BBAs gear up for JDC West

SFU JDC West godparent Erica Rizzo and co-captains Amit Bhagat and Joel Thom.

The 2013 JDC West business schools showdown is six months away, but the SFU Beedie team is already hard at work to prepare for the prestigious competition.

Over the past few weeks, candidates for SFU Beedie’s JDC West academic team partook in the new case competition cohort, taught by instructor Tara Immell. The students did practice cases and presentations to develop their understanding of how to analyse cases and work as a team. The team is currently four months ahead of schedule, but co-captains Amit Bhagat and Joel Thom are convinced this new rigorous 8-week tryout structure has shown them which candidates are willing and able to commit to the team.

The Jeux du Commerce West Business Competition (JDC West), taking place at the University of British Columbia in January 2013, is an annual business competition that features top business schools and students from across Western Canada. It is the largest undergraduate business competition in the region. Each university sends about 46 representatives to participate in one of 10 academic competitions, one parliamentary debate, one athletic competition, or one social competition.

“JDC West is not something to take lightly,” Thom stressed. “I believe that anyone who has experienced JDC West would say that it is a competition like no other, as far as university case competitions go.

“JDC West really is a chance to prepare for the working world by tackling issues that arise in real business situations. We learn how to work in teams by understanding how to leverage our strengths to our greatest potential.”

Aside from developing a strong academic team for the competition, Bhagat and Thom are looking to develop holistic young business professionals. As one component of the JDC West competition is charitable work, the co-captains plan to push even harder in their fundraising efforts this year than in the past.

“We’re planning some exciting things in this realm, but I can’t give away any details.”

The SFU Beedie team is currently looking for alumni to get involved in developing the next generation of leaders. Whether it may be to coach, judge, or hold a workshop, the co-captains encourage those interested to contact them at jdcwest@sfu.ca.