UWinnipeg business students win first place at case competition

Fri. Feb. 15, 2019

It was all smiles for The University of Winnipeg team as they won first place at the 2019 Okanagan Case Competition, hosted by UBC Okanagan’s Management Student Association.

The annual competition, which included 14 teams from UWinnipeg, UBC Okanagan, University of Victoria, University of Manitoba, and McMaster University, is an important venue for business students to test their acumen and showcase their skills as they solve real-world business problems.

UWinnipeg BBA students, Jordy Costa, Logan Kilmury, Bernardo Arias, and Hamdallah Zeid, had only four days to prepare their case which was based on a condominium project designed by Mission Group, a Kelowna real-estate development company and competition sponsor. The company was looking for a business plan that would set their development apart from the competition. The UWinnipeg team delivered.

“We had to learn the industry and educate ourselves in order to come out on top,” said Kilmury. “I think what made us stand out from the other competitors was our knowledge of real estate and how we created the ideal customer profile by relating our solution to our own experiences and expectations.”

This win comes on the heels of another recent UWinnipeg win at JDC West. After more than 100 hours of practice (all outside of scheduled classes), Costa, Arias and Zeid received third place in the International Business Category at the 2019 JDC West competition in Burnaby in January. This is the largest undergraduate business competition in Western Canada, where wins quite often turn into job leads.

“Making a podium spot in the JDC West competition shows the quality of our program, both internally with our students, and externally with recruiters looking for the best business students in Canada,” said Kilmury.

Being a part of UWinnipeg’s JDC West team has given the group invaluable experience networking with other business leaders, cultivating their presentation skills and gaining confidence in their ability to apply classroom learning to real-world situations.

They look forward to sharing their success as mentors to future students. Costa will be taking the lead as next year’s JDC West team captain. Kilmury, Arias and Zeid are set to graduate in 2019, but plan to continue their involvement, taking on coaching roles to help the next generation of students excel.

“I think the key to success in competitions like this is to never stop learning outside of the classroom,” said Kilmury.