Experiential Education

Professional Development and Experiential Education Office

The Schulich Professional Development and Experiential Education Office (PD&EE Office) was created on October 1, 2021, with the aim to provide support to Schulich departments and programs in the development of programming focused on career-engaged learning, community engagement and outreach, and experiential education programs.

The PD&EE Office focuses on four critical areas:

1. Building experiential learning capacity across the Schulich School of Business.
2. Coordinating the design and delivery of a Professional Development course to be offered to all Schulich School of Business programs.
3. Building and enhancing experiential education and outreach support for students and faculty, including work placements of varying kinds, as well as international opportunities.
4. Engaging and building positive relations with community partners and employers, university partners, and alumni.

The envisioned Professional Development course will include curated content that will focus on increasing our students’ employability. Canada has the world’s highest educated workforce, more than any other country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). More than half of Canadians (55%) have a higher education qualification, whereas the percentage of working adults with a university degree in OECD countries is 35%. This means a fierce competition in securing a job.

We can confidently say that it is no longer enough to simply have subject and technical management knowledge. To secure a great job and have a successful career, students need to learn the ins and outs of the recruitment process and proactively develop a career strategy. This starts with our students understanding their interests and motivators and how these are reflected in their career choices.

The Professional Development course will include all the components required to secure an internship / job and the development of a successful career. Placing this course in the first term of each graduate program will give students time to continue their professional development through additional, advanced workshops managed by the Schulich Center for Career Design. We will help our students start their preparation early and understand what their gaps are, so that they can address them. We know that perfection is achieved only through guided practice.

We expect that this approach will enhance our students’ satisfaction and will result in an increased number of secured internships and jobs, with an impact on future student recruitment.

Contact

If you are interested in discussing the creation of a Professional Development course or a credit course placement for your program, please contact:

Dr. Minerva Cernea has over 25 years of leadership experience locally and internationally, including in higher education. Currently Dr. Cernea is the Associate Director, Professional Development and Experiential Education (PD&EE), leading the PD&EE Office at the Schulich School of Business.  In this role, Dr. Cernea works on several experiential education (EE) projects focused on increasing awareness about EE activities, streamlining EE processes, sharing of EE information and resources, and creating EE opportunities for Schulich School of Business students. View Dr. Cernea’s LinkedIn profile.