international weeks vancouver

International Week - Vancouver Intercultural Leadership in North America‘s Gateway to Asia-Pacific

Dive into an immersive learning experience in Vancouver with the University of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Leading Across Cultures and Borders: From Global and Swiss Leadership Perspectives to First Nations' Wisdom

During an immersive week in highly diverse and interactive settings, participants explore first hand a multi-dimensional perspective on intercultural leadership. They discover leadership through the unique eyes of Canada's First Nations’ People while also discussing intercultural leadership challenges of a globally diverse staff at a Swiss company operating near the US-Canadian border.

Due to its unique geographic location, Vancouver has historically served as Canada’s vital gateway for trade, commerce, and business with the dynamic Asia-Pacific region—and will continue to play this role into the future. Exclusive visits to the Vancouver Harbor and an invitation to the Swiss Consulate are complemented by expert lectures from entrepreneurs and academics to offer a broad understanding of Canada’s economy discussing opportunities and challenges of doing business in the North American region and beyond.

Facts 

Program Highlights

Some highlights of past programs included:

  • Guided factory visit and talk with CEO Vince Sciamanna at Garaventa Lift North America
  • Case Study on the Swiss Edelweiss Village from the foundation’s founder and Innosuisse Expert Dr. Johann Roduit
  • Site visit and insights on the unique business traditions of First Nations communities with a keynote from Chief Gibby and Tamara Goddard
  • Keynotes on industrial hub design and doing business in Canada with specialist lecturers from the University of the Fraser Valley
  • Reception at the Swiss Consulate General with opportunities to network with local SMEs and the business community at large
Why Canada

Vancouver, Canada, with its multi-cultural society, is the perfect place to better understand how North American and international business interconnect. Canada’s multicultural policies shape businesses and impact global leadership. 

Two outstanding leadership examples — Garaventa Lift and the Swiss Consul General’s team— demonstrate how Swiss-Canadian collaboration supports SME opportunities and creates meaningful international business connections. Their insights will inspire and equip participants at this leadership week in Canada to navigate and leverage global opportunities.

Target group

This five-day course is suitable for participants in all professional fields who are interested in Vancouver as the Asian-Pacific Gateway, sustainable business practices, negotiating across cultures, leadership strategies for a global manager, and Canada’s First Nations’ business traditions and culture. 

Start

28 September 2025 (The program starts on Sunday evening.)

End

3 October 2025

Application deadline

31 May 2025 (The International Week could be booked out earlier.)

Duration

6 days 

Course costs

CHF 2,200.-
Including course materials and tuition, excluding travel and accommodation costs.  For participants of the continuing-education programs MAS Business Management, MAS Industrial Management, MAS Wirtschaftsingenieur (MAS Business Engineering), MBA Luzern (MBA Lucerne), the tuition costs of one international week are included (excluding travel and accommodation costs). For participants of the continuing-education program CAS Leading Global Teams and Projects, three international weeks are included (excluding travel and accommodation costs). 

 
Head
Prof. Jillaine Farrar Schmidhauser 
Type

Continuing and executive education programmes

Language of instruction

English 

Provider

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Business
Institute of Business and Regional Economics IBR
CC Business Development, Leadership and HR

Remarks

Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada with company site visits and activities in the Vancouver and Greater Vancouver vicinity.

Approximate Costs for Flight and Accommodation: Flight CHF 1,300 / Hotel approx. CHF 160 per night (We have a special group rate for accommodation. Participants are required to book the designated hotel as arranged by the University of Fraser Valley.)
This international week offers the possibility of earning 4 ECTS credits. There is also a partner program available.