Student Case Competition Highlights 2017/18

Published on May 09, 2018

Students in the JR Shaw School of Business (JRSSB) had a fantastic year of case competitions and business simulations. We believe in experiential learning and providing the opportunity to develop hard and soft skills requested by employers — both in and outside of a traditional classroom setting. Students prepare themselves for the workplace by applying models, theories and concepts to business cases and simulations. More than just a fantastic learning opportunity, case competitions elevate the profile of the JRSSB, showing that we are on the same playing field as some of the top universities in the world.

Simulations and competitions offer ways for students to improve:

• communication, presentation and teamwork skills
• creativity and innovation skills
• emotional intelligence, ethics and social responsibility skills
• functional knowledge, information technology and research skills
• professional and work ethic skills

Continue reading for a wrap up of the 2017/18 academic year of case competitions and business simulations.

Alberta International Business Competition (AIBC)

In November 2017, business schools from around the world gathered in Jasper, Alberta to compete in the AIBC, a U of A student-run business competition. Simon Fraser University, University of North Carolina, University of Hong Kong and Thammasat University in Thailand were just a few of the participating schools. 

Although we did not hit the podium, we are proud that Thomas Hanowski, Alex Kagel, John Perozok and Georgia Yamashita represented JRSSB incredibly well.

Alberta Business Dean’s Competition

From March 22-24, 2018, Alberta business schools competed in the 13th Annual Alberta Deans of Business Case Competition, hosted by Norquest College and MacEwan University. Our JRSSB student team placed second in the competition.
 
Team members Wei Liang (William) Chong, Brittany Thackray, Pearse Mckinney and Marina St-Gelais took home $2,500 for their efforts. Instructors Melanie Simmons and Chris Barrett led the group as invaluable coaches.

Alberta Not-For-Profit (ANPA) External Case Competition

The ANPA external case competition – organized by University of Alberta students in the Alberta School of Business — was held on March 3, 2018. This external case competition focused on solving the unique problems provided by a local not-for-profit organization.
 
There were approximately 16 teams competing from international countries. Our team consisted of Tori Wall, Vishal Vishal, Vicky Ferrier and Rianne Allen. Despite not ranking in the top teams, the competition was fantastic experience for us.

CPA Alberta Business Challenge

The 2018 CPA Education Foundation Business Challenge Case Competition took place from March 7-9, 2018 at the Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Hotel. This event allowed students to practice their case-solving skills, hone their business acumen and experience what it’s like to be a professional working to solve real-world business problems.
 
JRSSB had two teams entered into the CPA Business Challenge this year under the leadership of Kara Hartfield, whose coordination and preparation were instrumental in readying the teams for the event. Kathy Adewusi, Prabhjot Punnia, Andriy Cherwick and Ibrahim Mohamed made up team 1 and Braydon Gibbons, Alex Nish, Zarah Del Rosario and Harley Russell made up team 2, who advanced into the final round and received an honorable mention! 

Enactus Regional Exposition – Western Canada

Our Enactus NAIT students worked on and presented projects in the categories of financial education, eco-living and entrepreneurship at the Enactus Regional Exposition on March 1-2, 2018. They did an excellent job presenting their projects and representing JRSSB and NAIT. 
 
Thank you to instructor Keven McGhan for advising the student group in the competition. Colton Rhyason, Jordan Gibbon, Jason LaFortune, Graham Plomp, Nick Prsa, Jonah Tetz, Jacob Kleszyk, Alex Kagel, Andriy Cherwick, Sydney Vanstone, Jenna Kleebaum, Emma McKay, Taylor Rutowski and Kalysa Hickok made up the three teams representing JRSSB.

HRC West

HRC West was held at SAIT on March 2-3, 2018 and was dedicated to Human Resource business case studies. Our JRSSB team consisted of Lauren Kochendorfer, Aleksandra Jaruga, Margo Matheson and Cassy Sorenson who placed third out of 16 teams and won $800. 
 
Academic advisors included Laurie Pisesky, Leanne Floden, Roger Gunn, Melanie Simmons and Judy Kovacs.

NAIT Internal Case Competition

Every year, JRSSB hosts an internal case competition for students to practice their business case skills. We select a local business for students to analyze, identify problems and present solutions. The competition is open to all NAIT students, with 6 teams competing in Fall 2017. Our sponsor, Liberty Security, provided prize money to our competitors. We had many faculty advisors and staff volunteers help to make this event a success.

First place: Darish Jules Luartes, Jericho Mojica, Jaya Ruth Barbon and Justine Barcinas
Second place: Nathan Pang, Willow Shelley, Pearse Mckinney and Alex Kagel
Third place: Wei Liang (William) Chong
Fourth place: Jessica Hynes, Carter Buchanan, Tonatiuh (Eric) Estrada Aguirre and Kerri Chalmers

Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC)

RITC is a global financial simulation competition held at the University of Toronto. In 2018, there were 52 participants from countries around the world, including China, Mexico, Ireland, Australia, the UK, Iceland, the US, Slovakia, South Africa, Italy and India. The University of Calgary placed first. Our NAIT team finished 33rd, beating teams such as Princeton University, University of Missouri, University of Minnesota, University College London (UCL), University of Virginia, and graduate level teams from Western University and University of Washington. 

Our JRSSB team was comprised of Alex Yaremko, Harris Asif, Dragos Cocosila, Vishal Vishal and Jesse Romanchuk. Max Varela coached and accompanied the students in Toronto with additional help from Winnie Hu, Pan Zhang, Ellen Wilson and Jim Higginson.

Royal Roads Design Thinking Challenge

Our JRSSB students competed against teams from across Canada at the inaugural Royal Roads Design Thinking Challenge in Victoria, BC.  
 
This unique challenge had teams collaborating and competing at the same time. Although we did not hit the podium, our team demonstrated exceptional proficiency in design thinking. Nicole Binne, Cassidy Breadner, Genevieve Joncas and Mark Keeler used “Design Thinking” and “Nudge Theory” to address the issues of single-occupant vehicle traffic in Edmonton and mobility issues for seniors.
 
This team devoted hundreds of hours to this multi-phase competition, including two nearly all-night sessions at Royal Roads. Program chair Tabea Berg did an exceptional job coaching and mentoring this team.