The community that competition built

Of the many skills that business competitions test, competencies like agility, adaptability, and dynamism are signatures. Two of the biggest competitions that Asper students participate in each year are JDC West and the MBA Games, each of which includes a case component in addition to athletics, spirit, and more.

In deadline-driven case and academic competitions, students work against the clock to come up with compelling presentations that respond to real-world business issues, preparing to answer any question the judges throw to them.

But this experience extends far beyond presentations, with months of preparation and lasting impact after the podium is populated and the awards are presented. These competitions test agility as much as they do perseverance, and they are experiences built on community connections within and beyond the team.

JDC West, a business education in giving back

Take JDC West for instance, Western Canada’s largest business case competition hosted this year in Calgary by the Haskayne School of Business.

Evan Adair, BComm student and one of Team Asper’s captains, explains how the year-long process of preparing for JDC West goes well beyond academics.

“The thing that defines JDC West for me is the community. Obviously, we take the academic portions very seriously—we have rigorous training, plenty of workshops throughout the year, and very qualified coaches and industry experts.

“But JDC is also so much more. Our team logged a total of over 2,200 volunteer hours before the competition, partnering with six local charities,” he says.

These organizations include Harvest Manitoba, Koats for Kids, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Team Asper, made up of 46 BComm students, finished first in the finance competition (and skit night), and third in debate, operations management, and not-for-profit.

Fellow Team Asper captain Grace Cook says that the results are exciting, but the team’s progress is even more so.

“A lot of students on the team had no case experience when we started, and seeing all those students giving killer presentations and showcasing so much knowledge in their fields was such a highlight,” she says.

MBA Games 2025, a Stu Clark Graduate School record

At the graduate level, a small but mighty Stu Clark Graduate School team finished third overall in the annual MBA Games, a competition of academics, athletics, and spirit.

Team captain Oluwagbotemi Dada shares that it was a record-setting year. “This is the first time that Asper achieved a podium finish in the MBA Games, which is super impressive considering that we were the smallest team there with only 15 members,” she says.

Much like JDC West, the MBA Games features a charitable component, with Team Asper showing up and contributing to the over $29,000 raised for Canada Learning Code, a national not-for-profit that designs programs for those who have been historically underrepresented in tech—Team Asper finished second in the Canada Learning Code Case Competition (Bamibo Isichei, Sharib Jalis, Sravani Kalva).

“It was all about doing more with less,” she says, referring to a team small in numbers but big in passion.

—

As part of the Asper School of Business’ commitment to experiential learning, business and case competitions offer students the chance to apply their in-class knowledge to real-world business problems, all while making strong connections to industry experts and practitioners in Manitoba and beyond. Learn more about experiential learning opportunities in our professional graduate programs and see what M Business is all about.

—

This February, nine graduate teams from across Canada will bring their strategic acumen to the Asper School of Business for the third annual Asper Business Case Competition. Stay up to date with all the excitement—the cases, the competitors, and the experience—by following @asper_bcc on Instagram.

Emily Wilson