On Thursday morning, faculty from UFV’s School of Business heard a presentation from directorial candidate Christophe Schinckus, who shared an ambitious vision for the school’s future should he be hired.
Schinckus, who is currently the head of the School of Accounting and Finance at Taylor’s University in Malaysia, gave three pillars for his vision for the school’s future: teaching, research and innovation, and community and internationalization.
To address what he called an increasing demand for soft skills in the workplace, Schinckus proposed the development of a “students’ capabilities framework” in order to help foster communication skills, learning skills, and social and personal competencies. Schinckus said that he believes UFV largely excels in the area of teaching, and cited the school’s five-star teaching score from the QS World University Rankings as evidence. However, he said that he believes the school still has room to grow and improve, particularly in the area of research.
A cornerstone of Schinckus’s vision for the business school’s future is the development and implementation of new educational methods and techniques based on recent scientific research. His presentation included discussion of his own current research, which includes an initiative to develop virtual reality software that can simulate high-stress situations with time pressure for business students.
Increasing the number of international students in the business program was also a focus, though Schinckus admitted that the university’s recent decision to cap international student enrolment at 20 per cent means that this is a long-term goal, rather than an immediate aim. He said he sees UFV’s position near the U.S. border, coupled with the school’s (relatively) low tuition costs, as a chance to further attract American students to the business school, along with continued outreach to prospective students around the globe.
Another part of this outreach strategy would involve increasing the school’s visibility, both locally and internationally. Speaking about his current position in Malaysia, Schinckus said he doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. “I want to be sure that my face is in the news,” he said. “In the newspaper, magazines, local TV, in order to talk about what is happening in my school … every month, I want to be sure that I am present.”
Schinckus also hopes to build a finance lab at UFV (something he also accomplished in his position at Taylor’s University), which would include terminals that allow students to view market data and simulate a real-world work environment. According to one meeting attendee, UFV Senate has previously rejected a proposal to build such a lab, which Schinckus said would provide experiential learning opportunities that can benefit not only UFV business students, but also industry and the wider community.
When questioned by faculty about how familiar he was with the bureaucratic challenges involved in securing the funding for such a project at UFV, Schinckus admitted that he was not yet as familiar as he would like, but had a bullish outlook on his chances: “If I can deal with the bureaucracy in Malaysia, I think I’m ready to deal with the bureaucracy here in B.C.,” he said. “I’m not afraid of that, to be honest.”
Image: UFV Business Facebook Page
