Alice Park is an MSc CEMS ’22 candidate who participated in the Ivey MSc International Business Case Competition, held virtually April 8-9. In the article below, she writes about her experience with the competition, which challenged MSc students in the International Business (IB) stream to analyze two cases focused on companies’ real-time problems related to international growth. One of the case writers, Phillip Nell, was a surprise guest at the finalist round and provided an update to the students on what the company in his case decided.
Congratulations to the winning team, Ivey Kingpins, made up of Laura Davies, Gigi Huang, Sean Leschak Klugman, and Craig Rozell.
Finalists included:
- Risky Business – Jared Bell, Daniel Lewis, Antonio Manzo, Cristina Salvati, and Paul Sung;
- Blue Ocean – Andrei Bojinca, Shumin Hao, Matthew Plut, Yujia Xu, and Henry Zhou; and,
- Green Beans – Hala Al Jamal, Erica McCully, Manasvi Narolia, Ava Sun, and Hao Zhang.
My first case competition at Ivey
When I first found out we had a two-day case competition in April, I thought to myself, But we JUST finished our essentials projects! I’ll admit it – I was feeling burned out from final presentations, exams, and papers, and disheartened about the third lockdown beginning. At 7:45 a.m. on Day 1 of the competition, I hopped onto the Zoom meeting feeling tired and apprehensive about the next two days. However, after having finished the competition and reflected on my experience, I’m pleased to say that those 48 hours reaffirmed my passion for business.
When the teams were first released, I was surprised to find that I hadn’t worked with any of my new group members yet. By the end of those two days, though, I felt much closer to my peers. My experience with my teammates highlighted one of my favourite parts of this program: the diversity. We all had different undergraduate backgrounds and unique perspectives and complemented each others’ strengths and weaknesses. I was impressed at how, in two short days, my team demonstrated cohesion in analyzing two cases, brainstorming solutions, and crafting presentations!
Putting course learnings into action
After reading the first case, my attitude changed from I’m too tired for this to Let’s solve this. On Day 1, I found the case had a heavy focus on concepts from our Internationalization course. On Day 2, I felt the case was more holistic and covered learnings from all of our courses this semester. While I enjoyed dissecting both cases, I particularly liked our second case, DCS Plus: Romanian Firm Goes International, as it allowed me to reflect on how much I’ve learned in these past four months. As a student with a background in science, I questioned how well I would integrate into Ivey with no prior exposure to business. The case competition acted like a progress-checkpoint for me. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned over the two days and the skills I’ve gained in approaching complex business problems. Four months in, I can confidently say that I’m in the right program. While meeting with my team to discuss the cases and our game plan, I realized how much I enjoy working in teams and problem-solving. I honestly had fun in the high-pressure atmosphere, working to put our presentation together and meet the tight deadline!
Creative solutions unveiled
As I logged onto the Zoom session on Day 2 for the finalist round, I was both excited and nervous. Although my team did not make it to the final round, I had an incredible experience working with and getting to know every one of my teammates. While watching the finalists present their solutions, I was both humbled and impressed by my peers! All the finalists presented solutions that were both practical and analytically sound. The creativity in their solutions was further accentuated by their aesthetic slide decks. I was captivated by each team’s presentation and can imagine the difficulty the judges faced in selecting a winning team. When the winner was announced, it was heartwarming to see the support that everyone in this cohort has for one another. Group chats were being flooded with congratulatory messages to the winners, finalists, and to all participants!
Overall, I am delighted with how much I have gained from the 48-hour case competition. I have been able to reflect on my learnings this semester and I realized just how supportive the IB & CEMS ’22 cohort is. It’s a privilege to be a part of this community, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to engage with and hopefully meet the rest of my peers in person throughout the rest of the MSc program.