In recent years, Dalhousie’s Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Management programs have attracted a growing number of international students. Last week these students had a unique opportunity to participate in the International Student Case Competition, a collaboration between the International Student Success Program and the Dalhousie Commerce Society.
Fourth-year marketing major and Commerce Society External Vice-President Xinyu (Lokiy) Wang, herself an international student, organized the competition. Eight teams, composed of undergraduate students from 14 Asian, North American, South American and European countries, competed, presenting their business cases for prizes. Many teams had students from more than one country, and two teams, one of which placed second, included students from four different countries.
“The goal was to provide international students with an opportunity to do a case competition and to increase their confidence and case analysis skills,” says Loki, adding that she hopes this experience will encourage more international students to participate in the upcoming Atlantic Throwdown case competition.
This was the first opportunity for many of the students — most of whom speak English as a second language — to participate in such a competition.
“Lots of students were really happy,” reported Lokiy. “One told me that she’s always found case competitions really scary but now she sees that they’re not so bad.”
The finishes for the competition were as follows:
- First Place: Merilyn Layne (Barbados), Megan Clarke (Barbados), Tatiana Olar (Moldova)
- Second Place: Talha Hashmi (Pakistan), Jessica Dalrymple (US), Lucas Marino (Brazil), Suparat Cha-umpan (Thailand)stu
- Third Place: Guanqiang Song (China), Jinrong Ge (China), Huxun Wang (China)
- Best Speakers: Wendi Zhao (China) and Jinrong Ge (China)
- Best Team Spirit: Wendi Zhao (China), Nana Fujimoto (Japan), Yinrong Zhao (China), Erin Zhou (China)
- Best PowerPoint: Talha Hashmi (Pakistan), Jessica Dalrymple (US), Lucas Marino (Brazil), Suparat Cha-umpan (Thailand)
“It was a great competition and a real first for the Faculty,” says Management Dean Peggy Cunningham. “The teams were composed of students from different countries and it was wonderful to see them learn from each other.” Dr. Cunningham thanked Lokiy and the Commerce Society and recognized the event’s judges: Ramon Baltazar, Sergio Carvalho, Binod Sundararajan, and Linda Macdonald, who works extensively with the Faculty’s international students.