Beedie named Academic School of the Year at JDC West

The 2013 Beedie School of Business JDC West team

SFU’s Beedie School of Business captured the Academic School of the Year award at the prestigious JDC West case competition, held from January 18 to 20 at the University of British Columbia, edging out stiff competition from 11 other leading Canadian business schools to claim the title. The Academic School of the Year award is presented to the team which achieves the highest overall finish in the JDC West competition’s ten academic categories.

In addition, the Beedie School of Business placed third in the School of the Year category and enjoyed further significant success in the individual competition categories, taking first place in the International Business and Finance competitions; second place in the Management Information Systems, Business Strategy, Human Resources and Taxation categories; and third place in both Accounting and Debate.

“The success our 2013 JDC West team enjoyed is a tremendous achievement and reflects the well-rounded attributes of our undergraduate students and the alumni coaches who supported them,” said Andrew Gemino, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs.

“Competing with so many other top business schools and being named Academic School of the Year is a testament to the quality of education our students receive at the Beedie School of Business. The students, coaches and staff that supported this effort can be rightly proud of their success.”

JDC West is the largest student-run business case competition in Western Canada, attracting the top business schools and students from across the nation. This year’s competition featured teams representing 12 business schools with over 600 delegates competing across a range of disciplines, including academics, debate, sports and social competitions.

Under the guidance of team coaches and SFU alumni Sean Peters and Maney Grewal, the Beedie team placed more emphasis on early preparation for the 2013 competition than in previous years, beginning training for the competition in Spring of 2012.

“Choosing the team early was key in allowing ourselves time to prepare and we entered the competition with a clear strategy and goals in mind,” said team co-captain Joel Thom. “The competition allowed us to showcase the academic talent at the Beedie School of Business and our excellent showing in the competition reflects that.”

The team received support from the Beedie School’s Dean’s Circle initiative and Student Engagement Office, as well as the team sponsor KPMG.

“The support system made available to us throughout the entire process was invaluable and a key to our success,” said co-captain Amit Bhagat. “Every one of our team members has developed over the past six months of preparation, and I am very happy that the competition has facilitated the growth and development of some of Beedie’s finest students.”

For more information on JDC West, visit http://jdcwest.com/