I recently received some questions about the MBA society. Here are my ideas on it…
-What sort of programming do they run?
There are a lot of things going on. The MBA Society is made up of several clubs dedicated to specific areas of business like Marketing, Strategy, Consulting, International Trade, Technology, Entrepreneurship… and some complimentary clubs like the Partner’s Club (for spouses, boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s etc) and Sauder Speaks (to teach public speaking). You can learn a little about the clubs and the events they run on www.mbasociety.ca.
As far as events go, they have speaker and networking events, workshops, etc. In some cases they also help subsidize external networking events. What you do with the club is up to you as president or member. This year the Net Impact club organized a really great career fair and the entrepreneurship club is taking people down to Silicone Valley to meet with different companies.
There are also sports clubs like Soccer, Hockey, Volleyball and Ultimate, and my favorite, the Sauder MBA Sailing Club, which travels every year to Italy for an MBA regatta.
The MBA Society also has an executive committee that supports the clubs, coordinates financing and organizes social events, etc.
-What resources do they offer MBA students?
There are lots of possibilities, as I mentioned above. A lot of it will be in your hands, as members and club presidents or members of the executive committee of the MBA Society.
-Most importantly, how does one become a member on the executive? Are there elections? When are they held?
Everyone is automatically a member of the MBA Society, and you can run for president of one of the clubs or for a place in the executive committee. The elections usually take place in November, so that the new MBA students have a chance to get to know each other before voting.
-Are there are campus clubs and organizations that cater to MBA students? How do I get in touch with them?
There are other UBC clubs. If you’re interested in sports activities, you can contact them via UBC Rec (www.rec.ubc.ca)
I’ll be asking Nikhil to leave his ideas, as he’s actually a club president, so he can give you that point of view too…
