Each year, MaastrichtMBA participants take their learning beyond the classroom through its International Weeks. As part of the Responsible Leadership elective, MBA students recently travelled to HEC Montréal in Canada for an immersive week exploring International Perspectives on Responsible Leadership – and they came home with more than just academic insights.
Bringing together students from both the On-Campus and Online MBA formats, the week forms one of three elective opportunities within the programme, designed to deepen expertise while gaining international exposure. For this international week, Montréal offered a rich setting to explore leadership across cultural, organisational, and societal dimensions.
Hosted at HEC Montréal’s Hélène Desmarais Building, the programme combined academic sessions, company visits, and reflective assignments. Over five days, participants engaged with themes such as strategy, politics and power, inclusive leadership, creativity, and the CEO perspective.
The structure of the week encouraged not only theoretical understanding but also personal reflection and application. Through daily reflections, group discussions, and individual presentations, students were challenged to translate insights into their own leadership contexts.
To Ceyda Kaplan, Founder and Strategic Business Consultant at CERAWIS, this academic experience was deeply enriching: “Academically, it was an incredibly rich programme. The themes of the week were quite deep and formed a coherent whole, which allowed us to explore each topic in a meaningful way. Throughout the week, the Strategy sessions focused on how leaders make short- and long-term decisions, strategic thinking, and managing change. In the Politics & Power session, we examined”
Field visits to CBC/Radio-Canada, Lufa Farms and Rodeo FX gave the week a practical grounding, balancing theory and practice. These visits helped students gain first-hand insights into how leadership is enacted in different industries. Interactive CEO talks gave students direct access to senior leaders willing to speak candidly about their own practice, and helped students explore how responsible leadership principles guide real-world decision-making.
Peter Roozemond, Improvement and Innovation Manager at Avient Corporation, said: “Sessions were aimed at leadership in a very broad sense, always aimed at sustainable business success and creating a positive culture. In the company visits, there was also special attention to sustainability and company culture. It was an excellent preparation and facilitation by the local team, interesting lectures, great company visits and overall a super fun week!”
Among the many themes explored, the session on Politics and Power stood out for both students. Rather than treating influence as a taboo subject, it gave participants a framework for understanding the visible and invisible dynamics at play in any organisation.
“That session helped me make sense of some experiences from my past and gave me important insights into how to use influence effectively,” says Ceyda, also noting the importance of recognising both visible and invisible dynamics within organisations as “leadership isn’t just about strategy and decision-making”. Peter echoes this sentiment: “The politics and power session was eye-opening. It gave a unique way to approach something that is usually hidden beneath the surface.”
Alongside power dynamics, sessions on inclusive leadership and creativity highlighted the human side of leadership—focusing on psychological safety, belonging, and innovation. These perspectives reinforced the idea that responsible leadership extends beyond performance to include people, culture, and long-term impact.
Beyond the classroom, Montréal itself became an integral part of the curriculum. Its unique blend of European and North American influences, bilingual culture, and strong emphasis on arts and innovation provided a living case study in responsible leadership.
For Ceyda, the experience gave an unique sense of joy: “Stepping onto a different continent, discovering a new culture, and experiencing a way of life I had never known before added something new to me both personally and mentally.” She was particularly struck by the city’s balance: “I was especially impressed by how a sense of dynamism and calmness could coexist so naturally.”
“Being in Montréal felt like a more European version of an American city,” says Peter. “The bilingual nature of the Quebec region was a big part of the week. Having the mixed French-British history and francophone and anglophone residents plays a big part in the region, both in cultural and business sense.”
While academic insights formed the core of the week, personal experiences also played a significant role. From exploring museums and architecture to attending a Montréal Canadiens ice hockey game, students immersed themselves fully in Canadian life.
For Ceyda, the highlight was the combination of academic and cultural discovery: “The impressions I gathered in museums, on the streets, and in daily life blended naturally with what I learned in the sessions.” Peter, meanwhile, enjoyed a memorable moment outside the classroom most: “My highlight was, without a doubt, the Canadiens hockey game we went to see—what an atmosphere!”
Despite the diverse contexts explored throughout the week, one key insight stood out: the universality of responsible leadership principles.
“Even in a completely different part of the world, the core elements of leadership, ethical decision-making, being human-centred, and acting in harmony with the community, hold the same importance,” says Ceyda. Peter captured a similar lesson through a quote that resonated deeply with him: “Every day, you need to practice for the future.”
The International Week in Montréal demonstrated the power of combining academic rigour with global exposure. Through a carefully designed programme of lectures, field visits, and reflection, participants not only expanded their knowledge but also challenged their perspectives on leadership. As Peter concluded: “Excellent preparation and facilitation by the local team, interesting lectures, great company visits and overall a super fun week!”
For MaastrichtMBA students, the experience reaffirmed that responsible leadership is not confined to theory, it is shaped by context, culture, and continuous learning across borders.
This article presents a recap of the elective week on Perspectives on Responsible Leadership at HEC Montréal, Canada. This elective module of our Responsible Leadership elective is part of the executive modular part-time MaastrichtMBA programme. The programme has a Triple Crown accreditation and is aimed for professionals with at least 5 years of working experience.
