The leading national education program for experienced directors. DEP is the foundation for attaining their ICD.D designation.

The Directors Education Program is returning to Gardiner Centre! 

Application Deadline: January 31, 2025

The Directors Education Program (DEP), jointly developed by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, is offered nationally at Canada's top business schools including Gardiner Centre, Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University to help board directors clarify their governance mission and fully exercise their leadership potential. 

Directors are continually challenged by information gaps, time squeezes, and the behavioural dynamics that can be encountered in the boardroom. The ICD-Rotman DEP has been specifically designed to help experienced directors overcome these challenges by introducing activities and processes that assist them in fulfilling their roles.Delivered by Canada's leading corporate governance experts, this highly interactive 12-day program incorporates roundtable discussions, real-time case studies, and on-point insights from world-renowned faculty, experts in the field of board behaviours, and executives in residence. Completion of the DEP is the first step towards obtaining the professional ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors. This is the only professional designation for Canadian directors recognized both nationally and internationally.The four-module program offers experiential learning through breakouts and board simulations tailored to meet the needs of directors from corporate, Crown, co-operative, and large not-for-profit organizations.

Please contact the ICD directly for more information on the upcoming program at Gardiner Centre and to submit your application.

Institute of Corporate Directors  

1-877-593-7741 education@icd.ca 

Application Deadline: January 31, 2025

MODULE I Strategy Oversight and Foresight: April 3-5, 2025

Module I provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental board tasks and processes including director legal duties and responsibilities, overseeing strategic decisions, as well as managing group dynamics and decision-making in the boardroom.

MODULE II Financial and Stakeholder Oversight: May 26-28, 2025

Module II focuses on the board's responsibility to oversee and monitor financial performance, health, and disclosure. Participants take part in group exercises that illustrate how to effectively organize and run audit committees, as well as improve their personal effectiveness in the board meeting context.

MODULE III Value-Added Boards & Organizations: September 22-24, 2025

Module III focuses on the board's role in enhancing human performance, including the appointing, evaluation, compensation and renewal of the executive team. This module also examines how to structure boards with the appropriate set of director skills and experiences.

MODULE IV Risk Management: November 7-8, 2025

In Module IV, participants integrate their learning across the four modules by employing an enterprise risk management framework that helps directors identify and prioritize the wide range of issues influencing their organizations. Some of the specific risks and issues include mergers and acquisitions, technology investments, operations crises, finance irregularities, human capital failures and governance breakdowns.

ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program (DEP) Diversity Scholarship  

The ICD-Rotman DEP Diversity Scholarship aims to facilitate the development of a diverse representation in boardrooms across all sectors of the Canadian economy by providing access to governance education, to advance and strengthen directors' contributions to Canada's boardrooms and beyond.

This scholarship program allows underrepresented individuals to gain a strong governance education through Canada's leading director education program, the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program (DEP). Preference is given to those who demonstrate a financial need and belong to one of the following groups: women, Indigenous Peoples, people with visible or invisible/episodic disabilities, members of racialized communities, and those who identify as 2SLGBTQI+ .

Click here for additional information on the scholarship, application, and review process. 

The scholarship program has been made possible by the Institute of Corporate Directors, Rotman School of Management, and its network of partner business schools across Canada.

Tuition

Full details about the program, eligibility requirements, fees and registration can be found at the Institute of Corporate Directors website.

Faculty

Modules are taught by leading faculty of prominent business schools, some of Canada's most experienced directors, and leading governance experts.

Richard Powers - DEP St. John's Academic Director