Case competitions

The FECC was such a great opportunity! Not only did three of my peers become great friends but our coaches did too. Having the opportunity to bond with classmates and professors in this environment was something I’ve always wished for and the competition made it a reality. 

At the competition … I felt like I could be a sponge. I was able to be challenged to a new degree and in a way that I’ve craved. The competition gave a hands-on way to work through something difficult with a group of very intelligent individuals. 

I’ve also come to learn that increasing experiences like this case competition allows individuals to get a deeper understanding of what they can do. This case competition boosted my confidence in my ability to become a business professional in the real world. Having this experience showed me another path of something I can do and for this, I will always be thankful. This case competition wasn’t just a challenge but it also helped me find another piece of me, something not all people are privileged to find.

I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the team representing TMU at the SG-FECC. Our team went through an in-depth training period with our coaches in order to adequately prepare for the competition. The competition itself was an excellent experience for me as it improved my skills in various areas, led me to meet some very interesting people, and overall was very fun. Our team was happy to return to TMU with a 3rd place trophy!

Starting the year at the four-day Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (SG-FECC) was a positive experience that I hope will set the tone for the year to come. At an international level, our team, representing Toronto Metropolitan University, had the opportunity to network, compete and challenge ourselves daily. What started in the classroom as completing case studies for grades became recognition at a well-known and respected competition. It was a gratifying moment when our group was announced and called to the stage to receive our second-place title, but I truly believe it was the moments following our finalist presentation that was the highlight. 

After three busy days of waking up early and spending hours at a time in a room together, hashing out a jammed-packed 20-minute presentation, we set the stage to present our final case to five judges, a large crowd and a live stream. Personally, it was nerve-racking, and there was a lot of pressure going into it. However, I walked out feeling as though it was our best presentation yet. We hit all the marks we discussed throughout our planning session– without a single practice run! We thought it through and left it all out on the table for the judges' review. If they felt we might have missed anything, we were able to cover it in the Q&A and prove that everything throughout the presentation was intentional. When we walked out of the presentation room, one of my teammates said ‘How can you not be happy with that?’ and he was right. That is not to say it wasn’t extremely exciting when they announced our name at the awards ceremony, but it was just validating how happy we all were with our efforts earlier that day.