Mr. Normand W. Bernier, Director General of Vanier College is pleased to announce that after two days of mounting excitement and imaginative presentations at the 10th annual 2015 Vanier College BDC Case Challenge on February 7 and 8, the first place Gold Award went to Mohawk College composed of students Matt Brown, Alex Hurley and Scott Merwin and their coaches Drew McTear, Mark Valvasori and Deborah Weston. Mohawk College from Hamilton, Ontario, is the only college to have won First Place Gold three times in the ten years of the competition, which is quite an accomplishment.
The Silver Award went to Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Joliette, and George Brown College won Bronze. The three other teams that made it to the finals were Collège de Valleyfield, Niagara College and St Lawrence College Cornwall.
During the weekend event, thirty-three teams of marketing students from colleges across Canada had three hours to analyze a real business case and present viable marketing solutions before a panel of expert judges.
“The Case Challenge is a perfect example of how a collaboration between Vanier College and an organization such as BDC, the principal sponsor of this event since its beginnings, can create unique learning opportunities for students that motivate them in their educational and career pursuits,” said M. Bernier.
Jane Somerville, Business Consultant Integrated Sales and Marketing at BDC and judge in this year’s competition, was enthusiastic in her praise of the event and the participants. “BDC is extremely proud to sponsor this Case Challenge. By supporting youth education, BDC contributes to the development of future Canadian entrepreneurs. Students get the chance to evolve their business knowledge and skills in a practical way –in a safe yet competitive environment”.
David Moscovitz, Vanier College BDC Case Challenge organizer, was thrilled about this year’s 10th anniversary competition. “From the moment participants arrived there was an atmosphere of friendship and warmth. Some schools have been coming to this event for several years and there’s a feeling of family when they arrive. It’s been ten years of growth and development where we’ve seen the quality of the presentations improve constantly,” he said. “More importantly, we’ve heard from past participants that the experience of presenting at this competition has often been the highlight of their collegiate studies.”
ScotiaBank finalist award winners included Mohawk College, Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Joliette, George Brown College, Collège de Valleyfield, Niagara College and St Lawrence College Cornwall.
BDC is the principal sponsor of this competition.
About BDC
Canada’s business development bank, BDC, puts entrepreneurs first. With almost 2,000 employees and more than 100 business centres across the country, BDC offers loans, consulting services, growth and business transition capital, securitization, as well as venture capital to more than 30,000 small and medium-sized companies. Their success is vital to Canada’s economic prosperity. To learn more, please visit www.bdc.ca.
