Laurier Case Team showcase multiple strengths to bring home 12 podium finishes at JDCC 2022

Feb. 24, 2022

The students of the Laurier Case Team representing the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics continued their tradition of excellence at the JDCC competition on the weekend of January 22-24. The delegation of 46 students and volunteers brought home multiple awards, including first place wins in Business Strategy, the esport Rocket League, and Charity dollars raised.

JDCC is the largest undergraduate business school competition in Central Canada and brings together over 600 students from universities in Ontario, Québec, and the Maritimes. The Laurier Case team was the 2nd place winner for School of the Year and the Academic Cup, adding to the team's multiple School of the Year and five Academic Cup awards over the last 10 years.

Sofy Carayannopoulos, an associate professor and faculty advisor for case competition activities, described JDCC as an Olympics for business students. Students compete in eight academic tracks, debate, a social competition, charity fundraising and volunteering, a consulting project, and sports challenges. This year, the competition was held virtually again, with students competing over video and in esports games instead of in-person sports.

"The JDCC competition is all about proving that you have expertise in a variety of tracks and across a variety of skill sets. You're competing business program to business program and demonstrating that holistically, you are a strong program," Carayannopoulos said.

Carayannopoulos said that the inclusion of charity, social, and sports are part of the competition's goal to showcase the well-roundedness of business students from the participating universities. The Laurier Case Team supported many charities and community organizations for the charity competition.

"The team organized and supported multiple events that provided support to other students and community members. This aspect of the competition is unique and very meaningful because it truly demands that business students give back to their communities,” Carayannopoulos said.

This year's team captains were Tailai Wang and Simrit Randhawa. Wang is a third-year Laurier student in the Double Degree Business and Computer Science program with the University of Waterloo. Randhawa is also a third-year student working towards her BBA with a minor in Women & Gender Studies.

This year's competition was the second year at JDCC for both Wang and Randhawa and the first for both as captains. Randhawa said the experiences from competing and leading at JDCC benefit them in the classroom and their co-op positions.

"The experience you get learning how to do research, how to do analysis, and how to develop and present a well-rounded solution is amazing," Randhawa said, "The leadership experience as a captain is helping me grow as a leader and will help me in my professional life."

Competing in JDCC is also an opportunity to develop relationships with fellow students that extends into life after graduation as part of the Laurier alumni community. Wang said that the multidisciplinary nature of JDCC has given him a chance to meet students from programs across the Lazaridis School.

"There's a lot of students that I wouldn't normally be exposed to in my program. Learning about business strategy through case analysis with my teammates has definitely opened my eyes up to different fields that I could pursue," Wang said.

Randhawa said that clubs like JDCC were one of the reasons she chose Laurier. The university has more than 250 student-led clubs and associations, which she noted create bonds between students.

"I've always had that small-school spirit, and that's definitely what drew me towards Laurier. Everyone's passionate about what they do and that builds a great community," Randhawa said.

Wang agreed with Randhawa on the value of the Laurier Case Team and other clubs on campus.

"When you compare our school to other business schools, we have a really tight-knit community largely as a result of these clubs," he said.

Carayannopoulos said that Wang, Randhawa, and the rest of the Case Team represented the best of what Laurier students are capable of achieving. Like any competition, she said the students know they only have control of their effort to prepare for the competition—the rest happens on the field (or the Zoom call).

"You don't have control of the outcome. I watched every single one of their presentations and I was so impressed with all of them. I couldn't have asked anything more of them," Carayannopoulos said. "As a coach, what's important is that when your team stands up and presents, you are proud of what they're putting on the table in front of the judges."

2020/2021 JDCC RESULTS: LAZARIDIS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS and ECONOMICS

School of the Year: 2nd Place
Academic Cup: Tied 2nd Place
Human Resources: 3rd Place
Business Strategy: 1st Place
Marketing: 3rd Place
Finance: 3rd Place
Digital Strategy: 2nd Place
Social: 3rd place
Debate Honourable Mentions: Hrishi Lariya
Debate: 2nd Place
Rocket League: 1st Place
Call of Duty: Warzone: 3rd place
Charity Consulting Project: 3rd place
Top Charity Dollars
Laurier Case Team MVP:  Hassan El-Essawi