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Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies. The Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies promotes interest among Canada’s Aboriginal people in the study of business at the post-secondary level, while undertaking pure and applied research specific to Aboriginal communities. .
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Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies The Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies promotes interest among Canada’s Aboriginal people in the study of business at the post-secondary level, while undertaking pure and applied research specific to Aboriginal communities.
Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies “The Chair” is focusing its work in three areas: • Research on what “drives” success in Aboriginal business: • An examination of the Membertou Model • An examination of best business practices in Unama’ki • An examination of best business practices in Aboriginal communities
Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies “The Chair” is focusing its work in three areas: • National student recruitment for the study of Business in Canadian universities • Enhancement of the Business curriculum to support expanded access
Regional Roundtable Discussions Regional roundtable participation 28 students with representation from: • 19 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities • 9 provinces • 19 universities
Regional Roundtable Discussions Some of the main points discussed were: • The overall level of interest of Aboriginal students in business • Student perceptions of the importance of business and business leaders to communities • Student perceptions of barriers to the study of business at the University level • The enhancement of business curriculum with more Aboriginal content
Roundtable Findings Some of the findings that emerged : • Need for Aboriginal content in business education • Issues of proximity and need for support structures • Need for more knowledge regarding funding options • Need for better university preparation
The Research Behind the Program • Canada’s Aboriginal population is growing six times faster than the non-Aboriginal population • Almost half (48%) of Canada’s Aboriginal population is under the age of 25 • Nova Scotia has approximately 4.2% of the national Aboriginal population (status and non-status First Nation peoples) • High school completion rates are lower with the Aboriginal high school dropout rate being 60% for students living on a reserve and 43% for those living off-reserve • 23% of Canada’s non-Aboriginal population received university degrees with less than seven per cent of Aboriginal Canadians graduating with a university degree
Why Business? Chief Terry Paul summarized the importance of recruiting young Aboriginals to the study of business as: “This must be our future! Self reliance and self governance will only come with economic independence and the foundation for this is the study of business.”
Aboriginal Youth Mentorship Programme • Business Network for Aboriginal Youth • Mentorship program targeting Aboriginal high school students from Nova Scotia • Attract students to the study of Business • Aims to enrich the lives of Aboriginal secondary students by helping to manage the transition from high school to university business education • Using BlackBerry technology the network links 30 Aboriginal high school students from across Nova Scotia
Program Implementation • Funding from the Province of Nova Scotia, Mi’kmaw Kina’matneway (MK), and the R Howard Webster Foundation • Presentations at 28 high schools across Nova Scotia • 217 applicants in total • Advisory council made up of Elders and educators was established • 7 Aboriginal business mentors
Business Network for Aboriginal Youth • The program has representation from 12 of the 13 First Nation communities in Nova Scotia as well as Métis and Inuit participants • Students divided into the following groups: the Marketers, the Managers, the Accountants, the Entrepreneurs, the Economists, and Tourism • Students given the opportunity to interact with students and mentors from other communities • Participants engaged in challenges via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) • Youth conferences held in First Nation communities across Nova Scotia
Results from Year One • 21 students completed all of the requirements and have graduated from year one of this pilot program • 6 of these students were in grade 12 and have graduated from high school • 4 of whom are now attending University • 2 of these 4 are studying business