UPEI case team places third at international competition

A case team, made up of UPEI business students Trevor White, Luke Gaudet, and Kaitlyn Lord, recently won third place at an international competition at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) is Canada's longest-running undergraduate business case competition.

UPEI's team competed in the Business Policy category against teams from 26 schools from around the world in the preliminary round of I.C.B.C. in October, 2014. The competitors analyzed a case detailing real-world problems that a business was experiencing and provided a written case analysis. Their strong showing in the preliminary round earned them an invitation to the final round competing against Concordia University, the University of Calgary, the University of New South Wales, Chulongkorn University in Thailand, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

'It is refreshing to see UPEI go toe to toe with such large schools from across the globe and get results like this,' said Mary Whitrow, coach of the UPEI case team. 'The students worked tirelessly and represented UPEI well. The support they received from faculty and the School of Business has been remarkable.'

'Being able to compete against schools from Thailand and Australia was amazing,' said team member Trevor White. 'To top that off with having industry professionals from the Boston Consulting Group judging your presentation is something that I will never forget. There is no doubt that this UPEI team put in so much work to be our best and I am proud of my teammates for what we were able to accomplish this weekend.'

White's teammate Kaitlyn Lord said I.C.B.C. was an incredible experience. 'It was fascinating to watch groups from all over the world present and to understand their thought process when analyzing a case. I'm excited to take what I've learned and improve my own abilities.'

Team member Luke Gaudet agreed. 'It was a privilege to be able to represent UPEI against schools both throughout Canada and across the world. I am grateful for the support our faculty gave us to have had such an experience, and I am proud to have done so alongside a fantastic coach and teammates.'

The final round of I.C.B.C. took place January 15-17 at Queens University. Students were tasked with assessing a case, analyzing available information and crafting a strategic solution in only 5.5 hours. They then had 20 minutes to present and defend their recommendations to a judging panel of industry professionals.

"The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition at Queen's School of Business in Kingston, ON, counts as one of today's most prestigious business case competitions,' said Dr. Juergen Krause, Dean of UPEI's School of Business. 'For our team to qualify as a top 6 finalist for the championship round in the business policy category was a great achievement. To win the third place against such strong competition is another great success for UPEI and makes us very proud of our great students and their coach in the School of Business."

Find out more about the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition at the I.C.B.C website.

Congratulations, team!