Sprott School of Business Commerce students awarded Sprott summer research internships
This summer, four Bachelor of Commerce students at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business have been awarded research internships to work on research projects under the supervision of the School’s faculty members. Their research will contribute to the body of knowledge in the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, environmental sustainability, and social enterprises.
The internships, provided through the Sprott Undergraduate Summer Research Experience, are open to any business undergraduate student, including those who intend to graduate during the internship period. Successful applicants receive a research stipend of $7,500. The research skills developed by students through the program helps prepare them for research graduate degree programs and applied research careers.
Congratulations to Ellena Damini, Taylor Morris, Noah Geens and Julie Cho.
Ellena Damini (Supervised by Howard Nemiroff, Professor, Finance)
Ellena Damini, a third-year BCom student, is working with Howard Nemiroff to study the correlation between investments made by equity portfolios in firms and their ESG performance. Specifically, she is looking at whether accounting for ESG factors before investing impacts an equity portfolio’s returns. Depending on the conclusion of her research, it could be determined that ESG factors should be considered not only as an implementation of policy or social responsibility, but as an actual quantifiable metric that can be integrated with other proven investment strategies within an equity portfolio. Ellena is also spearheading the Sprott Student Investment Fund’s incorporation of ESG considerations into their investments.
Taylor Morris and Noah Geens (Supervised by Ruth McKay, Associate Professor, Management)
Taylor Morris and Noah Geens – third and fourth-year BCom students, respectively – are working together with Ruth McKay to gauge students’ understanding of, and interest in learning about, the challenges faced by businesses related to environmental sustainability issues. The goal is to determine where students need to enhance their learning about environmental sustainability to have the skills and knowledge necessary to shape business strategies as the next generation of leaders.
Julie Cho (Supervised by Troy Anderson, Instructor, Management)
Julie Cho, a second-year BCom student, is conducting research with Troy Anderson for Carleton University’s new Alterna Social Ventures Institute. The institute’s social enterprise program will support multidisciplinary student projects that have a positive and measurable social impact, as well as sustainable social and financial returns. Julie’s research will examine key success factors of other student social enterprise programs in order to determine the appropriate scope and scale for the institute. Her work will also help determine the structure of the social enterprise program, its governance, funding and selection process.