A team of students from Laurentian University won second place during the finals of the 7th International Business Plan Competition at the SolBridge International School of Business in South Korea.
The Laurentian team is the first and only Canadian team to be invited to this competition. The team is comprised of Daniel Boileau, Stephane Lauzon, Sarah Napoli and Maxime Leduc.
“I would like to congratulate our students,” said Michel Delorme, dean of the Faculty of Management, in a press release.
“I hope that they learned a lot and enjoyed this experience. It is an experience of a lifetime that can help them finish their studies and have an impact as they start their careers.”
Delorme also thanks Professor Luc Lagrandeur for his mentorship and guidance in preparing the students for this competition.
He also extends his gratitude to associate dean Bernie Schell for accompanying the students to South Korea and being their mentor during the competition.
“This is a great success to bring back to Laurentian University – we are very proud of our students!” he said.
Participants had to solve a real business problem for Samsung Rewards Program handling areas of acquiring new target markets, retaining existing customers and corporate social responsibility.
A representative from Samsung global expansion initiative officially delivered the case to the participating teams and shared more insights about prevailing market trends.
Qualifying teams from the preliminary rounds made final presentations in front of a panel of judges comprising of SolBridge professors and industry representatives to identify the winners.
The International Business Plan Competition is growing gradually each year with additional teams and countries represented, and more challenging business cases handled.
This year, a total of 24 (19 overseas) teams representing 33 nationalities joined this competition.
Participants tested their problem-solving ability, business and cultural insights and communication skills. It was also an opportunity for them to network with and learn from their peers from different cultural and educational backgrounds.
