Rankin Inlet (May 12/04) - A group of eight Nunavut Arctic College students are in Toronto this week to see how the commerce game is played in the big city.

Kivalliq campus instructor Janice Seto said the group includes four 2004 graduates of the two year management studies program.

She said the original plan called for 20 students to make the trip.

"We had also talked about going to New York City to meet Donald Trump, but that would been quite expensive with the American dollar, and everyone would have needed a passport," said Seto.

"So, Toronto seemed to be the best alternative."

The students raised about $25,000 on their own to make the trip a reality.

Seto said the purpose of the journey is for the students to experience the concepts they studied in a Southern environment.

"The genesis of the trip was a project we did in personal finance during which we simulated stock trading.

"Every group started with $100,000 in virtual money and traded in real time."

During another module on small business management, students had to double the $10 in seed money they each donated to their group.

"We had one group utilize photography to make and sell angel cards.

"Another took a seasonal approach and purchased boxes, chocolates and candies separately for Valentine's Day, then repackaged them together and sold them at a profit.

"They really got into the entrepreneurial spirit."

During the group's stay in Toronto, both CIBC and Royal Bank staff will host a luncheon and give the students a tour of their headquarters.

They will also visit GAP Canada, Honest Ed's and the Toronto Housing Corp.

Seto said the trip was set up to expose the students to finance, marketing, housing, entrepreneurship, accounting and retail sales.

They will also visit Queen's Park and take a self-guided tour of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"A train ride we have planned should be exciting because some of the students have never been on a train before.

"We'll also be visiting the University of Toronto and George Brown College.

"We tried hard to schedule a little bit of everything from the courses they studied during our time in Toronto," said Seto.