Nathan Greidanus receives Olive Beatrice Stanton Award for excellent teaching
Asper professor receives honour at Fall Convocation
Awesome. Amazing. One of the best.
This is how students describe Dr. Nathan Greidanus as a teacher.
Nathan Greidanus
Since joining the University of Manitoba in 2007, this entrepreneurship educator has brought innovation, creativity and fun to the classroom. And in doing so he has instilled in his students the leadership skills they need to be successful in business and in life.
Greidanus has developed and delivered courses in entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability and taught at every level at the Asper School of Business, forging connections with students new to the world of business and those working towards their PhD. He brings credibility and integrity to his teaching, having carried out academic research and writing at the highest scholarly level.
He believes a good professor imparts leading theory and research, and then insists his students learn by doing. He challenges them to: create a winning elevator pitch, seek out a seasoned entrepreneur to interview, or come up with a design for an app that no one has thought of yet.
Greidanus’s lectures are best characterized as round-table discussions, infused with real-world tasks. He will tell you he aims to teach the way he would like to be taught and designs his curriculum accordingly. Often Dr. Greidanus requires students to take centre stage, certain that if they lead during a class they will forever remember the lesson.
In the last four years, he has received three University of Manitoba Merit Awards for Teaching and two Associates Achievement Awards. He led the redesign of the undergraduate entrepreneurship major and played a key role in the redesign of the Asper MBA program, which has since doubled its applicants and is now garnering international attention for its innovative structure.
Greidanus encourages his students to not only dream, but equips them with the skills in entrepreneurship and sustainability they need to achieve their goals. And his commitment to mentorship goes far beyond the classroom. Dr. Greidanus volunteers as a coach for a number of student competition teams, including groups who have won back-to-back championships at the national level.
His dedication extends well beyond graduation as he is quick to help former students who contact him for advice about starting a new business or taking a new job. His teaching philosophy is rooted in a genuine interest in the well-being of his students. And it shows in all that he does.