Smith Business

Flexible, fully online and designed to fit around busy schedules, Smith’s Certificate in Business (CIB) provides foundational business skills that help broaden your career opportunities while continuing to work, study or compete at a high level. That flexibility makes the program a strong fit for high-performance athletes, and we’re proud to welcome six Team Canada athletes to the CIB program this Fall as Game Plan Award recipients: Sally Jones (Rowing) Dawn Richardson Wilson (Bobsleigh) Andrew Billard (Para canoe) Patrick Anderson (Wheelchair basketball) Maddi Wheeler (Hockey) Kaylee Glagau (Beach Volleyball) Smith is the Official National Business Education Partner of the Canadian Olympic Committee (@teamcanada) and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (@CDNparalympics), and a founding partner of Game Plan, Canada’s holistic athlete-support network. Do you want to build in-demand business knowledge? Learn more about the CIB: smith.queensu.ca/academic_pr… #SmithBusiness #TeamCanada #BusinessSchool #GamePlan #SmithCIB

The #BusinessSchool was thrilled to welcome members of @scotiabank to @queensu campus yesterday to formally celebrate their renewed partnership through #SmithBusiness' Scotiabank Centre for Analytics & AI. The visit provided an opportunity for the bank’s representatives to tour the centre, learn more about faculty #research and student projects, meet Dean Wim Van der Stede, and discuss opportunities for the future. We're grateful for Scotiabank's ongoing support and excited to continue building Canada’s #AI-ready workforce with its latest investment through the ScotiaRISE initiative.

While a high-profile $200-million conservation fund promises vital support for endangered wildlife, it highlights growing questions around whether private donations risk distracting from necessary public regulation and corporate accountability. #SmithBusiness' Wren Montgomery, Quinn Professor of Sustainability, emphasizes that charitable giving should not shield major corporations from addressing their core environmental impacts. “We cannot be expecting a few philanthropists, a few billionaires to donate a little bit of money here and there and then do what they want in terms of data centres, other types of environmental destruction, fossil fuel emissions,” she explains. Read more @CBCNews: cbc.ca/news/science/bezos-sp…

The skills needed to #scale a #venture are very different from those required to start it. But identifying the need to upgrade can be tricky when you’re in the trenches of growing a #business. #SmithAlumni and #entrepreneurs Aisha Yang, EMBA'24, Co-Founder and CEO of @Herbaland; Connie Lo, BCom'15, Co-Founder of @ShopThreeShips; and Arshia Jahangiri, MMIE'23, CEO of @Solenerycom, share their advice on how founders can assess when it’s time to level up their #leadership. Read at #SmithInsight: smith.queensu.ca/insight/con…

☀️ Civic Holiday Closure ☀️ #SmithBusiness will be closed on Monday, August 3 for the Civic Holiday. We hope you enjoy a relaxing long weekend! We will resume normal operations on Tuesday, August 4.

This fall, #SmithBusiness will welcome professors Russell Matthews and Anand Nair as #FulbrightCanada Research Chairs. Their work will advance research in workplace well-being, organizational behaviour, supply chains, innovation and AI-enabled health care, while creating new opportunities for academic collaboration and student engagement at Smith. Learn more: smith.queensu.ca/news_blog/2…

As conversations around #diversity, #equity and #inclusion grow increasingly polarized, organizations are changing not only their #DEI strategies, but also how they talk about them. In a new Benefits Canada (@BenCanMag) article, Eddy Ng (@profng), #SmithBusiness Professor of Equity and Inclusion, says there’s “no question” corporate approaches to DEI have become more divided in recent years. With greater attention being paid to legal risk, some companies are moving away from public-facing DEI language and toward what Professor Ng describes as “shadow DEI”: initiatives that continue elements of diversity and inclusion work while downplaying or disguising their purpose. Read more: benefitscanada.com/archives_…

While Sony is facing backlash after announcing plans to stop producing physical video games by 2028, experts like #SmithBusiness Assistant Professor Yulia Nevskaya say Sony's decision raises questions for consumers. "The decision is probably well grounded, but the PR around it could be less thought through," says Prof. Nevskaya. "I do not see the benefits at this point, unless Sony would love to essentially advertise and talk more about those benefits. But on the surface of it, I don't see anything coming our way right away." Watch now @globalnews: globalnews.ca/video/11965823…

Your team is using AI every day. But is it producing real value or just more activity? On Tuesday, July 28 at noon, join #AI expert Stephen Thomas as he shares why so many AI initiatives fail to deliver meaningful results and what successful organizations are doing differently. Register for this free #webinar presented by Queen's Executive Education and Smith Business Insight: smith.queensu.ca/insight/con…

Corporate social responsibility can strengthen firm performance, but only when it aligns with competitive strategy. Goce Andrevski, Distinguished Faculty Fellow of #Strategy, shows that companies investing heavily in #CSR achieve stronger results when they compete less on direct rivalry and more through innovation and differentiation. Read more: smith.queensu.ca/insight/con…

Smith School of Business is pleased to welcome Dr. Wim A. Van der Stede as our new Dean. He began his appointment on July 1. A seasoned academic leader with international experience, Dean Van der Stede joins Smith from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he served as Dean of Extended Education and the CIMA Professor of Accounting and Financial Management. Learn more about Dean Van der Stede and hear his message to the #SmithBusiness community: smith.queensu.ca/about/dean.…

Having a strong #AI-ready talent pipeline will be a key driver of competitiveness and resilience for #Canada’s #economy, and deeper #collaboration between #academia and #industry can help make it happen. @Scotiabank recently renewed its partnership with Smith, investing $2.5 million through ScotiaRISE to provide ongoing support to the business school's Scotiabank Centre for Analytics & AI, where students and industry professionals work to solve complex, real-world problems. Read more on the impact of this partnership: scotiabank.com/ca/en/about/p…

"A reporting mechanism that people don’t trust is worse than not having one at all,” says Eddy Ng (@profng), Smith Professor of #Equity and #Inclusion, of systemic #culture issues arising within Montreal’s #police force amid an ongoing racism investigation. "The single biggest predictor of whether people report misconduct in the future is what they're seeing right now — or what happened to the last person who whistleblew." Read more in @theHRDIRECTOR: hcamag.com/ca/specialization…

Many investors and policymakers would like to see a single, standardized way to measure #ESG performance. But what if standardization creates a new problem? In this #SmithInsight article, Associate Professor Pierre Chaigneau explains how a single ESG framework could make it easier for companies to focus on improving their scores rather than improving their actual environmental and social impact. The result: better metrics, but not necessarily better outcomes. Read more: smith.queensu.ca/insight/con…

#Corporate #Canada has a critical role to play in advancing #EconomicReconciliation, and as Danbi Cho of the Mastercard Foundation’s EleV Program shares, the strongest #leaders are listening, learning and taking action. In this Smith Insight article, Danbi, who is also a student in the #SmithEMBA program, reminds us that economic reconciliation isn’t a communications strategy—it’s rooted in relationships and sustained, systemic change. As we mark #NationalIndigenousPeoplesDay (June 21) and #NationalIndigenousHistoryMonth, we are reminded that #reconciliation requires ongoing commitment—grounded in respect, accountability and action. Read More: smith.queensu.ca/insight/con…

This Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day. June 21 is a time to recognize and celebrate the traditions, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Explore your local events and celebrations to learn more about the rich cultures and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

Pride Month may put inclusion in the spotlight, but meaningful support doesn’t end on July 1. In this new #SmithInsight article, faculty and alumni experts including Smith Professor of Equity and Inclusion Eddy Ng; Nicolle Sirisko, MBA’22; and Anthony Azar, MMA’21, share practical ways organizations can support #2SLGBTQIA+ employees year-round, moving beyond performative gestures to create cultures where allyship is visible and accountability is real. Read more: smith.queensu.ca/insight/con… #Pride2026

June is National #IndigenousHistoryMonth, a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions, cultures and achievements of #FirstNations, #Inuit and #Métis peoples across Ontario and Turtle Island. Did you know that the Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre (4D) serves as a home away from home for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students at Queen’s University? The centre offers study spaces, laundry facilities, a cozy living room and access to a full kitchen and pantry. The 4D team also facilitates cultural activities such as drumming, beading, feasts and ceremonies, alongside social, academic and well-being programming. You can learn more here: bit.ly/3RCmZEX

Celebrating the start of #Pride Month with our #SmithBusiness and @QueensU community! If you are on campus in #Kingston, join us at Douglas Library at 10 a.m. for the flag raising as we honour the contributions of #2SLGBTQIA+ community members and continue our commitment to #equity, #inclusion and #belonging. Learn more: bit.ly/4afXXBI