Mark Bridge
ACE Instructor
Gustavson School of Business
Mark Bridge, ACE Program Educator and Expert in Business Law, shares his experience with students in the ACE Program to ensure entrepreneurs have the practical skills needed to manage the legal attributes of their business.
Mark Bridge began his law education through the University of Victoria, where he graduated from the UVic Faculty of Law. Mr. Bridge would go on to study and obtain his Master of Laws degree in taxation at the University of London, England. There, he developed a special interest in the law of business and taxation.
At the Gustavson School of Business, Mr. Bridge teaches legal issues in management, business law, taxation for managers and international legal relations. Mark’s teaching puts special focus on making sure that students develop skills they can apply to business situations they will face going forward, in the knowledge that there will be situations that also require they call upon others for professional advice.
In addition to his work as a professor, Mark has been very involved in different areas of the University of Victoria, and has been recognized for his involvement by the university. This year, two faculty members of the ACE Program from the Gustavson School of Business were selected by the University of Victoria to receive the top teaching awards for 2016 – 2017: ACE Director Dr. Brent Mainprize and Mark Bridge. Dr. Mainprize was awarded the Harry Hickman Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching and Educational Leadership, and Mark Bridge was awarded the Gilian Sherwin Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is the highest award offered by the University of Victoria to sessional lecturers, lab instructors, and senior lab instructors. Recipients of the Gilian Sherwin Alumni Award exemplify a commitment to the art of education and outstanding teaching of the highest caliber. Bridge’s engaging teaching style motivates students to think about real-world intersections between law and business. As one student puts it, “I think he should coach other profs on how to teach, because he’s got it down!”
Mark began teaching in the ACE Program at the launch, in Summer 2013 at the first Prince Rupert ACE Cohort. In the ACE Program, Mark works with students in a module focusing on Business Law and Negotiations. This module takes place in the final course students work through before entering the mentorship stage of the program and is focused on helping students determine strategies for finalizing the shaping of their business and working to seize opportunities for success.
Mark says that the “best part of ACE is interaction with students – especially when they have a ‘Eureka’ moment and discover a talent or potential that they previously didn’t realize that they had.” Mark explains that the standout feature of the ACE Program is the direct support offered to each student by the teaching faculty. He describes that this “is unique and important support.” Mark has advice for students and graduates as well. “I hope you will keep reaching for your dreams,” he explains. “If you believe in yourself and your goals, you will achieve them.” For future students of the ACE Program, Mark “encourage[s] you to do the very best you can and you will impress yourselves and others by your example.”
Mark says that the “best part of ACE is interaction with students – especially when they have a ‘Eureka’ moment and discover a talent or potential that they previously didn’t realize that they had.” Mark explains that the standout feature of the ACE Program is the direct support offered to each student by the teaching faculty. He describes that this “is unique and important support.” Mark has advice for students and graduates as well. “I hope you will keep reaching for your dreams,” he explains. “If you believe in yourself and your goals, you will achieve them.” For future students of the ACE Program, Mark “encourage[s] you to do the very best you can and you will impress yourselves and others by your example.”
Interested in learning more about Mark? If so, please visit these links:
Mark Bridge is an educator of the Aboriginal Canadian Entrepreneurs Program. Many Aboriginal Entrepreneurs have graduated from the award winning ACE Program, which focuses on bridging Aboriginal culture with the key elements of entrepreneurship and business creation. The ACE program made possible through the collective efforts of our partnering regions, communities, institutions, and faculties.
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