Student Experience

What to Expect

Algonquin College is proud to provide a diverse and dynamic student experience. Check out the highlights below to get a sense of what to expect as a student in the Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) program.

Success Stories and Testimonials

“I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on a research and green marketing plan for the Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group (OSEG) project. I got firsthand experience of conducting professional market research and analysis allowing me to use the course content taught to me. This project allowed me to develop meaningful skills from hands on experience in the field which will be invaluable to my future career. I cannot put to words how meaningful and valuable this project has been for me and my education.”
– Austin, Class of 2027

Hear how the program offers you the practical and in-depth knowledge needed to become a successful marketer, with a strong foundation in business:

Work-Integrated Learning

BComm (Marketing) students present to Ottawa Sport & Entertainment Group (OSEG)
On April 10, 2025, BComm (Marketing) students visited TD Place Stadium to present their research and green marketing plans to senior executives of the Ottawa Sport and Entertainment Group (OSEG).

Sustainability and positive social impact are key priorities for OSEG, who asked the students to study employee attitudes towards current environmental initiatives and seek insights to make sustainability a seamless and rewarding part of the fan experience at TD Place Stadium events.

Specifically, students conducted surveys and focus groups to assess the importance of sustainability initiatives to fans, evaluate fan and employee awareness of OSEG’s current sustainability practices, and provide insights to improve current recycling programs.

“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on such a project. I got firsthand experience of conducting professional market research and analysis allowing me to use the course content taught to me. This project allowed me to develop meaningful skills from hands on experience in the field which will be invaluable to my future career. I cannot put to words how meaningful and valuable this project has been for me and my education.”
– Austin, Class of 2027

These activities were part of the preparatory phase of a larger project between OSEG and the College’s Green Supply Chain and Sustainability Research Lab (GSCS) supported by the Research Development Institute, which is funded by NSERC’s Mobilize Program. The research partnership explores opportunities to enhanced environmental impact reduction and green corporate social responsibility alignment within sport organizations.

Marketing Presentations to Iceline Hockey Consulting

Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) students recently put their skills into action by presenting research and marketing plans to Iceline Consulting, a hockey advising and player‑development company serving the greater Ottawa area.

As part of their April 16th presentations, students acted as marketing research and planning consultants, delivering data‑driven research marketing plans and strategic recommendations to owner Eric Conley.

Eric shared his appreciation afterward, noting that the presentations were “very helpful. It gave me a great perspective on what my company was missing and how to compete with other hockey development companies. I learned more about search engine optimization, promotional strategies, and website design. All things that can make a big difference for my company.”

He also emphasized the value of the students’ creativity and practicality: “The students had lots of ideas on how to get the word out there and included a great breakdown of how much each strategy would cost.”

A great example of experiential learning in action and the strong collaboration between Algonquin College and local businesses.

• Connect with Industry! You’ll have the chance to network and learn directly from professionals who have a variety of backgrounds
• Throughout the program, you’ll experience real-life applications of what you’re learning, whether it’s through co-op placements or real-world projects (note that co-op work terms are subject to availability and academic eligibility)
• You’ll receive Google training in Google Analytics and Google Ads
• Practice using marketing analytics tools such as SQLITE, IBM Cognos, RapidMiner, Voyant, and Polinade
• Case study methodology, team and project-based work provide opportunities to apply your learning to the real world
• Build research skills and gain hands-on skills applying key research methodologies, including Survey Monkey surveys and focus groups
• Become familiar with a number of generative AI tools that are gaining traction across the industry, including Power BI, Canva, Storyboards AI, Adobe Pro, Chat GPT, and Microsoft Co-Pilot
• Benefit from hands-on workshops related to leading edge marketing tools such as Customer Relationship Management, social media management tools, and other emerging digital technologies
• The program prepares you to write the Public Relations Knowledge (PRK) exam. This exam tests the overall grasp of concepts and procedures most commonly used in the day-to-day life of junior PR and communication professionals and acts as a resumé builder for new graduates and junior professionals

Competitions

Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) program hosts inaugural Sales Case Competition with Fastenal Canada Sponsorship

On Wednesday, Nov. 26, six third-year Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) (Honours) learners presented their sales case pitches to a panel of external judges from Fastenal Canada and Invest Ottawa.

Fastenal Canada’s generous sponsorship provided students with a hands-on learning experience with a realistic business-to-business (B2B) sales case.

The six-week program saw over eight School of Business and Hospitality alumni return to coach current students and give back to the next generation of competitors during their training process.

Cory Haskins, Dean, School of Business and Hospitality, notes “To me, this is what education is all about. Algonquin does this really well. It is bringing together our industry partners to help us, that collaboration piece with our alumni and mentors, to help our students learn and grow and get ready to go out into the industry.”

The pitches were created and rehearsed over six intensive weeks, extra-curricular to their regular class schedules. Each group presented a 20-minute pitch proposing a Fastenal Canada – FastVend product to the “client” played by the guest judges, a vending machine to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in an efficient way, adding real-time data tracking such as inventory and breaking down the savings cost and communicating the overall unique value proposition.

After a very tense judging debrief by guest judges Ella Wiggins of Invest Ottawa and James Heer, Pat Logan, Josh Hariski and Matthew Pennett of Fastenal Canada, teams were announced by the Judge Marshall – Stephen Gagne, Entrepreneurship Officer, with first, second and third place. The first-place winners, Claire McLeman and Erin McNish, won a custom trophy made in-house in the Makerspace at the Ottawa Campus. All teams were provided certificates, swag items and gift cards from Fastenal Canada, presented by Emma Carrique. Competitors displayed their skills to the Fastenal Canada panel of guest judges and a special additional guest judge from Invest Ottawa.

“It can be really scary, stepping out of your comfort zone; any opportunity that you get to do so can lead to really great friendships that you wouldn’t have expected. One of my highlights was working with partner Claire. It sets you up for skills you may not get in your day-to-day, so just go for it,” shared McNish.

McLeman shared McNish’s sentiments about the experience, “I agree, one of the biggest challenges was the initial saying ‘yes’ to doing this whole competition. It’s been an amazing experience over the past 6 weeks. It’s been such a learning curve, adding all of the things that we’ve learned in our theory classes into an actual presentation, building the script, building a friendship; it’s been such a fun experience. Overall, I’m so glad I said yes. If you get the opportunity – do it! It opens so many doors for the future, it’s an amazing experience,”.

Congratulations to all competitors and learners of the Bachelor of Commerce program (Marketing) (Honours), Karmanya Kaushik, Clay Dimara, Nicholas Paquette, Austin Nemchin, Claire McLeman and Erin McNish.