Beedie case competition success continues at UNICC

The 2016 Beedie UNICC team. From left to right: Natasha Tsoy, team coach Kamal Masri, Rochelle Lee, Madeline Millsip, and Ashley Chiu.

The Beedie School of Business continued its run of success at case competitions in 2016 with a third place finish at the University of Navarra International Case Competition (UNICC).

The UNICC is an annual undergraduate case competition hosted by the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. This year’s competition, held from March 13 to 18, featured 16 teams from across the globe, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, and the US.

The competition required teams to solve increasingly complex, real-world business cases, with all four finalists this year coming from Canadian schools. The Beedie team, consisting of BBA students Ashley Chiu, Rochelle Lee, Madeline Millsip and Natasha Tsoy, successfully navigated three rounds of competition over the course of six days.

“Competing at UNICC was a marathon of three cases and four presentations, but under the guidance of our coach, Kamal Masri, we remained focused,” said Millsip. “Having now represented Beedie at multiple case competitions it is apparent that they never get any easier. We are incredibly fortunate at Beedie to have the opportunity to apply our business knowledge in such a high-pressure environment – there is no better way to learn.”

Coached by Beedie lecturer Kamal Masri, the team spent more than 500 hours training for the competition, analyzing business cases and studying business strategy. They earned the bronze medal after presenting their final case to a panel of judges from the organization upon which the final case was based.

“This year was the first time a team from the Beedie School of Business had entered the UNICC competition, and we were unfortunate not to place higher than third in what was an extremely impressive field,” said Masri. “The team’s diligent approach to training was reflected in the multi-faceted strategy they prepared for the final case. I am extremely proud of their performance in both their preparation and at the competition.”

The Beedie team for UNICC is the latest case competition team Masri has coached to enjoy success. In January he was the coach of two of the three Beedie teams that placed third in their categories at the Inter Collegiate Business Case Competition (ICBC), Canada’s oldest and longest-running business case competition.

Masri coached both the MIS and Ethics teams that took bronze at ICBC, while Beedie associate professor Peter Tingling coached the Debate team.

For more information on UNICC, visit unav.edu/web/facultad-de-ciencias-economicas-y-empresariales/case-competition-club/unicc