UPEI business case teams take top spots at Atlantic competition

UPEI case competition students have started their year off “right” by taking top spots at the Atlantic Schools of Business (ASB) Case Competition. UPEI teams won both first and second place against nine other teams from Atlantic Canada. The competition took place on September 26 and was an integral part of the 45th annual ASB conference, one Canada’s longest running academic business conferences.

During the first morning of the competition, students received a business case they had never seen before. They then had three hours to analyze the case and create a solution, presenting it to a panel of industry professionals for 15 minutes, followed by a 5-minute question period. Their presentations stood out for being comprehensive and clearly communicated.

Other competing teams included Acadia University, Cape Breton University, Crandall University, Mount Allison University, Saint Mary’s University (2 teams), St. Francis Xavier University, Université de Moncton, and the University of New Brunswick.

UPEI Case Competition coach Mary Whitrow is proud of the team’s win. “Because this competition comes early in the year, students had to work hard to be ready so soon,” she said. “I am proud of both teams for putting in their best effort and earning this accomplishment.”

Dean of Business Juergen Krause is also pleased with such a decisive success. He said, “This win is a testament to our strong position regionally in case competitions. Congratulations for our teams and coach for their outstanding showing.”

The students on the winning team are Hannah Dawson, John Donaldson, Kate Kinsman and Cullen Mullally. The second place team included Erin Devine, Bogdan Belomestnykh, Bobby McIsaac, and Harrison Wood.

Bobby McIsaac says his team is more energized after this initial performance, “An early victory has provided us with an injection of confidence and a taste for success. This is just the motivation we need to continue working hard and representing our school with pride!”

Hannah Dawson agreed, “As the year goes on, it will be exciting to keep pushing and see what we can achieve.”

This is not the first success for UPEI at the ASB Case Competition. UPEI won first place in 2011, first and third place in 2012, and after not participating in 2013, achieved third place in 2014.