Collège Lionel-Groulx comes in first at the 2011 Vanier College BDC Case Challenge

college-lionel-groulxThe best of the next generation of marketing gurus now learning their skills in cegeps and community colleges demonstrated their talents this weekend at the annual Vanier College BDC Case Challenge. Only in its sixth year of operation, the Vanier College BDC Case Challenge competition has grown from three Montreal-based English colleges to 27 teams from Newfoundland to British Columbia, including a number of French cegeps.

After two days of fierce competition the first place Vanier BDC Award went to the team from Collège Lionel-Groulx in Ste-Thérèse who made winning presentations in both languages. Team members Stéphanie Turcotte, Gabriel Tanguay and Jesse Bérubé with their coaches François Longpré and Myriam Forget worked many hours for this competition and shouts of joy from them and their supporters greeted this justly deserved result. St Lawrence College, Kingston, placed second and a jubilant team from Collège de Valleyfield came in third in their first appearance at the competition.

ScotiaBank finalist award winners are Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Joliette, Sheridan College, Seneca College, George Brown College, Cégep André-Laurendeau, Algonquin College, Collège Lionel-Groulx, St Lawrence College, Kingston, and Collège de Valleyfield.

The Vanier College BDC Case Challenge is unique
It is the only national bilingual college level business competition for cegeps and community college marketing students in Canada. This event is the high point of their studies for these marketing students and their teacher-coaches, with very high standards of performance expected and delivered by all participants. With only three hours available to analyze a never-before-seen business problem, teams must draw on all their knowledge, imagination and skills to deliver a winning marketing strategy before a panel of invited experts from business, industry and education.

Gilbert Héroux, Director General of Vanier College, stated that “this event demonstrates, like nothing else can, the vitality of our institutions and the tremendous opportunities available to French and English college students from across Canada, to learn from one another through a friendly, high calibre competition that showcases their skills and the excellence of our academic programs.”

“This year’s Case Challenge coincides with Vanier’s 40th anniversary and appropriately it’s been the best competition ever,” says chief organizer, David Moscovitz, Coordinator of the Vanier Business Administration Program. “There is now a waiting list of colleges hoping for an invitation to compete.”

The principal sponsor of this competition is BDC, Canada’s business development bank. From more than 100 business centres across the country, BDC promotes entrepreneurship by providing highly tailored financing, venture capital and consulting services to entrepreneurs.