Final competition weekend concludes with five first-place graduate wins

In the 2024-25 academic year, 263 students represented the Asper School of Business and Stu Clark Graduate School at case competitions around the world, and this year, the season ended with a near sweep.

Graduate students brought home five first-place trophies after outstanding performances at the International Business Ethics Case Competition (San Francisco State University) and the International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (Loyola Marymount University).

International Business Ethics Case Competition (IBECC)

Asper MBA students Priyanji Mediwake, Zohreh Gervais, Geoffrey Hurd, and Shubhansh Bansal swept the podium across all three categories at IBECC in San Francisco, earning the top spot in their 25-minute, 10-minute, and 90-second presentations.

IBECC challenges teams to identify and research an ethical issue a company or industry is currently facing. Teams then present their analysis of the legal, financial, and ethical dimensions of the problem and propose a solution.

The team examined a telehealth organization operating in the United States. They prepared a presentation assessing the firm’s current model for patient care, highlighting the risks to patient safety and ethical concerns despite efforts at increasing healthcare accessibility.

Innovation and ethics, up to the minute

Mediwake, who is completing an MBA with a focus on Leadership & Organizations, brings her years of experience in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), human resources, project management, and change management to the team.

She explains that one of the biggest challenges of the case, of ethical questions generally, is responding quickly to a dynamic context.

“The case focused on a current ethical issue, with new developments unfolding in real time. We had to continuously adapt our thinking and stay on top of emerging information,” she says.

The team impressed the judges by showcasing the depth of their research and the impact of their storytelling in three presentations of varying lengths.

“We knew it wasn’t enough to have a well-researched and put-together presentation,” Mediwake explains. “The way we communicated it had to be clear, engaging, and memorable.”

International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (IBESCC)

In a similar style of case competition, Shihhan Iwasaki, Janna Woelk, Erika Hunzinger, and Tien Nguyen placed first in the 25-minute and 10-minute presentations at International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (IBESCC) in Los Angeles.

At IBESCC, competitors explore the moral imperatives of sustainable development, selecting a topic that relates to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To bring home their golds, the team examined a mining company project in British Columbia. The team made the case that the company’s approach to stakeholder engagement and environmental responsibility created significant business risk.

They assessed how financial pressure led the firm to overlook concerns of a local First Nation and proposed that the mining company focus on relationship-building and shift company culture to understand and consider Indigenous rights.

The IBESCC team, left to right: Tien, Janna, Shihhan, and Erika

Coaching down a path of continuous improvement

Iwasaki currently works in taxation for the Canada Revenue Agency and is in her final term of the MBA program, studying International & Emerging Markets and Leadership & Organizations. She shares how the competition challenged the team as a unit, but also as individuals, highlighting her own struggles with imposter syndrome and confidence.

Coaching, she says, played a big role in building momentum beyond individual doubts.

“Working with our coaches was a turning point in this process. Each conversation brought clarity and breakthroughs that helped us refocus. Their feedback was energizing—when we found ourselves stuck or going in circles, a check-in with our coaches always helped us break through the barriers.

Break through they did, impressing the judges by how strongly they connected the complex sustainability, ethical, financial, and legal issues at the heart of their topic. And the confidence they developed throughout the competition helped carry them through a tough Q&A.

“The judges pushed the team during the question period, but they didn’t waiver,” says coach Jayasuriya. “They were commended for their commitment to the issue and their stance.”

Jayasuriya and Arly Akersteam supported both the IBECC and IBESCC teams, with Chelsea Kokan supporting IBECC as well.

Building confidence, redefining leadership

Mediwake and Iwasaki both emphasize how the intensity of competition outputs real impact personally and professionally.

For Mediwake, who is also at the end of her MBA journey, case allows her to bring refined skills and the ability to deliver big results under pressure into her career. “I’m leaving the MBA with not just stronger academic skills, but deeper confidence in my resilience, leadership abilities, and problem solving,” she says.

Iwasaki, who took on this experiential learning opportunity to build confidence, found that her participation in case taught her not just that she could be a leader, but also about what kind of leader she wanted to be.

“I learned that leadership isn’t about having all the answers,” she says. “It’s about creating space for diverse input, leaning on the strengths of others, and guiding the team toward a shared outcome.”

Five trophies—more wins

The Asper School of Business 2024-25 Case Competition season wraps up with an impressive 37 podium placements to add to the School’s record and a number of trophies, plaques, and medals to add to the display.

But as students like Mediwake, Iwasaki, and their teams demonstrate, the wins extend beyond the podium, the credit goes to more than the presenters, and the impact is felt in personal journeys and in continuous efforts to create value and solve problems for the betterment of all.

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At the Asper School of Business, experiential learning empowers our students to build community and inspire innovation. We take pride in offering accessible, varied, and relevant experiential learning opportunities through our case competition program. Stay up to date on the Asper School of Business case program and view all 2024-25 results on our webpage. Congratulations to all the competitors, supporters, coaches, and more!

Emily Wilson