This text is part of the special executive and manager training booklet
Since taking over the management of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at HEC Montréal in June 2021, Kevin J. Johnson has introduced a series of changes. “We made a first transformation with the hybrid formula in September 2022 and we are preparing several new products for September 2023”, says the program director. On the menu: francization of foreign students, creation of new specialties and reinforcement of questions of ethics and social responsibility.
Between 2019 and 2022, the HEC Montréal MBA went from 6e at 2e Canadian ranking in the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, which only retains 117 schools around the world for this ranking. Even if he can’t dream of outclassing the Stanfords, Harvards and Whartons of this world, Kevin J. Johnson hopes to create an “HEC Montréal” MBA profile recognizable among all.
HEC Montréal, which has developed its MBA program over the years in consultation with employers and students, relies heavily on these developments. “We train future leaders who will enter organizations as middle managers. So what they need is training that will be relevant for a very long time. »
Hybridization, flexibility, yes, but not too much
The health crisis has created many upheavals, but Kevin J. Johnson wanted, as soon as he arrived, to build the program on the skills acquired in distance education.
“Quebecers have been teleworking since the pandemic, but we required 100% attendance for all our students, including part-time students, who all have a job and, often, young children. We therefore wanted to offer them the possibility of doing part of their courses remotely. HEC Montréal therefore created Zoom rooms with 12 to 15 screens on all the walls. When the student turns on his microphone, everyone can see him. “We wanted to break down the barrier between face-to-face and remote. We are the only MBA in Canada that works like this and one of the few in the world. »
The part-time formula offers lessons on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the hybrid formula and on Saturdays, in person. The director is delighted that more than 50% of the students still show up for the hybrid courses. “Presence is required, he says, but if the part-time student needs distance, it is possible. »
An MBA is a lot of content and, above all, a method focused on teamwork and networking. And this is why HEC Montréal will not go much further in the hybrid formula, which will not be offered to full-time students, and is only moving very cautiously in terms of schedule flexibility. “In an MBA, teamwork and networking represent 50% of the experience. If we offer too many formulas à la carte, we destroy the network and our added value. »
Francization of foreign students
This shift towards a hybrid formula is only the first transformation introduced in 2022. For the start of the 2023 school year, one of the big pieces is called MBA+, a francization program for non-French-speaking foreign students.
“We have Quebec students, but also a lot of foreigners. We offer the full-time MBA in French and English, but we want to offer something else. The three key words are francization, socialization, integration. »
The MBA+ will add five months to the training. Before the start of the school year, students will follow six weeks of preliminary French courses, then language courses spread over the year. The following summer, they will be offered cultural and business visits, ending with a three-month internship in French in a Quebec company.
And according to Kevin J. Johnson, HEC Montréal is the only management school that offers the MBA in French among the very select club of schools accredited by the most prestigious accreditation body, the Association of MBAs (AMBA). “We know how to do an MBA, we know how to do it in French, we have the network in Quebec to support it,” says the director, who is very eager to see the first cohort of the MBA+ arrive next school year. “Registration is just beginning. »
New in the common trunk
The HEC Montréal MBA program is 54 credits over one year — an enormous workload when you consider that a regular student does 15 per semester. A large part of these credits are attached to compulsory common core courses, which cover around fifteen disciplines, ranging from accounting to ethics, including organizational design, microeconomics and marketing.
Until now, students had the option of doing a generalist common core or directing it for about a third of the credits towards a specialty, called Strategy and Management. Starting in September, a second option will be introduced: Strategy and Sustainable Development. “We already had a strong reputation for sustainability, and we decided to build on that,” reveals Kevin J. Johnson. Indeed, the HEC Montréal MBA ranks 30e among the 150 programs evaluated around the world for the sustainable development ranking of the Toronto firm Corporate Knights. This new orientation reinforces the Ethics and Social Responsibility course, which has been compulsory in the common core for several years.
According to the director, the so-called “experiential course of leadership” workshops, which are compulsory for all students, further flesh out the issues of inclusion, diversity and equity, which have become part of the daily life of all leaders. “They can’t miss it anymore,” says Kevin J. Johnson, who had done all his studies in psychology before doing a doctorate in management.
“Our policy of imposing on students their work team is also part of the logic of promoting co-education and diversity. We do not want them to confine themselves to their professional group and their demographic category. »
The general spirit of the HEC Montréal MBA is to instill in students both intellectual and technical rigor, but also a better understanding of people. “We still don’t understand people well, and that’s why the human sciences profile is central to management studies. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, relating to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.