JW Marriott in the Edmonton Ice District. Amanda Erickson/The Griff.

The MacEwan school of business hosted its annual conference on Jan. 23.

Instead of bundling up to rush to class on one of the coldest days of the month on Jan. 23, many of MacEwan’s business students were primping for a day filled with panels, networking, and most importantly, some free food. The MacEwan Business Student Conference (BSC) held at the J.W. Marriott in Edmonton’s Ice District allows MacEwan’s business students to network with professionals and soak up career advice. The event is planned and hosted by MacEwan’s school of business.

The conference offers a break from the mundane and turns a Friday into a $25 crash course in networking, but it costs students time, money, and lecture hours. Do students feel the conference is worth such a cost? 

Clark Mepa has attended the conference three years in a row. “There is no other similar conference or experience that you can get at this price point,” he says. “It’s nice, because obviously, you can see that the school of business is trying. They are trying to get their business students to have that experience of going to conferences and being in that environment.”

“Take chances and take the opportunities that we are trying to provide for you. Because you never know unless you try.”

— Jessica Fraser, an event organizer.

One of the biggest pressures placed on business students is networking, an often-dreaded side-effect of being in the business world, but Mepa highlights how networking at the BSC is different from other events. “Students have the ability to talk and see their professors in a different light and a different environment that feels like they’re not super authoritative above you,” he says. Mepa says that there are plenty of professionals for students to talk with.

Jessica Fraser, the event organizer, says, “I think it is a really unique opportunity to have some alternate perspectives on topics necessarily not covered in class.”

While some professors don’t cancel class for the event, Ting Cao does every year to motivate students to attend the conference without having to worry about missing class. 

“Professional experience and networking are things critical for business students, yet hard to obtain from classes. Attending to this conference is a great opportunity to connect to industry professionals, meet recruiters, identify gaps, explore professional life, and prepare yourself for future careers,” said Cao in an email response.

Fraser says the conference is shaped by feedback from the students to provide a better experience for attendees. “We really just want that, again, opportunity, to be a staple, really. Something different that not all schools, post secondary, can offer their students. We’re so lucky in so many ways here at MacEwan,” she says.

Jess Kaur, a third-year student, attended the conference for the first time this year. “I had an amazing experience,” she says. “Definitely worth my time, just to get to know new people, because in normal day-to-day, you kind of lose track of that.”

“Don’t make the mistake of just sitting with your friends. As soon as you get the chance, go talk to literally anyone. Don’t just spend your money and then go sit there just to eat or just to listen — listening is fine but you have to make the step of going and actually talking to the people,” says Kaur.

“Take chances and take the opportunities that we are trying to provide for you. Because you never know unless you try. And you never know unless you ask the question or shake a hand what could come of that situation,” says Fraser.

Originally published on March 1, 2026.