The Atlantic Schools of Business (ASB) Conference is one of Canada's longest-running academic conferences that focuses on business studies with the goal of fostering inclusivity, diverse thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration. The conference encourages submissions of scholarly pieces in the field of business with awards being given both to individuals and institutions.
This year, the CBU Shannon School of Business (SSOB) was presented with the Institutional Research Excellence Award after more than fifteen papers and symposia were submitted by nearly 30 students and employees. Their papers covered a wide range of topics including Business and Organization History, Finance, Gender and Diversity, Human Resources, Indigenous Business Economics and more.
"I was honoured to accept the Research Excellence Award at the 2024 ASB conference on behalf of the School of Business," says Mary Beth Doucette, Assistant Professor and Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies. "The award was given to the school as a whole in recognition of our collective research output, reflecting the high level of collaborative work done to generate new ideas and analysis."
This year's conference saw the largest in-person attendance since CBU hosted the ASB in 2019. Not only is this a sign of things to come, with ambitions to continue growing the conference, but it also provided CBU students and employees with the opportunity to connect with others and grow their networks.
"I heard some glowing reviews from various colleagues of all different backgrounds who had been working with CBU Master of Business Administration graduates," says Mary Beth. "They commented on the strength and capability of our graduates and have expressed great interest in future collaborative opportunities, which is incredibly exciting."
This year, Mary Beth also had the unique opportunity to co-chair the launch of the Indigenous Business, Economics and Reconciliation Track, with endorsement from the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs. During the process, CBU had three papers accepted to this track, which helped foster connections to the Atlantic Indigenous Economic Development Integrated Research Project.
Following the University's resounding success at this year's conference, many students and employees of the SSOB have already begun planning for next year with intentions to impress once more. With the positive turnout this year, CBU is hopeful to host the conference again in the near future.
