Marc Potvin - MA in Conflict Analysis and Management (MACAM)

I am a mediator with the Department of Defence, a job I wouldn’t be doing if it hadn’t been for Royal Roads.

I started out in the conflict analysis program soon after returning from Bosnia-Herzegovina, where I worked as an economic development officer. This is the only program of its kind in Canada, especially in regards to ethno-political conflict and I was very interested in the conflict analysis and negotiation aspect to work with non-governmental organizations.

About halfway through the degree, I realized that my skills would be better put to use as a mediator, so I began to focus my efforts in that direction. I soon found myself taking on the responsibilities of a mediator as I finished my degree. Mediating is now my job and it has been the best thing I’ve ever done.

Studying at RRU has been an amazing experience. The curriculum is important, but the most important aspect was developing critical thinking. I worked much harder and put much more effort towards developing my own thoughts, ideas, critical analysis and self-reflection than in any of my previous degrees. This degree has opened my eyes and my mind. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience and is probably the most challenging experience I’ve ever had, next to my real life experiences in Bosnia.

In training military and civilian personnel, we use role playing in conflict management, but it seemed to me that a lot of participants weren’t really getting much out of them. So I designed a process that was informed by my RRU program that asked participants to reflect on their experiences. Then I designed role plays that amalgamated those experiences. This allowed people to transfer learning, if you will, making it a more visceral experience. So participants could find out exactly how they would behave in a situation and attempt a different approach the next time.

RRU programs provide a learning environment that is diverse and mature. The people in your teams and classes really enhance the learning experience. I have come across colleagues who wonder about the RRU distance learning approach. I say that despite it being the most challenging learning environment that I have ever experienced, if you want to be challenged and want to get something out of a degree, come to Royal Roads University.