housing provided by the university. I was able to secure a room from through Queen’s housing Facebook group, which I recommend starting to monitor as soon as you have received official acceptance, but there are also other university run portals to advertise housing. Market rate for a room is around C$500-600 depending on location, condition and whether utilities are included. Housing situation is generally much better during the spring semester than during the fall. It is recommended to start your search as early as possible, especially if having an exchange semester in fall.

Overall, cost of living is similar to that of Finland, although this depends on exchange rates. During my exchange semester CAD/EUR rate was quite favorable. Therefore many things such as food and clothing are actually cheaper than in Finland. Public transportation is free for students in Kingston, but I rarely used it as I lived within walking distance from both the university and city center. Although living may be somewhat cheaper in Canada, the school requires to pay some fees in order to attend. Firstly there is the UHIP (Universal Healthcare Insurance Plan), which is the obligatory health insurance costing around C$240. Furthermore you are expected to pay C$100 material fee for every course you take. Therefore cost of studying at Queen’s is around C$600-700 per semester, which is reasonable considering eye-watering prices degree students must pay for their education.

It is possible to open a bank account in Canada to pay various expenses. However, most school expenses must be paid before the semester (only way to pay them is through a bank transfer), thus limiting usefulness of Canadian bank account mostly for paying rent. Consequently, I chose not to pen a bank account and paid rent from my Finnish bank account, which for Nordea cost around 20e for each around C$500 transfer. Finnish credit and debit cards function normally in Canada and I rarely used cash during my stay.

Kingston itself is medium-sized city with 120 000 people. It was named the first capital of Canada in 1842 and thus bears historic significance for Canadians. There are three universities in the city; St. Lawrence College, Royal Military College of Canada and Quens`s University, of course. Therefore the population is fairly young. There is a small-town feeling and so called sightseeings and the whole city center can be covered during one 30 minute walk. Weather is roughly similar to Finland’s, except that summer seems to be lasting much longer. During my exchange, temperatures remained well above 20 until October and did not fall below 0 before I left in mid-December. However, during the real winter from January onwards temperatures can fall as low as -40. Furthermore, Kingston is located in vicinity of Lake Ontario, so there are strong winds blowing almost constantly.

Although the studies can be burdensome at times, there is a number of activities in Kingston to spend your free time. For example there are many student-run clubs and associations and exchange students are encouraged to participate. For sports, the university campus has Athletics and Recreation Center with large-scale facilities for a number of different sports. The city of Kingston itself outside the campus hosts a number of activities and for example is said to have highest number of restaurants per capita in Canada.

Canadians are generally very friendly and social, and there should not be any problems for meeting new people. The MBA program hosts social and networking events regularly, and for example, the MBA class gathers every Thursday for drinks in some bar in the city. Furthermore the program itself relies heavily on team work, giving a chance to work with new people. Student run Student Exchange Committee and Queen’s University International Centre arrange events regularly. Atmosphere at Queen’s is very international, and North Americans actually make only minority of the MBA class.

Most of people travel during their exchange semester and the location of Queen’s University offers good opportunities for this, being located roughly midway of Canada’s two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal. In the vicinity are also Ottawa, Quebec and Niagara Falls. Moreover, besides Canada it is possible to travel to United States. Best way to travel would be to rent a car with friends, but there are also bus connections to Toronto and Montreal.

Final Words

I came to Queen’s because I wanted to study finance in a program with high academic standards and real North American campus, and because I had not been in Canada before. Furthermore having recently lived in a more challenging country (to put it mildly), I wanted to enjoy time in a less stressful country where people would speak some understandable language. Exchange semester at Queen’s pretty much fulfilled my goals. Most of the MBA programs especially in USA require two year full time work experience for incoming exchange students, Queen’s being one of the few programs accepting MSc students without prior work experience. Therefore if one wants to study in North America at MSc level, Queen’s is one of the few places to go. Overall, Canada is very easy country to live and I would recommend exchange semester at Queen’s to everybody who would like to challenge themselves and enjoy the quality of education there.