Partnership with Desjardins Group enables finance students to learn in cutting-edge facility
MONTREAL, March 2, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Students at McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management are now able to deepen their understanding of financial markets by learning to use sophisticated analytical tools, thanks to a state-of-the-art trading room provided by Desjardins Group, Canada's leading cooperative financial group.
The Alphonse-Desjardins Trading Room is the centerpiece of a novel Business Intelligence Centre that has taken shape in recent months on the second floor of the Desautels building, supplanting the Faculty's conventional business library.
Desjardins is providing a total of $1 million in funding for the Trading Room and is sharing its expertise in design, securities trading and technology to support the facility, which was officially opened in a ceremony Thursday evening, March 1.
"Our partnership with McGill's internationally renowned commerce program highlights Desjardins' commitment to help develop the next generation of financial professionals and to make significant investments in Quebec's educational sector," said Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group.
McGill Chancellor H. Arnold Steinberg said Desjardins Group's generous support "provides our management students with a cutting-edge learning facility that will be enormously valuable in preparing them for successful careers in today's financial-services sector."
Desautels' Bachelor of Commerce and MBA programs are the most academically selective in Canada. Around 300 of the Faculty's students graduate from the finance program each year.
Desautels Faculty of Management Dean Peter Todd noted that the new Trading Room "builds on an existing relationship in which Desjardins Securities experts have collaborated with Desautels to offer innovative finance courses. It also complements Desautels' Honours in Investment Management program, which combines rigorous academic work with real-world experience in investment management through Desautels Capital Management," the first registered investment management firm founded by a university in Canada.
The inauguration of the Trading Room, named for Desjardins Group's founder, also comes amid a year proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Cooperatives -- highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development throughout the world.
This gift adds to the momentum of Campaign McGill: History in the Making, which is raising the funds needed to attract and retain top students and faculty, increase access to quality education, and ensure that McGill remains one of the world's great research-intensive and student-centred universities. Campaign McGill's target of $750 million is the largest starting goal in the history of Canadian university fundraising campaigns. For more information, please visit http://www.mcgill.ca/campaign/.
About Desjardins Group
Desjardins Group www.desjardins.com is the leading cooperative financial group in Canada with assets of $190 billion. Drawing on the strength of its caisse network in Québec and Ontario, and its subsidiaries across Canada, it offers a full range of financial products and services to its 5.8 million members and clients. Desjardins specializes in Wealth Management and Life and Health Insurance, in Property and Casualty Insurance, in Personal Services, in Business and Institutional Services. As one of the largest employers in the country and among Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2012TM, Desjardins is supported by the skills of its 44,645 employees and the commitment of nearly 5,400 elected officers. A new education and cooperation program is now available to Desjardins members and the general public. For more information, visit www.desjardins.com/co-opme.
About Desautels
Since 1906, the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University has continued to be one of the top international business schools in the world. The faculty emphasizes the integration of teaching, research and practice, and applies a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to identifying innovative opportunities and solving problems. Desautels' exacting standards, innovative approach and historic reputation for excellence continue to attract the finest students, the most prominent professors and the most demanding recruiters from around the globe. Education choices at Desautels include all management disciplines, with programs at the undergraduate, masters, doctorate, and executive levels.
Chris Chipello
Media Relations
McGill University
514-398-4201
[email protected]
Francine BlackBurn
Media Relations Advisor
Desjardins Group
514-281-7000, ext. 7544
[email protected]
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