PrintFor immediate release
March 18, 2009
Kwantlen team to compete at international business competition in Singapore
(METRO VANCOUVER, B.C.) Kwantlen Polytechnic University business students hope to replicate their success in an earlier international business competition as they join business students worldwide to compete in the Apex Global Business-IT Case Challenge in Singapore from April 29 to May 2.
In early February this year, Kwantlen’s School of Business team, composed of three business students, including Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Entrepreneurial Leadership students Brandon Hastings (Richmond) and Derek Smith (Cloverdale); and BBA in Accounting student, David Fairholm, applied their skills and knowledge in the Case-IT competition held at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and earned third place among 16 strong international teams. Kwantlen’s business students were the only finalists from a university in Western Canada.
Reflecting on his experience in the Case-IT competition at SFU, Smith commented, “The most important thing I got out of this experience was my increased knowledge of other countries and the way they performed business analysis. I couldn’t have imagined competing against 15 other teams from around the world when I was first signing up for my studies at Kwantlen.”
In April, Hastings and Smith will be joined by a new team member, BBA in Entrepreneurial Leadership student Kyle Mitchell (Vancouver), who replaced Fairholm on the business team; Hastings, Smith and Mitchell will have a chance to put their business knowledge and analytical skills to work and compete against the best business students from China, Holland, Hong Kong, the Phillippines, Singapore, and Thailand in the Apex Global Business-IT Case Challenge, the premier event of its kind in South East Asia.
Organized by Singapore Management University, this international business competition seeks to nurture young global IT leaders in contributing solutions to global issues. It is open to teams of three undergraduate students of which at least one should be from information technology, computer science or computer engineering fields. Participants will analyze a multi-disciplinary case and present their proposed solutions to a panel of distinguished guests and experienced professionals from the corporate world.
Kwantlen business students have consistently achieved outstanding results in international competitions. Kwantlen’s School of Business prides itself on providing not only an education in sound business management, but also the practical skills necessary to succeed in any line of business. Top ranking in these competitions demonstrate how Kwantlen students are able to analyze and present solutions to real business problems under real life pressures of time and competitive stress.
Currently, the Kwantlen business team is seeking sponsorships from community members to help with the costs of participating in this international competition. These sponsorships can provide great international exposure in Asia for B.C. companies, as Asia is a major market for B.C. goods and services.
As the second largest business school in Western Canada, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s School of Business is internationally accredited and offers degrees in entrepreneurial leadership, accounting, information technology and human resources management. For more information about Kwantlen’s School of Business, visit: kwantlen.ca/business
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For more information about business programs at Kwantlen’s School of Business, contact:
Dr. Arthur Coren
Dean, School of Business
Tel: 604.599.3252
arthur.coren@kwantlen.ca
OR
For more information about sponsoring the Kwantlen business students, contact:
Debbie Mellenger
Development Officer, Kwantlen Foundation
Tel: 604.599.3136
debbie.mellenger@kwantlen.ca
OR
For more information about Kwantlen, contact:
Peter Chevrier
Director, Marketing & Communications
Tel: 604.599.2286
peter.chevrier@kwantlen.ca