Community engagement

Community-based learning and service projects

One of the defining features of UNB Saint John’s Faculty of Business is the direct engagement of its students and faculty in the community in all its dimensions, ranging from the local to the global. BBA, BAM and MBA students have opportunities for experiential learning built into their core programs.

UNB Saint John’s CEWIL-accredited BBA Coop Program and MBA Business Consulting Project offer further hands-on work experience and professional development to our students.

Mentoring local entrepreneurs

The Faculty of Business is also committed to working with local industry and aiding New Brunswick’s economic development efforts. In collaboration with Economic Development Greater Saint John, Dan Doiron and Greg Fleet developed the Venture Validation Program, a thirteen-week training program for local entrepreneurs run three times a year. Professors Doiron and Fleet also serve as mentors to participants, meeting with the group weekly.

This is an applied learning course, built to move emerging entrepreneurs from idea to launch. Participants learn how to: create a value proposition; identify their customers and competition; clarify startup and operation costs; define the market opportunity; and create a business model.

At the same time, Professors Doiron and Fleet are studying the effectiveness of this type of training for entrepreneurs in terms of generating and sustaining new businesses in the area. The VVP was specifically designed to help local entrepreneurs understand if their idea represented a good opportunity and to be able to articulate that value.

Of the 22 participants who completed the program in its first three offerings, 13 successfully started their businesses, a success rate of 59 percent overall. Analysis of the first three cohorts of trainees found that all participants expressed growing confidence in their own abilities as entrepreneurs and in their future business opportunities.

Making a difference in the Saint John area

Our faculty are also active volunteers in their community, serving on the boards of several community organizations and as advisors to various local economic and social development initiatives.

• Emin Civi is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Saint John Newcomers Centre.

• Dan Doiron is a member of the Board of Directors of YMCA Canada, of the Saint John Regional YMCA, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Enterprise Saint John - Navigator Program, Management Board Member of the Wallace McCain Institute, and Fund Manager for the UNB Miramichi Technology Fund.

• Rob Moir is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick

• Shelley Rinehart was elected and served a five-year term as Deputy Mayor of the City of Saint John. She is the current Chair of the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council and is a Board Member of the Saint John Port Authority. She also sits on the Executive Committee of Early Literacy Friend and chairs the judging panel for the Board of Trade Outstanding Business Awards. Dr. Rinehart is also a former Chair of the Board of Saint John Energy.

Working together

Our students and faculty members are contributing their time, energy and expertise to the greater Saint John community. Want to work together? Contact us.