Okanagan College School of Business students Jared Hubner (left) and Anthony Peterson (right) with OC School of Business professor Glen Coulthard (centre) at the I.C.B.C. at Queen’s University.
Image Credit: Contributed
January 25, 2017 - 12:39 PM
VERNON - Two Okanagan College students from Vernon have returned from one of Canada’s most prestigious international business competitions knowing that they are among the best in the country.
Jared Hubner, a third-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student at the College’s Vernon campus joined forces with Anthony Peterson, a fourth-year BBA student, to compete in the finals of the Management of Information Systems (MIS) category at the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) held at Queen’s University in Kingston. They placed second in the competition.
The duo from Okanagan College competed against finalists from the University of Vermont, Laurentian University, Sheridan College, Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Calgary. Teams were given five and a half hours to review and present recommendations on a case that involved a hypothetical university looking to sell and distribute online learning materials, prevent content piracy, and provide secure e-commerce transactions. Vermont won the competition. The six competing finalists were chosen from a larger group of competitors based on a preliminary round completed in November.
The OC team tackled the problem by suggesting a new Business-to-Business (B2B) subscription-based service model that could have real-world benefit.
“Our solution was equal parts preparation and in-the-moment inspiration,” explains Hubner. “We came up with an out-of-the-box answer, and I think we had the confidence to do that based on the experience we’ve gained in the classroom.”
“We have tremendous support from our coaches,” says Peterson. “We came into the event feeling prepared thanks to them, and that was a huge factor in our success.”
Hubner says the fact that they faced strong competition in the category added to the pressure and the feeling of accomplishment when results were announced.
“It was an amazing feeling. It was very hard to process and contain the level of excitement and the feeling of accomplishment afterward.”
Among those cheering when the results were announced was the MIS team’s coach Glen Coulthard, a professor with Okanagan College’s School of Business.
“Competitions like this give our students a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and passion in real-world situations, and to prove to both themselves and others that they are among the top business students in the country,” explains Coulthard. “We are extremely proud of Anthony and Jared, not to mention the other three OC teams who performed so well at Queen’s.”
Okanagan College had one of its best ever showings at the competition. In addition to the second place finish for the MIS team, the College celebrated a first place finish by the Human Resources team (a first for an HR team from OC), a second-place finish for the Accounting team, and a strong effort by the debate team, although they failed to crack the top three.
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) is Canada’s oldest and longest-running undergraduate business case competition, featuring eight different competitive events in which students can compete, including Accounting, Business Policy, Ethics, Debating, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Management of Information Systems.
Held annually in Kingston, the event hosts more than 100 competitors from leading business schools across Canada and around the world.
“It feels incredible to know that we competed and represented OC so well and at such a high international level,” explains Peterson. “I came away very inspired. It was an experience that will serve me well throughout the rest of my studies and my career.”
More information about the competition is available at http://icbcqueens.com/.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017