mbasociety.ca

On April 22nd four students from the Sauder MBA program (including myself) travelled to Seattle, Washington to participate in the first annual Pacific Northwest Case Competition, hosted by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. We were competing against eight other schools from the region and had very little information regarding the case before arriving. We received the case at 9:00 AM on Friday and had 17 hours to analyze the problem and agree upon a comprehensive solution before presenting to a judging panel the next day.

The case we received was on Jones Soda, a local Seattle company that had a unique product offering with both their Jones Soda line and their recently reinvented Whoopass energy drink. Having done some modest preparation and utilizing Billy’s experience from HULT we came prepared with a game plan and stuck with it throughout the day. Our group was quite diverse and we had never really worked with each other before so we were pleased with how smoothly the process went. Our expertise was quite varied covering strategy, supply-chain, finance and marketing. We put together a strong and cohesive plan that we felt confident with going into the next day’s presentations.

The first round of judging had us in front of executives from companies such as Starbucks, Microsoft and Adobe. They asked us some tough questions but we screened them well and felt good about our performance. At lunch, they announced that we were one of four teams that had made it to the final round in the afternoon. The top three teams would be receiving trophies with cash prizes so we were eager to do well. This time we’d be presenting in the main auditorium in front of all the first round judges, other competitors, faculty and a new set of judges from Starbucks, Revel Consulting, Adobe and Microsoft. The stakes were higher this round but we performed strong and answered all their questions with confidence. After our presentation, we stayed for the networking event and closing dinner where the results would be announced.

The networking event gave us a chance to connect with the other schools as well as executives from the judging panels from the day. We were overwhelmed with positive feedback we received from our peers and made some meaningful connections. At the dinner we found out that we had place 2nd and were very excited to receive our trophy. More than that we were so touched by the support of the other schools and judges and returned home with a great sense of accomplishment.

Sharon Franks

On the weekend of March 4, a group of five MBA students (myself included) embarked on a trip to San Francisco to take part in the HULT Global Case Challenge. Our task was to tackle the challenges of the global water crisis and to come up with a sustainable, scalable solution that will allow clean water and sanitation to reach 100 million people living at the base of the socio-economic pyramid within 5 years.

The competition in San Francisco consisted of 30 teams from schools around the world, the winner heading to NYC next month to meet President Bill Clinton and compete against the regional winners of the 4 other HULT competitions that took place around the globe. Although the Sauder team didn’t make it to the finals (those Stanford kids are a smart bunch!), our experience was unforgettable.

Tasked with utilizing business knowledge and skills to solve one of the toughest social problems that exist today, this competition demonstrated the seriousness and urgency of global leaders on tackling the challenges of the global water crisis. Such an arduous task can only be tackled together as a group, and to see so many people band together for a common social cause was truly challenging, inspiring and transformative.

We were given five hours to analyze, prepare and present a solution in front of a panel of judges from various industries, including Gary White, co-founder of Water.org, and Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. Adrenaline coursed through our veins and the time flew by in what seemed like a matter of seconds. The experience was surreal and so exhilarating we can’t wait until the next competition comes around!
Ultimately, the opportunity to meet students from around the world who shared a similar passion and desire to tackle such a monumental issue, coupled with the strong bonds of friendship we formed as a team, are takeaways we’ll remember for years to come.

Billy Chan

Almost 20 MBA students had the chance to be part of the “Trek Toronto” organized by the Business Career Center the 16th, 17th and 18th of February 2011. This event, one of the most important within the program, provides to students a great exposure to the Toronto jobs market and helps them build relationships with respected professionals and UBC alumni settled in the “Business Center of Canada”.

From Consulting to Banks to Telecom companies, students had the chance to meet and network with people from a wide variety of industies and get a better sense of job recruiters’ expectations. In fact, students had the opportunity to visit 6 different companies and to spend a unique moment with UBC Alumni in one of the finest places in Toronto.

As a career catalyst, Trek Toronto is definitively an event students have to consider moving forward!

Xavier Deloux

Armed with fancy clothes, sparkling smiles, and witty repartee (and Sauder name tags) our class “put on the ritz” and did our best to make a good impression on the alumni, business leaders and other guests who attended the Leaders Reception at the Terminal City Club on February 15th. Overall the mood in the room was light and energetic as we worked the room, trying to find the person who would identify us as “the person they’ve been waiting for” (or at least someone they could tolerate through an internship!).

After long enough to take advantage of a decent proportion of the free Heineken on hand, the room was ready for a presentation from a Calgary-based manager from Mackenzie Financial. He spoke at length about the state of the world and the need for leaders. Overall it was an interesting talk, full of facts and analysis, that exhorted us all to seize the day and strive to become the leaders of tomorrow.

The rest of the evening was an exciting blur of suits, hors d’oeuvres, exchanging cards, and trying to appear as good as a BCC-edited resume can make one sound. Great thanks are due for Denise, Ian, Mary, Holly, Elena and all the other staff of the BCC that worked really hard behind the scenes (for months) to bring all the guests there for us for one night. It really gave us the best possible platform to show ourselves off with some pizazz. Once the last of the chocolate covered strawberries disappeared (or really, once the open bar disappeared) the majority of the class made our way over to Steamworks and kept the party going until the wee hours. The Business Leader’s Reception definitely stands out as one of the most memorable social evenings of the program to date.

Garth Yule

This past Thursday signified the first Part-time, Full-time mingler for 2011. There were about 40 people out at Red Card, with representation from both the part time cohorts, the new part-time class and full time MBA class. It was a great opportunity to network with each other, share stories about the core, and enjoy some classic Canucks Hockey- it was a win!

The next event that will be taking place will be on March 10th at Library Square, it will be an opportunity to interact and mingle with Simon Fraser MBA students as well another opportunity to get to know the part time and full time UBC students.