Downtown life is slowly picking up, but HEC Montréal is reaching out to professionals who want to continue learning. With its eight floors completed, the new building built at the corner of René-Lévesque Boulevard and Beaver Hall Hill is taking shape. If the work is completed on time, lessons will be given there starting in the fall of 2022.
“The clientele of our School of Leaders and some of our Specialized Graduate Diplomas and Certificates (DESS) is growing rapidly and as our premises on the mountain are almost always occupied, it made sense for us to go settle where we find this emerging clientele, ”explains Federico Pasin, Director of HEC Montréal.
In addition to the School of Executives, with all its non-credit training, MBA and EMBA programs, given in collaboration with McGill University, will be offered there. Several certificates and DESS will also move there.
“We make our choices based on the target clientele,” says Pasin. For example, accounting programs will be offered downtown because that is where all the major accounting offices are located. But, a logistics program, which targets people who work in large distribution centers in Laval and in the borough of Saint-Laurent, could be given on the mountain, or online. ”
A real need
Moreover, while the pandemic has proven that studies can be done remotely, does the need to build a new building remain as relevant?
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
A hybrid teaching formula has already been tested at HEC Montréal.
” Absolutely ! To have flexibility, our premises will be designed to offer a hybrid teaching formula and we have the appropriate cameras and stereo systems, says Pasin. The online format could be chosen for certain sessions, for example, if the material is more theoretical. ”
But he specifies that in several courses, the students are brought to debate and that it works best in class.
In addition, he points out that there are still advantages to moving around the campus. “At home, we have access to content, but we don’t connect with new people who might help us fit into new workplaces. The HEC Montréal network is a strength that we want to continue to offer our clients, and this is experienced in person. ”
Get closer to the workplace
Some research centers, such as Mosaic, the Creativity and Innovation Center and the Health Center, will also move to this new building in the city center.
It is certain that getting closer facilitates the creation of links with the workplaces. The CHUM is very close to the new building, Place des Arts too. And researchers want to do research that is useful for managers.
Federico Pasin, Director of HEC Montréal
For example, sports management programs will be given in the city center and research will be able to help meet many challenges as several scandals of harassment and sexual assault have erupted in the field.
“How can we better train coaches? How can we put structures in place to prevent situations like this from happening again? It is very rewarding for researchers to work on this type of issue and it also enriches the content of the courses. Students, professors and organizations alike will benefit from this closer proximity to workplaces, which will foster collaboration. ”