Making a Case in Kingston

Arianne Amirkhalkhali, Jonah Nguyen, David McFadgen and Rodney Oickle are off to Kingston for the ICBC Finals taking place January 5th to 7th.

After successfully competing against 38 teams from around the world to place in the top of their categories, Arianne Amirkhalkhali, Jonah Nguyen, David McFadgen and Rodney Oickle will travel to Kingston, Ontario in early January to represent Saint Mary’s at the Final Round of Queen’s University’s Intercollegiate Business Case Competition (ICBC), the oldest, largest and most prestigious undergraduate case competition in Canada.

At the crux of the two-day competition is a nerve-wracking 5.5-hour event in which competitors analyze a business case in their respective disciplines, prepare a cohesive solution to a problem posed and present their findings in front of a panel of judges.  

“It won’t be like the preliminary round where we had a month and essentially unlimited sources of information to put together a solid report,” says Jonah Nguyen, a member of Saint Mary’s Ethics Team. “In Kingston we’ll have five and a half hours: no cell phones, no internet---nothing. It will strictly come down to us and our knowledge.”

Nguyen attributes Saint Mary’s past successes at the ICBC, and placement as one of the top six schools in the past two years to the mentorship of Commerce professor and team coach Dr. Barry Gorman.  “I think our track record at this competition really speaks to his ability to guide students in the right direction,” he says.

Nguyen’s Ethics team partner, Arianne Amirkhalkhali also credits Saint Mary’s success this year in the preliminary ICBC round and solid preparation for the finals to the support and guidance of Dr. Gorman.  “His case competition class last year was instrumental in getting us ready,” she says.

After months of preparations, Arianne is eagerly anticipating the final challenge.  “It’s really rewarding to be able to represent your school in this way,” she says. “On the one hand, there is the skill you develop from this type of learning---which is so different from what you do in the classroom. On the other hand, there is the opportunity to compete against top students from across Canada and internationally and the benefits of networking.” 

Finance team members Rodney Oickle and David McFadgen are also looking forward to networking with business leaders and students from other universities. “It’s well worth doing this type of activity,” says Oickle, “even if you don't go to the final round in Kingston. The whole event is a learning experience. Working with someone else to solve a business problem and writing a report sent directly to a superior with your recommendations and analysis seems pretty close to real life to me.”

“The real business world isn't a textbook question with the answer at the back of the book,” adds Jonah Nguyen. “This competition has essentially helped me practise making real business decisions. Once we get to Kingston, the biggest reward will be showing what we can do in front of an impressive panel of judges. It’s a huge opportunity to network that most students never get." 

This page last modified Wednesday, 14-Dec-2011 14:27:03 AST