The Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy is excited to announce a sponsorship from Interac Corp., one of Canada’s most trusted financial brands.
Interac has committed $300,000 to sponsor the program’s Policy Lab, which connects teams of students with a private, public, or non-profit organization to solve a real-world policy issue.
A cornerstone of the MPP program, the Policy Lab provides students with invaluable real-world experience and a unique opportunity to apply the theory and principles of policy design to tackle difficult contemporary policy issues. Students will also gain vital insight into the challenges of implementing change, such as performing thorough analyses with imperfect data, trade-offs between stakeholders’ interests, the challenges posed by a partisan political landscape, and communicating complex policy ideas effectively.
“Interac has generously chosen to sponsor some of our Policy Labs, the key experiential part of our MPP program,” said Chris Ragan, Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy. “The sponsorship by Interac will help our students achieve their training in a policy-rich environment and help the School achieve its outreach objectives.”
Interac will sponsor six Policy Lab challenges over three years, each of which will be addressed by a team of students over a six-month period, culminating in a presentation and final report to stakeholders. As a sponsor, Interac will work with the Policy Lab to co-develop three policy challenges (one per year) affecting the financial industry – for example, open banking; digital verification and authentication; blockchain; fintech; cybersecurity and resiliency; the power of data; economic resiliency; social entrepreneurship and digital innovation; or the future of retail – and provide critical insight and feedback to students throughout the policy challenges. The remaining three challenges sponsored by Interac will be co-developed with one or more non-profit organizations selected by the School.
“At Interac, we see a tremendous synergy in supporting education and the development of upcoming leaders in Canada,” said Kirkland Morris, Vice President of Enterprise Initiatives and External Affairs at Interac Corp. “For a national network like Interac, good public policy is core to our collective future. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with the Policy Lab to encourage insightful analysis of evolving economic, social, and political policy issues facing the world today.”
The sponsorship will also support the MAX Policy essay series, a digital collection of provocative ideas, opinions, research, and real-world policy solutions published by thought-leaders at the Max Bell School of Public Policy.
McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy aims to be at the forefront of public policy teaching and research, with an emphasis on developing innovative solutions to some of today’s most complex and urgent policy challenges, such as managing the energy-environment nexus, addressing the challenges for democracy in a digital society, strengthening Canada’s role in an insecure global setting, and fostering conditions for an enduring and inclusive prosperity.
Established in 2019, the School’s MPP program combines the dynamism of a young program with the knowledge of experienced public policy scholars to create a rigorous, year-long learning experience incorporating coursework, practical workshops, applied policy experiences, and a mentorship program.
“The commitment by Interac to support the growth and development of our MPP students will make a real difference,” said Ragan. “We look forward to collaborating on the important policy challenges of tomorrow. Thank you to Interac for this terrific support.”
About McGill University
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, McGill University is Canada’s top ranked medical doctoral university. McGill is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 graduate students. McGill attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. Over half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
About Interac Corp.
Interac empowers Canadians to transact digitally with confidence by providing payment and value exchange services. In helping to develop the future of money, data, and verification in Canada, security is the core of everything we do. Through our privacy, fraud mitigation, governance, and verification and authentication services, we help keep Canadian customers safe and secure when transacting. With nearly 300 financial institutions connected to our network, Canadians choose Interac products over 20 million times a day on average to exchange money. Interac champions workplace culture and corporate citizenship based on the principles of responsibility, diversity and inclusion. We are proud to be one of Canada's leading and most trusted financial brands. For more information, visit our website.
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