Ivey
Business
School
London, Canada
The Ivey Business School at Western University is Canada’s leading provider of real-world, case-based business education. Ivey, founded in 1922, offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as Executive Education at campuses in London (Ontario), Toronto and Hong Kong. Drawing on extensive research and business experience, Ivey faculty provide the best classroom experience, equipping students, through case-method learning, with the skills and capabilities they need to tackle today's leadership challenges.
LOCATION
1255 Western Rd,
London, Canada
USEFUL LINKS
student feedback
workload
ACADEMICS
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Pedro (Fall 2022): CEMSies have the mandatory Global Strategy course + 3 electives. All courses are interesting, extremely practical, and based in real-life cases. Most likely you won't have any exams, your grade will depend mostly on class contribution (fyi, classes have a much more lively and interesting dynamic than Nova) and assignments.
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Gianluca (Fall 2021): Classes are highly participative and based on the case method. Students are required to prepare cases ahead of class and fully participate in the lesson. Most of the times, participation is the major grading component
WORKLOAD
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Pedro (Fall 2022): Courses are considerably easier than Nova. You do need to prepare readings for the classes in advance, but they don't take up too much time. There is group work involved but it is manageable and having no exams also contributes to a much lighter workload.
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Gianluca (Fall 2021): Workload depends a lot on the courses you’re taking. Preparing cases and group projects can sometime take away considerable amounts of time
CITY LIFE
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Pedro (Fall 2022): London ("Fake London") is a very typical North American city. There are plenty of university students everywhere, but it can quickly become boring. However, there are plenty of places to explore - Canada is a massive country and the US is just around the corner!
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Gianluca (Fall 2021): London is unfortunately not the most vibrant city of Canada. There are some cool cafes and some bars/clubs. The distances are sometimes very difficult to manage, to fully appreciate the city a car would be needed.
CEMS Life
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Pedro (Fall 2022): The CEMS community was very close and I made friendships for life. The CEMS Office at Ivey was also impecable - they organized an amazing Block Seminar and hangouts throughout the semester. We were around 35 students, so that helped with the closeness. However, don't expect a very active CEMS Club - organize your own trips with your friends or go solo travel! All weekends count!
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Gianluca (Fall 2021): My cohort was really small (approx. 13/14 exchange students) and CEMS life was really hindered by the pandemic. Despite this we bonded a lot with the exchange students and always had something organized to do among us
HOUSing
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Pedro (Fall 2022): For the first time in years, the Marq ended rentals to exchange students, which made finding housing more difficult. Look for housing in advance, through private rentals and the website "Nextdoor". I recommend living around the Masonville area (a lot of things there and its close to campus). Avoid downtown, it's not safe and nightlife is not what it is in Europe. Plus, the bus takes you anywhere!
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Gianluca (Fall 2021): Housing on campus was not allowed for graduate students/exchange. We opted for rooms at The Marq
PRIce of one beer
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Pedro (Fall 2022): In general, costs are lower than Europe and even Lisbon. Certain things will feel expensive, but in general it was not a pricey exchange semester. I was paying around 500€ for my room (massive area with everything included) and groceries were cheaper than Portugal. However, traveling is not cheap (no Ryanair in North America) and alcohol is also more expensive than in Lisbon.
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Gianluca (Fall 2021): Costs vary a lot. If compared to a major European city we can say that prices are lower. A beer usually can cost between 3 and 6 Canadian dollars
testimonies
Gianluca (Fall 2021)
Ivey was a great to experience the North American lifestyle, and London proved to be a great location to travel around Canada and the US
Pedro (Fall 2022)
Without a doubt, the best 4 months of my life! Many eye-openers, amazing people and an amazing country. You'll never run out of things to do and you'll have the full CEMS experience, academically and personally!