Dhillon School of Business to announce new major in Agricultural Enterprise Management

caroline.zentner — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 20:40:24 +0000

Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Cor Van Raay (LLD '15) and his $5-million gift to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College, along with matching funding from the provincial government, the Dhillon School of Business is launching a new major in Agricultural Enterprise Management.

Van Raay recognized the business and management aspects of agriculture — agricultural finance, marketing and trade, for example — needed more attention and his donation became the catalyst to expand the business focus on agriculture.

“This new major in Agricultural Enterprise Management is a great fit for the Dhillon School of Business,” says Dr. Shamsul Alam, associate dean of the Dhillon School of Business. “We are focused on business innovations, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data, and many of these innovations will help keep our food production safe and nutritious.”

“The agri-food sector is forecast to be one of the most dynamic, challenging and rewarding areas of business as the world’s population keeps increasing,” says David Hill, director of development with the Southern Alberta Agriculture & Agribusiness program. “This agribusiness program concentrates on how business, management, finance and their related disciplines can be actively applied to any agricultural enterprise.”

The Agricultural Enterprise Management program was developed by Lethbridge College and the U of L in an integrated way. Both institutions spoke with stakeholders in the farming community, industry and government to develop eight learning outcomes for the program. From there, four pillars were identified: accounting and finance, policy and regulations, marketing, and operations and management. Following Van Raay’s investment, the U of L created a six-course minor which was the forerunner to the current major. Following the creation of the minor, Lethbridge College created a diploma in Agricultural Enterprise Management and students were accepted into the fall 2018 term. The U of L’s major will accept students beginning in the fall 2019 term.

Students from across Campus Alberta will be able to participate in this new major, with at least 12 courses from other colleges transferable and work being done to add even more. The program is not a typical two-plus-two model but rather is an integrated, flexible, four-year program where students have an opportunity to exit with diplomas or to complete a four-year degree.

“We deal with the service value-added activities and how it goes from the farm to the fork,” says Alam. “Although we have developed this with the college, it is unique in its delivery. No other university in Canada or the United States has this program. Other programs are based on science or economics or biotechnology, but this program is based on business.”

U of L team sweeps up the competition at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge

caroline.zentner — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 17:43:04 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge teams proved their mettle on the trading floor during the recent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge (UTC), with one team capturing first place in all categories.

Cameron Pituley, the winning team’s captain, said their success was part hard work and part commitment. Other team members included Conner Williams, Brooke Winarski and Jason Murray.

“It was truly a team effort to bring it all together and it would be difficult for me to find a better group of people to work with,” says Pituley. “In each of the activities, we had one person who would shine. All of us are fairly involved as students and do as much as we can. Our extra level of interest in the competition helped drive us to succeed.”

Dr. Vishaal Baulkaran, far left, coached U of L students, from left to right, Conner Williams, Brooke Winarski, Jason Murray and Cameron Pituley, to a first-place finish in the recent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge.

This was the first time the U of L hosted the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge, an honour the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ received after its Faculty of Management student team placed first in the real-time trading challenge and second place overall in the UTC in New York City last year.

“We were pleased to welcome five teams to the first ever ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge to be held in Canada,” says Dr. Shamsul Alam, a Faculty of Management professor. “The students performed well, responding to all the challenges put in front of them. We hope they not only had the opportunity to test out their financial skills, but also to enjoy themselves.”

Three U of L teams, two from Lethbridge and one from Calgary, one Lethbridge College team and one team from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ont. participated. The U of L Calgary team captured second place and third place went to the Ontario team.

“A competition like this gives students the chance to test their financial skills in more of a real-world setting where pressure can be constant. Our program always emphasizes integration of theory into practice and the trading room facility helps our finance students experience real-world scenarios in a classroom setting, resembling a students-in-training program,” says Alam.

The UTC began with a month-long portfolio challenge and a case study. Pituley executed the trades and each morning he’d check in with his teammates to get their recommendations on buying, selling or holding. The team split up the work so that each member had about a quarter of the portfolio.

The team decided to take longer positions, instead of trading on a daily basis. They wanted to maximize their return and decided that holding their positions longer was less risky, a strategy that paid off at the end of the day.

For the case study, students presented their analyses and recommendations on competition day, Nov. 20. In addition to case presentations, students participated in two short-term trading challenges, a currency trading challenge and a fund management challenge.

“Conner was the shining star on the fund management challenge. He got first place in the individual category,” says Pituley. “Each person traded individually but the score was averaged as a team and we could co-ordinate what we wanted to do.”

Winarski’s skills in presentation proved invaluable after team members realized they had to rework their entire presentation a week before competition day. Murray’s financial acumen in the individual portfolio management category secured him first place and boosted the team’s overall performance.

The UTC was Pituley’s first competition and he heartily encourages other students to give it a try.

“I had a lot of fun. It was very stressful at times but when the day of the competition came around, I was excited to be in a room full of people who were not only as interested as I am in finance, but also really wanted to be there,” says Pituley.

Pituley had high praise for the team’s coach, Dr. Vishaal Baulkaran.

“He took time out of his days leading up to the competition. He provided excellent guidance and we would not have been able to succeed in the investment banking case without him. He was always available to meet if we had questions or got stuck on a concept,” he says. “I’m really happy with how everything went. I really am proud of my team and the work we put in. I would do the entire experience again if I had the chance.”

UNews - Dr. Shamsul Alam

Dhillon School of Business to announce new major in Agricultural Enterprise Management

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U of L team sweeps up the competition at the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge

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U of L team sweeps up the competition at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge