TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – To provide professionals with the integrated business and operational training and broader social and environmental perspectives necessary to lead the mining industry, the University of British Columbia’s (UBC’s) Sauder School of Business will launch an executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Strategic Mining Management in September.

The programme came at the request of the sector, which was bracing itself for a demographic shift in leadership as baby boomers retired.

Sauder and UBC’s Norman B Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering developed the 21-month, part-time executive MBA degree jointly with an advisory council of senior mining executives. Taught by leading business and mining faculty, and private sector experts, the programme was built to provide students with a comprehensive view of the industry and equip them to manage its operational and financial decisions at the highest level.

“The Sauder School’s strong ties to Vancouver’s global mining community and partnership with the Keevil Institute, North America’s leading mining engineering school, have allowed us to create an unparalleled educational experience set to make an important contribution to the future of mining in British Columbia and around the world,” said Sauder’s dean, Robert Helsley, also Grosvenor Professor of Cities, Business Economics and Public Policy.

The executive MBA programme was tailored to suit mining professionals working around the globe. Students would take interactive online modules and come together four times for week-long residencies in Vancouver, London and Santiago.

Participants would learn from local experts and professionals and get first-hand experience with world-leading finance companies and mining operations in these leading centres for mining and finance.

“Over the next five to ten years, many mining executives will be retiring. The industry needs a new wave of leadership. Graduates of this programme will be set to take on the leadership roles the mining industry needs in future,” the lead industry partner for the programme’s development Goldcorp’s VP for strategy, Rohan Hazelton, noted.

The executive MBA programme would focus on decision-making, global citizenship and leadership. Using online learning, simulations, lectures, case studies, group projects and a live case competition, the comprehensive programme would address everything from mining fundamentals, finance and strategic management, to business ethics, sustainability and community engagement.