KPU Community Impact Award 2024
Congratulations to the Surrey Board of Trade for being chosen to receive Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Community Impact Award for 2024.
The Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade in our local communities serve a crucial role in providing a united voice on issues facing industry and the community at large. The Surrey Board of Trade connects to an expansive network of business contacts and has been an important partner in facilitating KPU’s polytechnic and networked approach to education.
The long relationship between the Surrey Board of Trade and KPU’s Melville School of Business is important for bringing a wide range of opportunities to our faculty, staff, students and alumni. Dean Stephanie Howes describes the “relentless work devoted to empowering young people with entrepreneurial mindsets” and notes that The Surrey Board of Trade has been integral in providing Work-Integrated Learning opportunities to Business students at KPU.
Anita Huberman, CEO of the SBOT, has been a champion of our collaborative relationship and has also served as a member of an academic Program Advisory Committee. Dean Howes states that “her invaluable contributions and insights have elevated our business curriculum by preserving a local perspective central to KPU’s vision.”
From left: Rhona Doria, Event & Sponsorship Coordinator; Rory Morgan, Chief Governance Officer, SBOT Board of Directors; Kapil Sharma, Administrative Assistant; Anita Huberman, President & CEO; Indra Bhan, Chief Operating Officer, Membership & Corporate Relations; Heather Booth, Events & Communications Manager; Painting Artist: KPU alumnus, Alison Curtis.
The Surrey Board of Trade, one of the top 5 largest chambers of commerce/boards of trade in Canada, connects to a network of over 6,000 business contacts and over 60,000 professionals, locally, regionally, and internationally. They support business and attract business through a unique and diversified service portfolio which includes workforce development for youth, women, newcomers and Indigenous nations, being a concierge of connections, international trade, start up and scale up business support, government advocacy, economic development events, and member benefits. They host events that empower and celebrate young people with entrepreneurial mindsets with initiatives like their 25 Under 25 event.
Exemplifying KPU’s “thought meets action” approach to higher education, this award allows us to showcase the relationships which are so essential to building the hands-on learning opportunities for our students and for the members of our local communities.
See News Release.