CCAL Case Competition: The Student Experience

On October 5, 2019 excitement and anxiousness filled the halls of Murray Fraser Hall as 14 teams waited for their turn to present in their first case competition. Teams consisted of three to four first-year undergraduates tasked with solving a business case surrounding the Alberta craft beer industry. The CCAL Case Competition provides first-year Haskayne students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and research skills to solve a business ethics dilemma and present their solutions to a panel of judges. This experiential learning opportunity challenges students to analyze a company and think beyond profitability.

The students participated in a workshop a week prior to the case competition to learn about the fundamentals of how to present a case. It was hosted by Aurora and Miranda – two of Haskayne’s best business case competitors. After attending this workshop, the students were ready to tackle their first case. The specific case used this year was modeled after a real business problem that impacted our keynote speaker Graham Sherman, co-founder of Tool Shed Brewing Company, during his journey in the Alberta craft beer industry. This was an important connection to make as it illustrated to the first-year students that business cases tackled throughout their time at the Haskayne School of Business would be applicable even after they graduate. 

One mentor, Zoonee Nadeem, spoke highly of the skills taught through the case competition process, “decision-making skills were made apparent during the question and answer period of the competition in which they [the students] were able to answer the judges’ unanticipated questions. Furthermore, business ethics was developed throughout their research journey for the case.”   

These case competitions have made a tremendous impact on students ever since its conception in 2017. First-year student Stefania Mic states that she learned “how to be a better presenter, work with a team and think of solutions on the spot”, skills that are an integral part of being a business student. Additionally, Stefania noted that the workshop presenters were some of the best speakers she had ever encountered. Hearing these alumni inspired her to continue her case competition journey. 

Owen Wedholm was a participant in the Winter 2019 case competition and started his own club after receiving valuable feedback from Jack Toth, CEO of Impact Society. Jack was a judge at the winter case competition and was impressed with how well Owen and his team had performed. Owen subsequently founded the Community Impact Club (CIC) at the University of Calgary which he states, “was born through lots of collaboration, and with the interests of students in mind.” Owen credits his success to collaboration and teamwork, two skills that were developed through his participation in the case competition. “During the case, you are forced to brainstorm ideas, put them together in a meaningful way and present them in a very short time,” Owen states, “this is just not possible if you do not work effectively with your team.” 

Case competitions are a great way to bring new students into the community and introduce them to the core values and principles that represent Haskayne. It is an event where students can build a network that will benefit them for many years to come. What makes the CCAL Case Competition unique is that students are encouraged to approach the case with ethics being the focus of their solution. CCAL’s programs, such as case competitions, are focused on teaching advanced leadership principles to develop ethical leaders in the future. The hope is that all the students that participate in these case competitions develop skills that bring them one step closer to becoming an ethical leader.