DeGroote students win top business school competitions

DeGroote students won the MBA Games for the second year in a row. The largest business school competition in Canada featured more than 550 MBA students from 17 business schools across Canada.


DeGroote School of Business undergraduate and graduate students won a school record of 17 trophies at national competitions this January, competing against more than 1,000 students from business schools across Canada in academic case competitions, athletic challenges and debates.

These competitions are waypost events for business school students, which expose them to diverse problems and encourage them to consider the wider social implications of business projects.

MBA Games 2020

For the second year in a row, DeGroote won the MBA Games. The largest business school competition in Canada was hosted in Hamilton this year.

More than  550 MBA students from 17 business schools across Canada participated in academic, athletic and spirit challenges. The DeGroote team, led by co-chairs Olivia Allega and Alexandra Beran, took home the coveted Queen’s Cup as the top overall school.

“The MBA Games is such a great opportunity for students to connect with hundreds of MBA colleagues from across the country and put their skills to the test across the various competitions,” said Beran.

The MBA Games are more than a business school competition. The theme for this year’s MBA Games was Business with Purpose, expanding on the scope of the cases and challenges to address impact that is socially beneficial for business and society.

With this in mind, competitors raised almost $60,000 for Empowerment Squared. Empowerment Squared is a Canadian charity that works with youth and communities to effect sustainable change through education, social development, and lifelong learning opportunities.

Fundraising for this charity was a component of this year’s spirit competition, which also included challenges in dance, video, and a mystery event. DeGroote placed first-overall in the spirit competition.

As the host business school and city, this event would not have been possible without the incredible competitors, volunteers, judges, McMaster staff, vendors, agency partners, sponsors, and Empowerment Squared.

John Molson MBA International Case Competition

John Molson DeGroote MBA teamJohn Molson MBA team, from left to right: Stephanie Ebreo, Alexandra Beran, coach Milena Head, Nicole Verni and Annette Szeliga.

The John Molson MBA International Case Competition is the largest case competition that is open to top business schools worldwide. More than 36 teams competed across 10 countries.

The round-robin tournament consists of seven unpublished business cases. The final round of the week was a live case presentation by a major company, which presented a real-life business challenge that MBA students are to solve.

DeGroote’s team won all of its first round cases, making them division champions. And they won the spirit award for exemplary team work and competitive spirit.

“The countless hours spent practising with this stellar team taught me that there is a solution to any problem out there, it’s just about remaining open, being creative yet realistic, trusting your teammates and knowing when to take a step back to let others lead,” said Stephanie Ebreo.

“This team did a phenomenal job leaning in to some really tough cases and leveraging our business acumen and industry knowledge to come up with some memorable and impactful solutions — and all within 3 hours!”

JDC Central (JDCC) Business Competition

JDCC 2020 Business School Competitors“JDCC is an experiential learning opportunity that strives to push students beyond their limits. It requires every single delegate to not only master their specific category, but to exercise their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills to a degree that can never be tested in the classroom,” says JDCC Co-Captain Jeremy Gregory.

JDCC is the premier undergraduate business school competition in Central Canada, with more than 500 students from 11 business schools participating this year at Brock University.

Students competed in academic cases across nine disciplines, as well as in sports, social, and charity events.

Academic cases required students to resolve a case in three hours, with no external research, before making a 20-minute presentation to a panel of judges. DeGroote students won six trophies this year.

Co-captains Jeremy Gregory and Phillip Liu demanded excellence of themselves and their fellow delegates, pushing them to apply the concepts they learned in the classroom to solve real world problems.

“We were required to exercise our emotional intelligence and people management skills at a scope that is difficult to replicate in other student-leadership positions,” Gregory and Liu said.

“We are forever grateful for the opportunity to work with a stellar group of students. They demanded excellence from us and themselves.”

Battle on Bay

Battle on Bay teamBattle on Bay team: (L-R) Thomas Hankins, Owen Angus-Yamada, Eric Mason and Owen Marshall.

A team of four students were up against the brightest finance minds in the province at Battle on Bay.

Over three days, students use their problem solving, communication, and financial skills to solve real-life financial issues. This year the company of focus was Accenture. The team had to provide a 12 estimate of the share price and consider companies that Accenture should purchase.

The DeGroote team placed first in the initial round and finished second overall in the competition.

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