Simon Fraser University in British Columbia became the first university to receive accreditation under the recently introduced Business Technology Management Accreditation Council (BTMAC) for its BBA – Certificate in Business Technology Management and its BBA – Concentration in Management Information Systems.
The BTMAC is a partnership between CIPS and the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills (CCICT). The goal of CCICT is to help increase ICT-related post-secondary enrolments by inspiring young people to pursue tech and tech-related careers to meet the significant demand for talent and innovation by Canadian business and help make Canada a global leader in the 21st century knowledge economy. CCICT has launched several successful initiatives to address the demand challenges, including CareerMash (a successful outreach program designed to propagate the new narrative among young career chooser) and the Business Technology Management (BTM) initiative. In 2009, CCICT convened a steering committee with a mandate to reinvent undergraduate education in the Business+Technology area. The learning objectives developed by the steering committee explicitly referenced a variety of international standards, such as PMI, IIBA, CMC, and SFIA. The BTM is a new, professional undergraduate university program designed to improve the quality and quantity of business professionals capable of implementing ICT to achieve productivity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and competitive advantage. Ryerson University was the first to adapt its program to the BTM standards, and by now thirteen universities across Canada offer BTM degrees or certificates, with another 5-6 planned for 2013-14. In partnership with CIPS the BTM accreditation initiative was launched in 2011, which has now culminated in the first successful accreditation.
Congratulations to Simon Fraser University and its students for this achievement!
For more information on the CIPS accreditation program or the BTM initiative, contact Gina van Dalen, CIPS Manager Professional Standards at gina@cips.ca
