UPEI secures second place at international case competition

UPEI’s Business Case Competition Team took second place at the international Scotiabank Ethics in Actions Case Competition at Dalhousie University in Halifax earlier this month.

This year, teams from Concordia University, University of Waterloo, University of Alberta, Western University, Dalhousie University, Saint Mary’s University, Acadia University, University of New Brunswick, and Elon University, North Carolina, participated in the contest, with first and third place going to Dalhousie and Alberta respectively. UPEI placed first in 2013 and 2014.

The Scotiabank Ethics in Action Case Competition and Conference centers on equipping tomorrow's business leaders with the tools necessary to make strategic business decisions, while adhering to ethical principles. In this two-day competition, students are challenged with ethical dilemmas that they must attempt to solve. Students have three hours to read and analyze a case, then strategize and create a solution that they present to a panel of industry professionals directly after. In this tight time frame, students must work quickly and efficiently to create clear and logical solution that not only satisfies ethical concerns, but strategic aspects as well.

This year’s UPEI team consisted of returning case competition veteran Erin Devine (fourth-year BBA), Hannah Dawson (fourth-year BBA with marketing specialization), Kate Kinsman (third-year BBA), and John Donaldson (fourth-year BBA with accounting specialization).

The team is overjoyed to have represented their school and to have had such a strong showing at this competition for the third year in a row. “Having the opportunity to once again compete against some of the best business schools across Canada was a great experience. I'm so proud of our team's performance,” said Erin Devine.

Juergen Krause, Dean of Business, appreciates the great news for UPEI. “Congratulations to the students and their coach for another great performance at Ethics in Action competition. This repeated success confirms that we have a strong Business program and excellent mentors and students at UPEI.”

Case Competition Program Coordinator and coach Mary Whitrow agrees.  “I couldn’t be happier for the students and for our school. The drive and team work these students have shown in preparation for this competition has been inspiring.”
Kate Kinsman believes the preparation and competition helped their team become more aware of their specific strengths and weaknesses, “and, personally, I feel as though we've learned and grown a lot as a team and individuals because of it.”