Business Simulation Competition
2023 Business Simulation 1st Place team: "Team Willow" & our sponsors: From left to right: Dhwani Patel (JDI), Brooke Tanfara (JDI), Chris Tait (Willow), Chris Mahar (Irving Oil), Faseeh Khalil (Willow), Dr. Michel Rod (Dean, Faculty of Business), Brennan Curwen (Willow), Walter Fuerniss (Willow), Ashley Burnham (JDI), Jill Hickson (JDI), Jennifer Gionet (OSCO Construction).
Every year, during the third week in March, the annual Faculty of Business: Business Simulation Competition is held. The Business Simulation gives third and fourth-year students a chance to apply their skills and knowledge to real-world business problems using a digital platform while interacting with fellow students, faculty, and local business partners.
The event always kicks off with a reception for students, faculty and members of the local business community. During this time the faculty is introduced and the students have the opportunity to network with our partnering sponsors.
The topic or business problem(s) to be solved is different each year. In past years students have competed in simulations that defined the first five years of a coffee shop start-up and planned various initiatives to help a five-star hotel reach a goal of net zero in a 7-year time frame. The competition can range from a single full day or multiple days depending on the size of the simulation, student enrollment, and partnering stakeholders. Teams then work together in break-out rooms to complete the business simulation in a mimicked board-room atmosphere. With professors on hand as mentors, each team analyzes the information given to them, develops a feasible set of alternatives and makes recommendations for a course of action during the multiple chapters or tasks of a simulation.
Teams then present to a panel of expert judges, comprised of professors, entrepreneurs, and local business partners. Judges are asked to make their assessments based on both the simulation score ("whether they met the goals of the game") and, more importantly, how they defined and explained their strategy to the judging team and audience, in a time-limited pitch presentation.
At the end of the day, all participants and faculty are invited to a celebratory banquet where the winners are announced. The winning teams receive cash prizes donated by our business partners. Even though it is a competition, all participants gain valuable experience tackling the simulation that is based on real-life business challenges while also having the opportunity to network with faculty, staff, and our business partners.
“With this event, we want to give students a realistic scenario to demonstrate the application of their business knowledge, and clearly communicate their thinking and strategy to local business leaders,” says Dr. Greg Fleet, Associate Dean of undergraduate programs in the Faculty of Business.
2023 Business Simulation Competition
