A team of Beedie School of Business MBA students has earned a top three finish at the prestigious HEC Montréal Sustainability Challenge 2014 case competition.

The team, consisting of MBA students Adrian Mitescu, Anca Jelescu, Shaun McPhee, and Management of Technology MBA student Michelle Martin, emerged with the bronze medal and a cash prize of $1,250 from a field of 12 top business schools from across Canada and Denmark.

The annual competition aims to showcase students’ understanding of sustainable practices in the extractive sector, as well as increase the sustainability literacy of business students.

Held by HEC Montréal in Quebec on March 14, the competition assigned each team a real-life case concerning a sustainability issue facing organizations one week prior to the competition’s start.

After a week of case analysis and preparation, the teams presented their cases to a panel of guest judges comprised of thought leaders from industry, academia, and consulting spheres in a preliminary round.

The Beedie team was selected as one of the top four teams to advance to the final, along with the University of Alberta, Concordia University, and HEC Montreal, where they were tasked with preparing a previously unseen question within 45 minutes.

Building on the success achieved in the 2013 competition, the Beedie team was once again coached by Beedie School of Business assistant professor and sustainability expert Stephanie Bertels. She volunteered her time and expertise to provide invaluable mentorship and tactical advice to the students on their case strategy and presentation skills.

“Everyone involved in the HEC Montreal Sustainability Challenge was extremely passionate about corporate social responsibility, and to be part of that collective spirit was incredibly rewarding,” said Beedie team member Shaun McPhee. “Seeing the participants, judges, guest speakers, and volunteers contribute their time demonstrated a remarkable display of passion for their values.”

For more information on the HEC Montréal Sustainability Challenge 2014, visit: www.movingstill.ca/movingstill/sustainablehec2014/hechome.html

Tags: Adrian Mitescu, Anca Jelescu, Beedie School of Business, Case competition, experiential learning, extractive sector, HEC Montr?al Sustainability Challenge, Management of Technology MBA, MBA, Michelle Martin, sfu, Shaun McPhee, Simon Fraser University, Stephanie Bertels, sustainability