LAC LA BICHE - After months of working on simulated solutions for businesses in specialized scenarios, a group of five top students from the Business faculty at Portage College took their class-learned skills to the 2022 Alberta Deans of Business Case Competition over the March 10 weekend.
The two-day virtual competition drew students from 10 Alberta post-secondary institutions, all competing to create the best solutions to fulfill the needs of particular business scenarios.
Again held virtually this year, the competition provides students with a unique business being challenged by internal and external hurdles. The task is to successfully navigate the business through the tough scenario using school-learned skills, intuition, financial knowledge and creativity.
Portage attended the 2022 virtual event as the returning champions.
This year, however, the college crew didn't have the same outcome, with the students from Athabasca University coming out on top. Despite the loss, the dedication shown by the Portage team was a win, said Dylan Craig, the team’s coach, former Business student and member of last year’s winning Portage team.
“Make no mistake this case was extremely hard…they always came prepared and willing to learn. They were a great group of students to work with. In terms of not taking first place this year, it’s a bummer, but they worked so hard,” he said.
This year, the Portage Team was made up of first-year students Lara Thom and Jake Mosich; second-year student Miriam Kabonesa; and returning champions from 2021, third-year student Kelly Orr and second-year student Katie Pankhurst.
Competition component
With returning head coach and Portage Business instructor Brian Thorne, the students created a plan for a southern Alberta company that operates in the energy and electrical installation sector—in both the retail and commercial industry. The scenario showed that the business then explored a move into the renewable energy industry, while keeping their commercial accounts with restaurant equipment and heating and cooling systems. The plan, said Thorne, was to create a successful, strategic, structural and financial plan for the company’s future.
The competition purposely leaves the students to fully develop the plans from the ground up, with little direction, said Thorne.
“This is where the complexity of the case comes from .... the case could have gone in so many different ways. We are super proud of our students and the path that they chose,” said Thorne.
The best strategies, case structures and outcomes were judged by a panel of experts.
Selection and training
The judging at the competition is a follow-up to a competition students in the Business class had already taken to earn the five seats on the college's team. Like the age-old business, mantra says; Competition is good, and students had to compete to be part of the team. Last October, students in the Business classes in Lac La Biche and Cold Lake campus locations, competed to be a part of the team. A shortlist of students is then made and those students receive invitations and go through a selection process to represent Portage during the competition, said Thorne.
“Typically they’re students that are super engaged in the program, doing well and they’ve demonstrated some presentation prowess,” said Thorne, adding that the training for the team is similar in dedication and commitment to a sports team.
Throughout the Christmas holidays, the team began assessing case studies followed by a two-hour weekly team meeting every Saturday after the break to prepare, he explained.
Two weeks out from the competition, the group spent several hours going through a simulated case, he said.
“We did a second simulation a week before. We got together and spent the whole day from 8:30 a.m. we analyzed a case, put together a presentation, they presented it to Dylan and I, then we debriefed,” said Thorne.
Rural education
Craig, who graduated last year from the program and is now working in the local economic development sector, wanted to be involved in the competition because he has seen first-hand how it helps in real-world situations. He also said it showcases the importance and significance of rural education facilities that don’t always get the spotlight like ones in larger centres.
“From working in the field of economic development, having rural education and showing that rural education is just as effective as our urban counterparts, it shows that there are opportunities here in rural Alberta that you can get anywhere else,” he said.
Thorne agrees, saying that considering the size of the Portage program — which has 45 students enrolled — compared to other institutions that competed like NAIT with 1,500 students in its Business faculty, Portage College has proven itself on the provincial stage again.
“We’ve proved that we can punch above our weight class. The quality of education at Portage College and in the Business faculty is just as solid as an education you can get anywhere else. The proof is in the pudding; last year Portage was the champion of the business case competition…we’ll be back next year.”
