By Gabrielle Mazeran – Contributor & Erik Morrison – Business and Economics Editor

During the weekend of Jan. 21-22, the Bishop’s Jeux de Commerce Central (JDCC) teams travelled to Ottawa to compete in the JDCC case competition. Bishop’s sent 20 students to compete in the competition, divided into six different teams that each compete within specific disciplines: strategy, finance, marketing, digital strategy, entrepreneurship, and social. The digital strategy team finished on the podium, just behind McMaster and Laurentian University. 

In preparation for the competition, the digital strategy team, consisting of Mikaela Rohac-Grenier, Annabelle McLean, and Jabez Jonkam, met several times throughout the fall semester to crack previous cases related to digital technology. During those sessions, they discussed their evaluation of the case but also what else could have been included and how technology is used in that specific context. Dr. Elisa Gagnon, a Williams School of Business (WSB) professor and the JDCC coach, gave them some readings on topics related to technology. Gagnon mentioned the team had two members experienced in case competitions, helping guide the team through how case competitions are structured. Each member brought their own strengths to the team throughout the competition.

This is the first year that Bishop’s sent a team to compete in the digital technology stream, and the team placed third. WSB is just about to launch its new BTA concentration (business technology & analytics,) and it is very exciting to see that the program can compete against other schools. The fact that we are a small school allows students to have many opportunities to practise in internal competitions before attending bigger competitions, and provides direct access to coaches and support. 

Gabrielle Mazeran, the team captain for JDCC said: “I was very lucky to have the opportunity to be the captain of JDCC for Bishop’s. From May of last year up to our big competition that happened this past weekend, I have been working on preparing this event. I had the opportunity to work closely with the Dean of the Williams School of Business and other faculty advisors. Working towards this event allowed me to gain a lot of valuable experience. I learned how to manage a team and put into practice different notions we have learned in class as business students.  Additionally, the JDCC case competition allowed me to build a network after socialising with other team captains and delegates from other schools. I was very impressed to see the amount of work put in by the students in preparation for this case competition. The delegates and I were really proud when they announced we had made the podium for digital strategy.”