Sprott international business competition teams announced

Mimi Lam, the host from Leuven, Stephaine Lawrence, Kendra Thorogood and Ross Park all dressed in black and green in front of the Leuven University sign in Belgium — Sprott’s 2013 NIBS team from left to right: Mimi Lam, Leuven student host, Stephaine Lawrence, Kendra Thorogood, Ross Park.

A new season of inter-university business competitions is here and Sprott Competes has selected some of our best students to represent the school around the world.

“I’m incredibly excited and optimistic and we think this could be one of our best years yet,” said Rob Riordan, co-director of Sprott Competes and professor of information systems, an intensive business analysis and presentation training program designed to prepare students for success in these competitions.

“The biggest difficulty this year was having too many good people,” Rob said “We had to turn down some great students, which is far more difficult than not having enough students.”

Sprott Competes students have found success abroad and in Canada at past competitions, including a silver and bronze medal at the Universidad de Navarra International Case Competition in Spain and the NIBS Worldwide Case Competition in Belgium last year, respectively. Sprott students also won first place in information systems and second place in accounting at the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) at Queen’s University last year.

At these competitions, teams of students race against the clock to review real-life business situations (cases) and then present their strategic recommendations to a panel of industry leaders. Students gain skills that will develop them into outstanding leaders and decision-makers, while also making life-long connections and friendships with other students from all over the world.

Henry Wu is a fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce student in the accounting concentration and is one of the team members for the University of Vermont Global Family Enterprise Case Competition taking place in January. He said for him, the case competition experience helps develop the skills needed to succeed in business.

“First and foremost, you learn how to work as a team to accomplish an objective,” he said. “When you go to these things, you really learn how to be a better team member and even a better team leader, in some cases.”

Secondly, Wu said that delivering presentations gives the critical experience needed get noticed in the workplace.

“I think in the business world, you really have to be able to sell your ideas to stand out, and by delivering these presentations, we’re really learning how to become better storytellers,” he said.

Wu said participating in case competitions is one of the best ways to get the most out a business degree.

“We talk a lot in our courses about adding value, whether that’s to a business or to a brand,” he said. “I think in my time here at Sprott, if I wanted to really add value to my degree or education, doing a business case competition is one of those things that adds a ton of value.”

The 2014 Sprott Competes Rosters:

University of Vermont Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (FECC):

Location: Burlington, VT, USA
Date: January 8-11, 2014