June 21, 2024 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Lakehead University in Canada and Northumbria University in the United Kingdom have launched a new international dual degree for students in their respective business programs.

The new collaboration between Lakehead’s Faculty of Business Administration and Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School will provide an opportunity for students to develop international connections and global skills through a year-long exchange while earning two degrees in four years.

Dr. David Richards, Dean of Lakehead’s Faculty of Business Administration said:

“We are very excited about adding Northumbria as an international dual degree program partner. Our partnership is a testament to our institutions’ shared mission to provide students with opportunities that develop intercultural competencies and global skills that are desired by employers.”

Social mobility is a key part of Northumbria’s strategic ambition and the partnership with Lakehead will make study abroad accessible to even more students – regardless of background.

Dr. Liz Cunningham, from Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School, said:

“BA (Hons) Business Management is one of the largest programs offered by Newcastle Business School. Students on the program come from a wide range of backgrounds, with a significant number having widening participation characteristics. The opportunity to study abroad is a transformational experience for such students and the dual degree partnership with Lakehead is a really exciting addition to the Study Abroad portfolio offered to them."

Alejandra Vicencio, Head of International Mobility at Northumbria, added:

“Canada is a highly sought after destination for our students on study abroad, and the dual degree with Lakehead University is a fantastic opportunity. At the same time, we are really looking forward to welcoming Lakehead students to Northumbria.

Students who successfully complete the program from Lakehead University will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Management from Northumbria and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from Lakehead.

Students from Northumbria will earn a Bachelor of Administration from Lakehead and Bachelor of Arts in Business and Management from Northumbria.

All students will be required to complete an international exchange in third-year.

“We are thankful to the faculty, deans, and colleagues who have contributed to the success of this partnership,” said James Aldridge, Vice-Provost International at Lakehead. “On behalf of Lakehead, we look forward to welcoming students from Northumbria to Canada.”

The Faculty of Business Administration at Lakehead University is AACSB and CPA accredited. Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University is accredited by AACSB and AACSB Accounting, and is EPAS accredited through EFMD.

More information about the new dual degree program can be found at www.lakeheadu.ca/internationaldualdegree.

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Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has nine faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked in THE’s 2024 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

Northumbria is a research-intensive university that unlocks potential for all, changing lives regionally, nationally and internationally. Two thirds of Northumbria's undergraduate students come from the North East region and go into employment in the region when they graduate, demonstrating Northumbria's significant contribution to social mobility and levelling up in the North East of England. Find out more about us at www.northumbria.ac.uk.

Enactus Lakehead represented Lakehead University’s Thunder Bay campus at the Enactus Canada Central Region Regional Exposition in Mississauga on March 7 and 8. A team from the Orillia campus also participated this year for the first time.

Each year, Enactus Canada runs a series of regional and national expositions allowing teams to display their work from the past academic year. Enactus Lakehead was recognized as the runner-up in the TD-Entrepreneurship Challenge, an award last won by Enactus Lakehead in 2019.

This year, the team developed a new project called Brain Blitz, which focuses on educating high school and university students on the basics of entrepreneurship and soft skills through numerous activities such as speaker series, soft skills workshops, and hackathons. Enactus Lakehead would like to thank all the students who participated in these events and the faculty and staff who supported our activities! In total, since starting this project in June 2023, Enactus Lakehead impacted over 580 students.

Thanks to many different sponsors, four different competitions were run. The team participated in the Desjardins Youth Empowerment Challenge, TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, and the Innovation and Impact Challenge Powered by Enactus Alumni. At the regional exposition, 29 teams competed for the title of regional champion in their given challenge.

Before the competition, our team ran a Pre-Regionals Community Showcase that was attended by numerous entrepreneurship mentors from across Thunder Bay. The showcase provided the team with valuable practice and feedback on their presentation.

Thanks to all this practice, Enactus Lakehead was recognized as the Runner-Up in the TD-Entrepreneurship Challenge, an award not won by Enactus Lakehead since 2019. Morgan Gordon, the project manager of Brain Blitz, expressed, “it is amazing to be recognized for our hard work and dedication to serving the student community of Lakehead University.”

At the regional exposition, the team also had the opportunity to network with upwards of 1,400 other university students with the same goal.

The Thunder Bay Enactus team will be traveling to the Enactus Canada National Exposition in May to compete with the same project, with the goal of being crowned National Champion, and the honour of representing Canada in the World Cup!

Enactus Lakehead would like to thank all the students, faculty, and staff who have volunteered numerous hours to advise and assist the team throughout all of its activities. Without the support of these individuals as well as our sponsors, inspirational trips like these would not be possible!