MSCM Candidate Helps Local Businesses During Pandemic
Gaining a summer placement through Digital Main Street was an outstanding opportunity for Refah Sheikh G. Ghari (MSCM 21’) to hone her digital skills while helping the local business community. Her knowledge of logistics and supply chain dynamics as a part-time student of Schulich’s Master of Supply Chain Management would help her to anticipate the impacts of the pandemic on businesses in the foreseeable future.
The objective of Digital Main Street’s (DMS) ShopHERE program is to help businesses through this volatile time with technology, innovation, and efficiency. As part of the City of Toronto’s initiative, 100 students from Schulich gained paid summer placements and were assigned to help Toronto’s small businesses and artists move their businesses online.
“There was a window of opportunity for linking e-commerce to supply chain and helping Toronto’s small businesses digitalize their operations,” expressed Refah. “I began to educate myself about embracing e-commerce and I even took an online Python course.”
The DMS project created summer “work-integrated paid learning” placements for students and provided them with additional training on a number of platforms, including Shopify, Facebook/Instagram, Google, MasterCard, Snapchat, and eBay.
“Thanks to Schulich’s Supply Chain Master’s program, I was able to learn how to help my clients become more competitive in the marketplace by implementing supply network mapping concepts and inventory management needs,” shared Refah.