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UFV business team picks up two wins at competition in Los Angeles

Students compete against top business schools in the United States
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A team from the UFV School of Business in Abbotsford earned two wins at a recent competition in Los Angeles. Pictured are (from left) Rebecca Whitmell, Chad Charest, associate professor and coach Masud Khawaja, Amandeep Rai and Monisha Kingra.

A team of students from University of the Fraser Valley’s School of Business in Abbotsford won two of three categories they entered at a recent competition in Los Angeles.

The four-person team took part April 12 to 14 in the International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition at Loyola Marymount University, competing in the undergraduate division.

Students Chad Charest, Monisha Kingra, Amandeep Rai and Rebecca Whitmell – all seniors majoring in human resources management – were coached by Masud Khawaja, associate professor of the UFV School of Business.

They were among 37 teams participating from 25 universities in various divisions. Some of the best business schools in the United States were represented, including Pennsylvania State University, the University of Florida, Loyola Marymount University and George Washington University.

This was the first time in the history of the UFV School of Business that a student team participated in an international competition in the U.S.

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The event consisted of three events:

• a 25-minute competition in which teams presented a business problem of their choosing and a solution;

• a 10-minute competition in which teams incorporated suggestions given by the judges in the 25-minute event and gave a presentation on the ethical aspect of the problem; and

• a 90-second “elevator pitch” explaining the importance of the sustainability component of the problem.

The UFV students prepared for the competition for more than two months at least 12 to 15 hours a week.

Sharing their expertise and making recommendations to the team were Chris Schinkus, dean of business and computing; Rod Hayward, former director of the School of Business; and Carl Janzen, director of the School of Computing.

Khawaja said it was evident during the awards ceremony that UFV was unknown to other participating institutions.

“It was a moment of tremendous pride for the team when the University of Fraser Valley was announced as the winner,” he said.

“Our team certainly brought the spotlight on our institution and established its reputation in a befitting manner amidst accolades from all. Suddenly, the team from an unrecognized Canadian institution had achieved stardom among the top business schools in the United States.”



vikki.hopes@abbynews.com

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Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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