Ruben Burga

About

Extremely interested in research and teaching in areas of Responsible Management (Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability), Project Management, Innovation Commercialization, Entrepreneurship (Social Entrepreneurship, Indigenous Entrepreneurship), Accountability, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Biography

Ethnic roots in Latin America with Andean indigenous, afro-Peruvian, and Spanish ancestry. Management work experience in many locations and fortunate enough to acquire language skills in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and smatterings of Japanese and Cantonese...and enough in other languages to order meals or travel in foreign locations.

Educated as a Mechanical Engineer with experience in high technology manufacturing and new business development in business-to-consumer and business-to-business environments. Professional Engineer since 1986 and involved in business development and executive management of multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams in various organizational settings and structures in Canada, the US, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Focused interest in leadership and management issues through graduate education but actively participated in social issues leading Youth Church groups, volunteering with NGO's in Brazil, participating on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Lung Association, actively working in the Experience Committee of Professional Engineers Ontario, and  founding a chapter of Toastmasters at Sheridan College for business students and leading senior roles at this Chapter and the Providence RI Chapter. Chair of the Board for a community dance company (Frog in Hand https://www.froginhand.com/); faculty advisor for ENACTUS student club in the Lang School.

 

Education

Ph.D. 2017 - Management, University of Guelph

MBA (Honours) 2007, Bryant University, Rhode Island

Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering 1984, University of Toronto

Professional Engineer (P Eng), PEO, 1986

Fellow Engineers Canada (FEC), 2022

 

Awards and Honours

2024: North American PRME Award for Excellence in Research (COIL as an innovation in teaching and learning)

2023: Global PRME Faculty Recognition Award for advancing sustainability practices and responsible management education through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

2019: Paul MacPherson Teaching Award of Excellence, Gordon S. Lang School of Business & Economics

2018: College of Business & Economics D.F. Forster Doctoral Award nominee

2017: Certificate of Appreciation from Aim2Flourish at the Fourth Global Forum 2017, Aim2Flourish & Case Western University Fowler Center for Business

2017: John Dobson Enactus Fellow, John Dobson Foundation & Enactus Canada

2016: Winner with co-authors (Joshua Leblanc and Davar Rezania) of Barry Armandi Award for Best Student Paper in Management Education and Development presented by the Academy of Management (AOM) for “An analysis of the effects of teaching approach on engagement, satisfaction and future time perspective among students in a course on CSR” presented at the AOM Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, August 2016.

2016: Graduate Certificate in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, University of Guelph and Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA UK)

2007: Academic Achievement Award (awarded by faculty) - Bryant University, RI USA

2007: MBA Leadership Award (awarded by peers) - Bryant University, RI USA

1984: AB Platt Award for BASc Thesis on "Fretting Fatigue Analysis on Aluminum Parts" (awarded by ASLE) - University of Toronto, Canada

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Research

Dr. Ruben Burga, an assistant professor in the Department of Management, is renowned for his research and teaching in responsible management, project management, and social entrepreneurship. His recent study, “Enhancing management education: How do experiences outside the classroom matter?” published in the International Journal of Management Education, investigates the impact of experiential learning on business students. 

The study employs principles of participatory action research (PAR) to examine how an experiential course influences student learning within the framework of Fink's taxonomy, which classifies learning into cognitive and behavioral dimensions. Students engaged in action learning by participating in community activities, reflecting on their experiences, and contributing to the research process. The content analysis of student reflections reveals that experiential learning, particularly field-based courses, offers a richer humanistic perspective compared to traditional on-campus lectures. 

Key findings indicate that students involved in experiential learning exhibit significant behavioral changes, with these experiences deeply influencing their career decisions. A year after the initial course, students continued to reflect on their learning, demonstrating lasting impacts along the human dimension. The research highlights that over time, students place greater emphasis on behavioral experiences rather than purely cognitive ones. 

Dr. Burga's study contributes to the literature on experiential learning by emphasizing the importance of place-based education in teaching humanistic principles. This work underscores the value of integrating community engagement and reflection into business curricula to foster a deeper understanding of humanistic management. By demonstrating the enduring impact of experiential learning on student behavior and career choices, the research offers valuable insights for educators seeking to enhance management education through practical, human-centered approaches.

 

Burga, R., Spear, C., Balestreri, C., Boyle, J., Coasley, A., McGill, D., Ranjan, M., Sylvestre, S., Zanki, J., Jacobs, S. (2023). Enhancing management education: How do experiences outside the classroom matter? The International Journal of Management Education, 21(1), 100758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100758.  

Research Interests

Organizational Leadership and Management Issues in the context of social entrepreneurship/enterprises and viewing them through the lenses of knowledge transfer, stakeholder theory, and accountability principles and their effect on firm performance. Management control systems in the context of project management and organizational leadership. Agile and agility in project management and organizations. Entrepreneurship (student-led, social, and indigenous) and the commercialization of Innovations, Scholarship of teaching and learning and its intersection with sustainability and project management.

Publications

Management Reports

Burga, R., Denczak, A., Sweeney, E., Leckie, E., Fallowfield, L., Bena, N., Proner, R., Wylie, T., Altoft, K., Cottrill, C., Prathak, V., & Webb, K. (2022). Enabling Sustainable Development through Standards. CSA Group. Report can be retrieved from https://www.csagroup.org/sdg/mapping-standards-to-the-sustainable-development-goals/

Management Publications

Burga, R., Spear, C., Balestreri, C., Boyle, J., Coasley, A., McGill, D., Ranjan, M., Sylvestre, S., Zanki, J., Jacobs, S. (2023). Enhancing management education: How do experiences outside the classroom matter? The International Journal of Management Education, 21(1), 100758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100758

Burga, R. (2022). The integration of corporate social responsibility and sustainability into responsible management, Pressbooks, ISBN 978-1-7782569-1-2  https://books.lib.uoguelph.ca/mgmt-3020/

Burga, R.; Rodriguez-Tejedo, Isabel;  & Naim Indrajaya, Amelia, (2022). Critical reflections on innovative flourishing businesses in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Pressbooks, ISBN  978-1-7782569-0-5.  https://books.lib.uoguelph.ca/criticalreflectionsoninnovativeflourishingbusinesses/

Burga, R; Spraakman, C; Balestreri, C; Rezania, D,  (2022). Examining the transition to agile practices with information technology projects: agile teams and their experience of accountability, International Journal of Project Management, 40(1), 76-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2021.10.004

Burga, R., & Rezania, D. (2021). Corporate social responsibility in Canada. In: Idowu, S.O. (eds) Current Global Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68386-3_29

Pavel, C., & Burga, R. (2020). Opportunities for information and community technology development in remote Northern Ontario indigenous communities.  Journal of Indegenous Social Development, 9(3), 76-91.

Burga, R., Leblanc, J., & Rezania, D. (2020). Exploring student perceptions of their readiness for project work: utilizing social career construction theory. Project Management Journal, 51(2), 154-164.

LeBlanc, J., Burga, R., & Rezania, D. (2018). Evaluating Significant Learning Experiences: Preparing Students to Work in the Changing Labour Market.   In the Proceedings of the 2018 International Society for the Study of Work and Organizational Values (ISSWOV) Conference, Trieste Italy.

Burga, R. (2017) A Study of the Inter-relationship of Management Control Systems in Information Technology Projects. Ph. D. Dissertation. http://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/handle/10214/11543

Burga, R., Leblanc J., Rezania, D. (2017). Analysing the effects of teaching approach on engagement, satisfaction and future time perspective among students in a course on CSR,  International Journal of Management Education,15(2), 306-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2017.02.003 

Burga, R., Rezania, D. (2017). Project accountability: an exploratory case study using actor-network theory. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), 1024-1036, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.05.001

Aung, M., Bahramirad, S., Burga, R., Hayhoe, M., Huang, S., & LeBlanc, J. (2017): Sense-making Accountability: Netnographic Study of an Online Public Perspective, Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, DOI:10.1080/0969160X.2017.1284601

Rezania, D., Baker, R., Burga, R. (2016). Project Control: an Exploratory Study of Levers of Control in the Context of Managing Projects. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 12(4).

Burga, R., Rezania, D. (2016). Stakeholder Theory in Social Entrepreneurship: a descriptive case study. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 6(4), DOI: 10.1186/s40497-016-0049-8. http://journal-jger.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40497-016-0049-8

Burga, R., Rezania, D. (2015). A Scoping Review of Accountability in Social Entrepreneurship, SAGE Open Oct 2015, 5 (4) DOI: 10.1177/2158244015614606. http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/5/4/2158244015614606

Technical Publications

Hsin-yu Lu;   Adams, R.;   Saad, M.;   Orsini, P.;   Burga, R.;   Chen, L.R.;  “Mechanically Induced Long Period Gratings in ZBLAN fibers”,  Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., McGill Univ., Montreal, QC, Canada; presented at the ICO 2011 International Conference on Information Photonics, Ottawa 2011.

Burga R.; “Spot On: A new generation of advanced infrared spot-curing systems delivers optimal curing quality “, published in Adhesives and Sealants Industry online publication, June 2009; retrieved January 23, 2012 at http://www.adhesivesmag.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000595429

Seguin F.; Saad M.; Burga R.; “Fluoride glass fibers enable high-power laser transmission in the mid-IR”, published in Laser Focus World, 2008, vol. 44, no8, pp. 111-113

Burga R.; Tausek A.; “Control of adhesive dispensing parameters during transition from research to production environments”; this paper appears in: Electronics Packaging Technology, 2003 5th Conference (EPTC 2003) Singapore

Burga R.; “Applications of UV Radiation”, Proceedings of RadTech Asia ’97, p192 (1997).

Burga R.; RadTech Europe Conference Proceedings, 425, Lyon (France), 1997.

 

 

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Teaching

Fall 2024 Courses

MGMT*3020 - Responsible Organizational Principles

MGMT*6400 - Project Management

MGMT*6450 - Special Topics in Project Management

Summer 2024 Courses

HROB*4030 - Advanced Topics in Leadership & Organizational Management

Past Courses

ENGG 6090 - Advanced Entrepreneurship for Engineers

MGMT*1200 - Principles of Management

MGMT3020  - Corporate Social Responsibility

MGMT*3320 - Financial Management

MGMT*4060W18/W19/W20 & MGMT*4050S18/S19 - Business Consulting (Campobello Island Community Engagement)

MGMT*4200 - Management Capstone

MGMT*4260 - International Management

MGMT*6400 - Project Management

MGMT*6450 - Special Topics in Project Management

UNIV*2200  - Towards Sustainability

UNIV*6710 - Innovation Commercialization

HROB3050  - Employment Law

BUS2090DE -Individuals and Groups in Organizations

BUS*4050  - Independent Study Courses

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