From June 14 to 19, students in Niagara College’s School of Business and Management, and the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport, competed virtually in the Interdisciplinary Case Challenge. The week-long competition was made possible through cross-departmental collaboration and the generosity of O’Malley, a long-time supporter of the college who donated the prize money.
The case competition has symbolic importance to faculty and students in the division of Business, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport, as it is the first time an NC case competition involved students from two schools.
“We’re especially proud of the Interdisciplinary Case Challenge as a shining example of cross-School collaboration in the division of Business, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport,” said Adam Weaver, associate dean, School of Business and Management. “The range of programs involved is fantastic.”
“The success of the Interdisciplinary Case Challenge speaks to the value of connecting dots across disciplines,” said Evan DiValentino, associate dean, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport. “We know interdisciplinary problem-solving happens routinely in industry, and the case challenge has given our students the opportunity to flex those problem-solving muscles. The School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport looks forward to future collaborations that provide new and valuable learning experiences for our students.”
After a remarkable career in advertising spanning three decades, Terry O’Malley sees the value in giving back to aspiring business leaders. O’Malley, a St. Catharines native, is a Harvard University graduate and the former creative director and partner in Vickers and Benson Advertising (now Arnold Worldwide Canada) where he received many accolades for his work. Since 1997, O’Malley has supported several campaigns, scholarships, and bursaries for NC students.
“I’ve seen firsthand the importance of approaching problems like those in case competitions,” said O’Malley, who has been behind similar events at Brock University. “The real value is facing a defined task, backgrounding, researching, and solving the task in real time. It is so important for students to interact, brainstorm, critique, argue, and agree on an approach.”
“Support from eminent practitioners like Terry truly benefit our division – and Niagara College as a whole,” said Lisa Mendez, associate dean, School of Business and Management.
The ten students who participated came from four program areas: Honours Bachelor of Business Administration – International Commerce and Global Development (a four-year degree program); Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations (a two-year diploma program); International Business Management (a one-year graduate certificate program); and Business-Sales and Marketing (a two-year diploma program).
Each morning, students attended a virtual seminar guiding them on how to approach the case and develop a viable strategy before meeting with their group via Microsoft Teams. In the spirit of NC’s approach to applied learning, students were tasked with problem-solving the reopening of tourist attractions in Canada and developing sustainable solutions for a pandemic-proof Niagara Region.
Winning first place were Emily Massicotte from Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations, and Deontai Jennings from Business – Sales and Marketing. Massicotte and Jennings split the $1,000 grand prize. Second place received $700, and third place $300. The awards were applied to students’ tuition via financial aid.
“The feedback from students has been very positive,” said professor Stefan Johnson who coordinated the competition.
Johnson said that students were exposed to new themes and intense time constraints. “They had to think outside of the proverbial box and develop more unique solutions. Plus, the added challenge of conflict resolution – in the eleventh hour, under immense stress, students were forced to work together and find amicable solutions.”
The result? Johnson reports that many students are eager to coach future teams through case competitions.
Johnson has eyes on growing the competition. “We would like to expand into different departments where students from nursing, brewing, horticulture, hospitality, social work and more can take part in much more diverse teams. Those winning teams can go on to international challenges against other institutions. I am excited to continue to work with faculty leadership and the rest of the college to grow this experience.”
NC’s Adam Weaver, Lisa Mendez, April Tyrrell, and Patricia Beu – among others – provided support to students and judges throughout the competition. Judges included Melanie Sodka, professor, international business; Creator of Capacity Creator, April Tyrrell – Academic Business Manager, SoBM, and Kithio Mwanzia, Network Manager, SONAMI Ontario.
Participants included:
1st place winner Emily Massicotte – Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Ops
1st place winner Deontai Jennings – Sales and Marketing
2nd place Isabella Wartabedian – International Business Management (P-G)
2nd place Sohaib Faheem – HBBA – ICOM
3rd place Rebeca Victoria – International Business Management (P-G)
3rd place Dafu Zheng – HBBA – ICOM
Halyna Nizinkovska – International Business Management (P-G)
Alejandro Jaramillo – International Business Management (P-G)
Pamela Collado – Sales and Marketing
Jeunesse Manatad – Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Ops
