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Sprott students win the NIBS Worldwide Case Competition

Group photo of NIBS team members, coach and a NIBS judge with the championship trophy.
Team Sprott with the NIBS championship cup. (L-R: NIBS judge, coach Linda Schweitzer, Rob Curtis, Rachelle Hinchey, Emma Zaorski, Amanda Tindyebwa)

The Sprott team of Rob Curtis, Rachelle Hinchey, Amanda Tindyebwa and Emma Zaorski won the 2014 Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Worldwide Case Competition, which took place over the weekend at London Southbank University in London, U.K.

The team, coached by Professor Linda Schweitzer, rose to the top of the 16 teams representing universities in Europe, Asia and North America who advanced to the championship round of the NIBS 2014 competition in London.

“NIBS 2014 put every skill I have to the test against incredible opponents from across the globe,” said Rob Curtis, who is in his fourth year of the Bachelor of International Business (BIB), specializing in international finance.

“NIBS 2014 was unimaginable,” said Amanda Tindyebwa, a fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce student. “The competition draws out skills, talent, resilience, and passion that I never knew I had. Meeting outstanding and intelligent business students from around the world was an incredible experience.”

Photo of Team Sprott hard at work in the resolution room, equipped with a white board, two laptops and a small table with chairs.
For each round of the competition, teams had four hours to analyze the case and prepare their presentation. They were given 20 minutes to present their resolution to a panel of judges, followed by a 10-minute question period.

In the championship round robin tournament, the Sprott team was pitted against teams from International Business Academy (IBA) from Denmark, St. Mary’s University (United States) and Bishop’s University (Canada). They succeeded against the University of South Missouri in their quarter-final and the Netherland’s Avans University of Applied Sciences in the semi-finals to advance to the final round against IBA from Denmark, who took home the silver medal. Finland’s Lahti University of Applied Sciences in won the bronze.

The team spent months in advance preparing for the competition through Sprott Competes, a training program that hones students’ skills in case analysis, problem solving, decision making, communication and presentation. Professors, alumni and industry professionals help to coach and mentor the Sprott School’s case competition teams.

Members of Team Sprott in front of the Big Ben clock tower.
NIBS competitors had a free day to explore the sights of London. (Shown here: Team Sprott in front of Big Ben.)

“NIBS 2014 tested us not only as a team, but also as individuals,” said Emma Zaorksi, fourth year BIB student specializing in international marketing and trade. “Our training allowed us to be adaptive, professional and to perform under high pressure. The experience was indescribable and it was a privilege to compete against such talented students worldwide.”

“NIBS 2014 was an opportunity for our Sprott students to develop and demonstrate their abilities in analysis, strategy, innovation, international business, presentation, thinking on their feet, and projecting professionalism, all of this while under great pressure and scrutiny,” said coach Linda Schweitzer, associate dean, research and external, and associate professor of management and strategy.

This year’s gold medal builds on the Sprott School’s past wins at the NIBS Worldwide Case Competition. Last year, the Sprott School brought home the bronze medal and silver in 2012.

Next year, the world will come to Ottawa. The Sprott School of Business was announced as the host of the 2015 NIBS Worldwide Case Competition.