Asper MBA team at the 2019 John Molson International Case Competition
Asper MBA Program Launches Case Competition Course
MBA students can now receive course credit for case competition participation.
The Asper School of Business has created a new Asper MBA course that rewards students selected to compete in case competitions with three credit hours towards the completion of their degree.
The new course, GMGT 7350 MBA Business Case Competitions, prepares students for national and international case competitions in a dynamic and interactive format with a focus on strategic and disruptive thinking.
The experiential course is designed as a complement to the GMGT 7350 Business Analysis & Strategy Development course, which has also been revamped this year to provide an opportunity for students to learn the fundamentals of business analysis utilizing the case method. The course will run from late August to late September and, when this course concludes, students selected to participate on a case competition team will be enrolled in the new three credit hour elective.
The creation of an official course for case competition preparation and participation is significant based on the extensive time Asper MBA students dedicate to prepare for the range of annual competitions. In previous years, the additional preparation time has been on a volunteer basis.
Judy Jayasuriya, [B.Comm/10, BA/12, MBA/14], Lead of Experiential Learning at the Asper School of Business, who has been coaching the Asper MBA students for seven years, noted that the addition of a credited course to the case preparation and participation process supports increased student participation.
“The additional credit hours furthers Asper’s commitment to experiential learning,” says Jayasuriya. “It gives students the time to apply their learning as they work through a variety of business cases. It really helps to formalize the learning experience.”
The Asper MBA Program has a history of strong performances in national and international competitions including a range of podium finishes in events case such as the East Meets West MBA Leadership Competition and the John Molson International Case Competition.
While the 2020/2021 case competitions will take place in a virtual format, students will still have the opportunity to represent the University of Manitoba and the Asper School of Business on the national and international stage.
Suroshree Das [MBA/20]
Recent Asper MBA graduate, Suroshree Das, competed in a range of case competitions during her two years in the program including the DeGroote MBA Case Competition, the John Molson MBA International Case Competition and the East Meets West Case Competition where she won first place in the mixed case competition and second place in the main competition. Currently working as a Senior Credit Portfolio Risk Analyst at CWB, Das noted she was thrilled the Asper School of Business was adding three credits to the Business Case Competition course.
“My biggest takeaway taking the course and then competing at national and international business case competitions is the ability to present a strategy to a team of C-suite executives and be able to think on my feet,” said Das. “This skill-set helped me a lot during my job interviews.”
To learn more about the Asper MBA case competition teams and the Asper School of Business’ commitment to experiential learning please visit our UMToday network page.