Practical opportunities make SAIT one of world’s best

An education can be grounded in what happens in class, but true world-class institutions know setting students up for career success goes beyond those four walls.

“It’s not just in the classroom where the learning happens,” says SAIT alumnus Rigel Raju, who transformed his Bachelor of Business Administration degree into work as a junior analyst for the real estate development company, Strategic Group.

While the coursework gave Raju the fundamentals of financial services, he says it was the extra-curricular opportunities offered by SAIT that positioned him for the career he has now.

“It was the supplementary things that really prepared me,” he said.

Among those, serving on the SAIT Board of Governors, Saitsa’s Finance Committee and the chance to co-create the Student Investment Management Trust, a fully functional investment fund managed by students and focused on teaching the fundamentals of investing, ethics and professional money management.

“Given the trust and freedom to try things — that really helped us grow as people, as students and future industry leaders,” says Raju, who was awarded the 2021 President’s Medal.

These growth opportunities, along with small classes taught by instructors whose expertise has been honed through years of real-world experience and SAIT’s impressive graduate employment rate, are among the reasons the institution has earned coveted spots on CEOWORLD Magazine’s lists for Best Hospitality and Hotel Management and Best Business Schools in the World for 2021.

This year, the School of Business joined only two other Canadian institutions — the University of Toronto and McGill University — on the list for Best Business Schools in the World.

School of Business Dean Janet Segato says the recognition is a reflection of the impact SAIT graduates are having on industry, as much as one that highlights how the school prepares them for the world of work.

“It shows they’re coming out of their programs career ready, with the technical and human skill set to make a difference.”

Meanwhile, year over year, the School of Hospitality and Tourism has risen in the ranks to a new high of no. 19, while also earning top spot for the magazine’s inaugural list of best culinary schools in Canada.

“SAIT’s unyielding commitment to student success, coupled with unrivalled industry-relevant learning prepares our graduates to be the industry leaders of tomorrow,” says James Overall, Dean for the School of Hospitality and Tourism.

In addition, the creation of the new Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism degree program sets SAIT apart from other institutions.

Leanne Blanchette enrolled in the degree program — building off a diploma she also earned at SAIT — to solidify her career.

“A lot of the job postings I was seeing during the pandemic required degrees,” she says. “I have 30 years of hospitality experience but I wasn’t getting the interviews I wanted.”

Having trained at SAIT, she knew the quality education she could expect — even more so having managed numerous recent hospitality graduates over the course of her career — and expects to leverage her degree into better opportunities when she graduates in 2023.

“I talk about SAIT to everyone,” she says. “I never thought I’d still be in touch with my teachers, but they’ve helped me so much. They really changed my life.”