A new Toronto higher education institution offers students and employers a path to life-long learning and post-pandemic connection.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, October 12, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ --

This September marked the launch of the International Business University (IBU), Ontario’s first independent university. Located in the heart of Toronto, IBU welcomes their inaugural class into the heart of Canada’s largest metropolis, with novel offerings and a visionary approach to after-COVID education.

With some of Ontario’s most accredited and experienced educators at the helm, the university is positioned to be a global center of excellence in business education, taking the lead as a prophetic voice in a changing industry.

‘The future we knew was coming arrived faster than we thought,’ says Tim McTiernan, IBU’s Founding President. ‘Our goal at IBU is to expand the pipeline of students entering baccalaureate programs, and to bring career-ready graduates to the employers in the industry who will need forward-thinking teams for a successful and sustained recovery.’

Acting also as Vice Chancellor of IBU, Tim McTiernan has held positions at some of Ontario’s best institutions and published widely on innovation, commercialization, and economic development strategies. McTiernan was previously the president of Ontario Tech University, former president of Canadore College, and held several senior roles within the University of Toronto and multiple provincial government departments.

With 35 years of international experience, Joanne Shoveller joins McTiernan as IBU’s President Designate, assuming the President’s role January 1, 2022. Previously, Shoveller was the Director of the MBA Program at Western University’s Ivey Business School, where she fostered career-long relationships with companies, entrepreneurs, alumni, donors, and community stakeholders across multiple industry sectors, and co-managed the launch of Ivey Business School’s Hong Kong Campus and Asian Management Institute. Shoveller currently serves as the Vice-President of Advancement at the University of Waterloo.

Working with international alumni and employers across industry, not-for-profit, and government sectors has made clear the need for an ever-expanding pipeline of students to elevate through companies’ structures. Avenues for non-traditional learners, resources for immigrants and refugees, up-skilling and leadership training for existing employees—this is the support that, if offered at the educational level, can empower employers through a recovery and toward their next level of operations.

‘We have such an exciting opportunity to build an alumni body that is engaged, excited, and inspired to take their place in the industry, with a vision of an evolving career that will align with employers’ needs,’ says McTiernan.

With the goal of delivering personalized educational experiences to a diverse student body, IBU stands on the pillars of small class sizes—30 students or less—and student-centric learning. Capitalizing on the experience and expertise of their faculty, the tailored curricula have an industry-aware design; priorities and pain points of employers across multiple business sectors are taken into dynamic consideration.

A focused approach allows IBU to shorten their learning timelines. Students undertake a continuous learning process with fall, winter, and summer registrations, allowing the completion of a full degree within three years. Moving further toward true educational flexibility, the continuous enrollment strategy allows students the freedom to take a semester off for work or life and re-enroll the following year—all without missing a year and losing valuable time.

In pursuit of true affordability, IBU extends the benefits of financial aid offerings at 0% interest. Students are able to pay back their tuition when they’ve secured a position in the workforce that allows them to do so. Doors are now open to students, both in-person attendance and online learning, for a January term.

The IBU initiative took root among a founding group of future-focused academics and business people with a vision for a ‘next generation’ university; a learning institution that remained committed to academic excellence, but that took the challenges and changes of the future into consideration at the core of its design. After the Ontario Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board approved the institution and the first of its programs in June of 2020, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities granted final consent on December 4th, 2020. IBU became the first homegrown, independent university ever to be established in Ontario.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, Chancellor of IBU, brings to his role 35 years of experience in research and higher education, serving most recently as the President of the University of Waterloo. Hamdullahpur is joined by Alastair Summerlee, former president of the University of Guelph and interim president of Carleton University, who serves IBU as a member of the Board of Governors.

‘It’s been a long-held belief among us, in our individual careers and in our work as a founding team, that the opportunities we can make available at the educational stage will manifest in the industry in important ways,’ says Hamdullahpur. ‘The IBU approach is, in our opinion, a new path to a successful and inclusive post-pandemic future—for students, for employers, and for the workforce at large.’

About International Business University

Ontario’s first independent, not-for-profit university, IBU stands on the pillars of small class sizes, personalized and industry-focused curriculums, and shorter learning timelines. Backed by faculty with extensive experience and success in their fields, IBU connects a diverse array of career-ready graduates with Canada’s in-need employers.

Lauren Sanderson
Mackasey Howard Communications
+1 315-825-8686
lauren@mackaseyhow.com
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