A relatively junior team comprised of first and second year students Tanisha Jain, Yusuf Khan, Jeffrey Man and Udaibeer Sangha excelled against senior competition from other top-tier schools, in the country’s biggest undergraduate case competition in ethics.
The Competition
Eight participating teams had one week to examine the ethical issues of the case and develop actionable recommendations to the CEO. After presenting to a panel of judges, finalist teams were given “a twist,” or a new set of facts that had implications for the case.
The team then had a matter of hours to turn back to their action plan, make it work with this new information, and deliver their final presentation.
Exiting the Comfort Zone
Committing to this competition required coaching, creative thinking, and many late nights.
“Through three long days of intense preparation, twelve hours of competing against seven Canadian universities and being grilled by industry professionals, this was honestly one of the most invigorating and challenging experiences of my university career thus far!” says Yusuf Khan, BBA 2021 candidate. “At first, I was apprehensive, as this was my first case competition. This feeling was soon put to rest through the incredible guidance of Professor Clarke, and my amazing team.”
“I was pushed far out of my comfort zone, sacrificing a lot of time for this,” says Tanisha Jain, BBA 2020 candidate. “But now I realize it was all worth it. I would encourage new i/BBAs to treat challenges as opportunities, and to learn and leave their comfort zones at times.”
Teammate Udaibeer Sangha, BBA 2020 candidate, agrees. “I would definitely advise everyone to try competitions and conferences,” he says. “As a LEAF mentor, I always encourage my mentees to just take the shot.”
“This was my first case competition, and it was an unforgettable experience,” adds Jeffrey Man, BBA 2021 candidate. “Case competitions may seem intimidating at first, but I would encourage all students to enrich their university careers with this great opportunity. You’ll have the privilege of learning from incredible mentors and developing strong and lasting relationships.”
Yusuf reminds students that there are a variety of competitions to choose from, based on your business interests. “Personally, I chose to pursue this specific competition as it related to a field I am passionate about – business ethics and philosophy. There are a range of case competitions that Schulich offers, and there ought to be one that matches your passion!”
Best of all, you never know where your case competition will take you.
“I personally didn’t expect to win at all,” says Udaibeer. “Most of the competitors were more senior than us – this just goes to show that the field is wide open, and anything can happen!”
The team’s coach, Jane-Michèle Clark, runs the i/BBA Case Competition Preparation Program (iBBA-CCPP), a free coaching program for undergraduates at Schulich who are interested in learning the case method. She expresses her pride in the team’s hard fought win.
“Not only did our team hold its own, it did an excellent job of focusing on the correct ethical problem and understanding the need to address that problem in the context of the business challenge,” she says. “They are to be commended.“
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