New UNB program helps graduates take their ideas to market
Author: Communications
Posted on May 21, 2015
Category: UNB Saint John , UNB Fredericton
After 27 years of offering an undergraduate diploma in Technology Management & Entrepreneurship, the J. Herbert Smith Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton has launched a new Master in Engineering, Technology Management & Entrepreneurship (MTME) degree.
Set to start in September 2015, the master’s degree will build on the undergraduate program’s record of success that has seen 32 startups launched in the past five years—including successful startups such as HotSpot Parking, Resson Aerospace, Smart Skin Technologies, Castaway Golf Technologies, SimpTek Technologies, and more.
Eddy Campbell, president of the University of New Brunswick, says that UNB has become a hub for hands-on learning experiences and entrepreneurial thinking in no small measure because of The J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the centre and the tremendous work it does is one of the key reasons why UNB was named by Startup Canada as the most entrepreneurial top post-secondary institution in this country last year,” Dr. Campbell says. “It’s incredible to see the opportunities it inspires for students, the jobs it helps create through nurturing our startup culture and the innovation it sparks in New Brunswick and beyond.”
Since its inception the centre has been teaching the 21st century skills – critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication – that employers and startups alike desperately need, says Dhirendra Shukla, director of the centre.
“Over the last two years, course enrolments in our undergraduate program have increased by 68 per cent and demand for a similar, graduate level degree has been growing,” said Dr. Shukla. “This success is partially due to the continual review and renewal of our program offerings to ensure we’re adapting and keeping up with what students want and need to be successful in their careers.”
Dr. Shukla says the new master’s program will build on everything the centre has learned about teaching and supporting entrepreneurship over the last 27 years.
“It will provide the knowledge, skills, mentorship and resources to get students, and startups, off to a great start. It provides a forum for them to continue to receive mentoring and support as they grow their new ventures.”
All TME’s project management courses are recognized by the Project Management Institute, its quality management courses are aligned with the educational requirements for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification and all courses stress the core skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication, while emphasizing experiential learning, and employing flipped classroom techniques.
UNB has over 10,500 students from more than 100 countries, and several thousand more take UNB courses online and at partner institutions around the world. As the largest research institution in New Brunswick, UNB conducts more than 75 per cent of the province’s university research and was recently named Canada’s most entrepreneurial university, by Startup Canada.
UNB continues to be a leader in discovery and innovation while providing exceptional and transformative student experiences.
Media contact: Natasha Ashfield