General Information
Promotional Video
Unavailable
Instructor Bio
Dr. Beatrix Dart is Professor of Strategy at the Rotman School of Management and was previously the Associate Dean, Executive Degree Programs. She joined the Rotman School of Management in 2000 following a successful career with McKinsey & Co. Her focus area is on strategic social impact for profit and non-profit organizations. She is the Academic Director for the OnBoard program, and led successful project courses such as for the Human Rights Watch Organization. She is also the Academic Director for Global and Experiential Learning at Rotman, Executive Director for Rotman’s Initiative for Women in Business, and is the Faculty Chair for the Impact and Nexus consulting teams.
In the public realm, she served on advisory committees for ministries, co-chaired Canada’s first women-only trade mission to Japan, and was on the advisory board for UN Women in Canada. Additionally, she serves as a corporate director at EllisDon, one of Canada’s largest construction companies, and on several non-profit boards.
Target Audience
This Global Practicum is focusing on Social Impact Investments in Europe, most notably Spain (Barcelona). Students interested in understanding how social impact investors decide on their investment strategies and how social enterprises can scale and be sustainable, as well as students who like to engage in hands-on experiential work will be the right target audience. This course is open to second year full-time and Morning/Evening MBA students. Participation number is limited to 25 spots for this course.
Prerequisite
While there is no mandatory prerequisite, it is strongly recommended that students have experience in the topic through:
- MBA students who have demonstrated an interest in social impact by taking courses such as RSM2081 (Social Entrepreneurship), RSM 2706 (Social Impact Investing), RSM 2313 (Sustainable Finance) or related courses;
- MBA students who have undertaken project-related courses (such as OnBoard or CDL) or have previous consulting skills;
- MBA students who have first-hand experience with social enterprises
Course Dates and Format
Class Dates: March 23rd from 9:00-16:00 and April 3rd from 18:30-20:30
Travel Dates: Arrival in Barcelona May 5th for a May 6th start. Sessions finish the evening of May 10th. Return on or after May 11th, 2024.
Course Mission
- Understand the challenges of growing and sustaining a social enterprise in Spain
- Understand the importance of balancing financial and impact considerations in social enterprise settings
- Benchmark social impact investing in Canada versus Spain
Course Scope
In this immersive Global Practicum, students will explore the social impact ecosystem in Spain. Through interviews and input from experts, students will be introduced to social enterprises and social impact investors in a new cultural environment.
Potential topics could include:
- Impact Measurement & decision making (area where investors’ perspective might actually differ from that of the social enterprises)
- Social entrepreneurship: exploring social/impact investment readiness for the entrepreneur’s social enterprise.
- Accessing funding
- What’s the best way to scale impact (vs. profit)?
- Managing the tension between impact & process
- SDG-related innovation consulting
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Before and during travel | 20% |
| Pre-Trip Assignment | During class session at Rotman | 20% |
| Project Presentation (team) | During travel | 60% |
Grading and Assessment
The final course grade reflects your level of demonstrated achievement of the Course Learning Outcomes listed above. Grading for this course will be on a scale of Honours/Pass/Fail. For situations in which students are not granted an academic accommodation for a missed or late deliverable, the missed or late deliverable will be accepted with the following penalty: 5% grade deduction for each day late.
Required Resources and Cost
A course pack will be provided. The cost is $2,500 CAD which includes hotels, ground transportation in Barcelona, welcome and farewell meals, and select cultural immersions. Students are responsible for purchasing flights to Barcelona and return to Toronto, and any tourist/transit visas if applicable. Rotman will provide a small cash bursary of $1,300 per student to cover meals on-site.
Deadline to pay in full: November 27, 2023
Deadline to drop (w/full refund): January 31, 2024. Refunds after this date may be considered on a case-by-case basis, but are not guaranteed.
Experiential Course Limit
There are limits to the number of RSM27XX range courses that students may take for credit toward their degree. Please refer to the Experiential/International Course Eligibility Specifics and Limits section on the RO website for all details.