SFU Net Impact Case Competition expands to international stage
Apr 24, 2015
The 2015 SFU Net Impact Executive Team. From left to right: Anna Migicovsky, Margaret Ross, Shannen McDonald, Rosanna Wilbur, and Deepak Bhatia.
Beedie School of Business MBA students turned their attention to sustainability-related topics last weekend, as they hosted and competed in the 2nd annual SFU Net Impact Sustainability Case Competition.
Held on April 18 at the Segal Graduate School, the competition welcomed MBAs from across Western Canada and, for the first time this year, the US to the Segal Graduate School to compete in Western Canada’s only graduate sustainability-focused case competition.
The Beedie team, consisting of MBA students Stephanie Adams, Jeremy Byrgesen, Salma Sultana, and Management of Technology MBA student Shad Grunert, finished third in the competition earning $500 for their efforts. The gold medal went to Pinchot University, Seattle, Washington, whose team earned $3000 in prize money, while students from UBC took home $1000 for their second placed finished.
The competition, organized entirely by Beedie MBA students who are members of the SFU Net Impact Segal chapter, welcomed competitors from nine schools in Western Canada along with two from the US. It tasked competing teams with a thought-provoking case study on the subject of conflict mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It is very exciting to see the SFU Net Impact Sustainability Case Competition grow from a Western Canada event an international one, all in the space of one year,” says Stephanie Reimer, Coordinator of Graduate Programs at the Beedie School of Business. “We have no doubt that it will build a solid reputation as an annual international competition, and we look forward to seeing how next year’s Net Impact Executive team build on this success.”
A panel of guest judges specializing in sustainability were on hand to critique the students’ efforts, including the Beedie School of Business’ faculty expert on sustainability, assistant professor Stephanie Bertels.
Bertels was joined by Tod Maffin, President of engageQ digital; organizational sociologist Dr. Tim Hargrave; impact investment and social enterprise expert Christie Stephenson; Ned Georgy, Program Manager at FortisBC; and Beedie alumnus Colin Stansfield, Executive Director of Potluck Café
“The participants really appreciated the level of detail in all aspects of the competition, such as the Net Impact-branded signage and cookies, and the usher volunteers that brought them to the presentation room,” says Anna Migicovsky, Co-President of the SFU Net Impact chapter. “The after-party allowed the judges and participants to share feedback in a casual environment, with many of the judges staying for up to two hours to converse with the students.”
Net Impact is a community of more than 60,000 student and professional leaders creating positive social and environmental change in the workplace and the world. The Segal chapter’s goal is to increase visibility of the sustainable issues faced by students, employees and citizens in the downtown Vancouver core, and to trigger a positive impact environmentally, socially, and economically.
Read more about the SFU Net Impact Sustainability Case Competition at www.afewgoodminds.ca/