University of Toronto - Dean Roger Martin Forum

Question

Hi folks - I attended an event at UofT yesterday .. quite decently put together.

Happy to do a summary if folks have any interest. Havent seen any interest in Canadian schools and hence thought I would put it out there.

The forum for lack of a better word was hosted by University of Toronto and headlined with the presence of their Dean Roger Martin. Martin recently completed 10 years as the Dean and was reappointed for another 5 years (or so I believe)

He spoke for about 45 minutes on various topics and then entertained questions for roughly 30 minutes. The following are the salient points discussed (allowing for some leeway given my increasingly dicey memory)

• The vast improvement in the Rotman school over the last 10 years 
• The creation and execution of the plan for ‘Integrative Thinking’ curriculum
• The impetus on moving the brand forward on a global basis
• The continued focus on Integrative Thinking and how far down the line he sees the evolution of the program
• The benefits of Toronto as a city and the possibilities resultant from being located in the heart of the Canadian financial capital
• The strengths of the program continue to be in Strategy and Finance

My Takeaways –

• His humility – Martin is an enormously accomplished man, both professionally and academically. He set up Monitor Consulting Canadian Operations and was a leading consultant for them for several years after doing his MBA from Harvard. In his latest avatar, he has been recognized as one of the leading thinkers in business circles for several years now and his last book has been received very well. Despite his accomplishments I found him to be carefully measured in the progress Rotman has made and needs to make. 
• The progress on developing a global brand – I specifically asked this question given my long term interest in being able to move around. Martin indicated that a lot of improvements have been made in this regard but a lot more needs to be done. He did indicate that this takes a long time and that sustained investments on this front will lead rewards down the line. He mentioned recruiting trips to London and NYC as examples of what they are trying to do. 
• Investments in Faculty paying off – The full time tenure track faculty numbers have grown three fold in Martin’s 10 year reign as the Dean. The quality of the faculty seems to be improving and there seems to be a real emphasis on bringing up and coming practitioners into the ranks.

xerox · Answer

U of T is an OK school. I know a few people there, and they are generally satisfied w/the quality of the program.

fooFighter · Answer

Yes please, can you provide more info? That would be interesting. As well would you know about landing jobs in Toronto post MBA

FairPlay · Answer

Something interesting about UofT that I've heard around my company is that we stopped recruiting there because grads had too-high expectations on salary and compensation. (For the most part though, I think it's just my company's unwillingness pay to market price.) Most of the MBAs who get hired here tend to come from other schools in the province, or McGill.

I think this just means that graduating from UofT means you're more likely to end up working in finance (Bay Street), consulting, or the Canadian division of a large multi-national with more established jobs/rotations for MBAs. There are a LOT of other schools in the province churning out MBAs that seem to feed the rest of the city's business needs.

Kylian · Answer

I second fooFighter's request. I'm applying to Toronto, so I'd love any info on the school. Many thanks!

sm332 · Answer

I have added some thoughts from the session - I am happy to share entertain specific questions if folks have any on Rotman. I cant say I know everything about it, but I might be better placed than most to answer them.

Kylian · Answer

Thanks again, sm!

I also got the feeling from my research that U of T is on the move up. It opens all the necessary doors in that nearly every big name financial/consulting firm recruits there. Ivey is the only other school in Canada that comes close, and to date I've been a bit dubious about its one year program (I'm a career changer) and its location.

sm332 · Answer

Actually - I should have added this in my note.

Dean Martin addressed this during a question about 'whether Rotman would consider moving/adding a 12 month program'

His response was quite emphatic, 'NO, at least not under my watch!'

His reasons were as follows:

1. Not enough time for students to reflect on what they are learning/doing and consequently diminished returns.
2. The summer internship is crucial for career changers and even those who may want to try something new.
3. Although time is of critical importance, if you are so overwhelmed in your 12 months that you get no time for anything other than academics and placements - then it really eliminates many other attributes of a good program.

I liked that he never once mentioned anything about Ivey. Again, dignified response when he could have taken some shots at Ivey.

University of Toronto - Dean Roger Martin Forum

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards