UPEI retains challenge trophy for third consecutive year

UPEI case teams travelled to Halifax last month to compete in the third annual Atlantic Throwdown Case Competition hosted by Dalhousie University. UPEI teams placed second and third and were awarded the challenge trophy once again this year for highest cumulative total competition points.

This competition is designed to give new UPEI and Dalhousie case students a competitive analysis experience in preparation for next year's competition class. Members from UPEI's current team took part as mentors.

'The hard work by both the new case students and their mentors paid off and I'm proud of their dedication and commitment to this extracurricular program,' said faculty advisor Edward Gamble. 'Seeing the students excited about the case competition and eager to spend their weekend working on a tough business problem speaks volumes to their characters.'

Success at these events does not come easily, and is the result of many hours of preparation combining classroom knowledge with analytical skills precisely wrapped in a commanding style to present their conclusions.

Josh Hayden, a member of the UPEI second-place team, was impressed by the professionalism of the Dalhousie competition and felt that the setting was ideal to prepare the students to solve real-world business problems. 'I learned how to solve problems efficiently under time-constraints. Teamwork was also a large part of the weekend and it was a great learning experience to see how different people can work together and solve a problem in only three hours,' said Hayden. 'My team had motivated mentors and in the future, I hope to be a mentor and share my new-found knowledge with upcoming case competitors,' he added.

Case competitions are an integral part of business education. The scenarios provide students with the requirement to analyze real-world business situations and make recommendations as if they were the business executives or consultants.

More about the Atlantic Throwdown Case Competition

• In its third year of competition, UPEI has retained the challenge trophy each year

• Second-place team: Michelle Clow, Josh Hayden, Justin Lank, and Kelcy McNally

• Mentors: Allison Baillie, Michael Both, and Mary Whitrow

• Third-place team: Katie Adams, Rebecca Cole, Colin Cornish, Patrick MacIntyre, and Cearagh Vessey

• Mentors: Andrew Harding and Alex Whalen

• UPEI faculty advisor: Edward Gamble