It was a weekend of drama and marketing creativity as twenty-two teams of business students from colleges across Canada battled it out at the 5th annual 2010 Vanier College BDC Case Challenge on February 13-14, in Montreal! Competing teams had three hours to analyze a business problem, prepare a viable marketing plan and present it before a panel of judges. After two days of mounting excitement and imaginative presentations, the first place Gold Medal went to the St-Lawrence College (Kingston) team of Stephanie Dowhy, Brook Johnston and Allison Townsend with coach Keith Tuckwell. Champlain College (Saint Lambert) took the Silver, and Algonquin College, earned Bronze. Three other three teams also made it to the finals: Vanier College, Collège Lionel Groulx and Sheridan College.
“Case competitions are normally held only at the university level,” explains David Moscovitz. “So the Vanier challenge is a unique opportunity for college and cegep students to meet other business students from across the country; do some networking and develop friendships.”
The Vanier College BDC Case Challenge began five years ago with only three competing cegeps. Since then it has grown to become the premier national bilingual case competition with a waiting list of new colleges wanting to compete. The development and growth of this prestigious event has been possible thanks to Vanier’s partnerships with business and government organizations. In particular, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has been a supporter of this competition since its inception and its principal sponsor.
“The case challenge is a wonderful example of how Vanier in collaboration with an organization such as BDC creates hands-on experiences for students that can motivate them in their educational and career pursuits,” states Michael Sendbuehler, Vanier Dean of Career and Technical Programs.
This year teams came from Quebec, Ontario, the Maritimes and Alberta. The 2010 competitors were Vanier College, Dawson College, John Abbott College, Champlain College (St-Lambert), Collège Lionel-Groulx, Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Joliette, Cégep André Laurendeau, and Collège Rosemont, from Québec; Centennial College, Seneca College, Algonquin College, St Lawrence College (Cornwall), St Lawrence College (Kingston), Sheridan College, Mohawk College, Georgian College, Niagara College, Humber College, Durham College from Ontario; New Brunswick Community College and Nova Scotia Community College from the Maritimes; and the J.R. Shaw School of Business, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology from Alberta.
The competition is open to students in their 2nd or 3rd year Marketing/Business Administration program. Competing teams have three hours to analyze a business problem they have never seen before, create a Power Point presentation then present a realistic marketing plan to a panel of judges of experts from business, industry, and education. Teams are judged on the practicality of their plans and the quality of their presentations. The presentations can be in English or French, and must be exactly eighteen to twenty minutes in length.
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