This year, after completing all of my co-op terms, I decided to join the UWaterloo team for the McGill International Portfolio Competition (MIPC). While the prize money was a good motivator, I figured I could also come out of this competition gaining more skills at my disposal.
There aren’t many opportunities in life where you will have the privilege to compete on an international stage, and even fewer chances to do so as a student representing your university. So, when I was invited by the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) to represent the University of Waterloo at the 2020 McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC) alongside three of my peers, I knew this was an opportunity I could not pass up.
I think one of the best things about participating in case competitions is getting to experience the benefits of being part of a diverse team. Each of my team members had different strengths and abilities, although we were all in AFM, we were in different years of the program and had different interests and backgrounds. Looking back, the diverse experiences among my teammates helped forge the strengths of our team and offered me a unique opportunity to learn from them.
Regardless if we win or lose, I believe that it is special to represent your school at these kinds of events as it encourages us to STRIVE to be the best we can be!
So, naturally, I weighed the outcomes with a pros and cons list.
There is no better time to try new things than in this virtual learning environment! In early November, I participated in my first case competition with a few friends at the University of Guelph’s first ever Lang Tax Case Conference.
Next time you get an opportunity to register for a case competition, I strongly suggest you do it— you won’t regret it. When I was in my second year of the AFM program, I had an intense interest in competing. I had seen my friends and peers find success when competing and I wondered if I could as well.
Recently, I participated in the Schulich RISE Strategy Discipline Case Competition, where delegates from various prestigious Canadian universities compete with each other by solving a complex business problem.