Brock students didn’t let the closure of the Canada-U.S. land border keep them from defending their title at the 2021 World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara International Case Competition.

The team from the Goodman School of Business competed virtually Friday, March 19 against students from Canisius College, Daemen College, University of Buffalo and Niagara College. This is the third annual competition and Goodman has taken home the first-place trophy each year.

This year’s case focused on the World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara’s operations. As the environment for international business and trade has changed and been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the programming needs of the association’s members also changed. The team received the case at noon on Thursday and presented their recommendations to the judging panel at 9 a.m. on Friday.

The team comprised of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students Sukhwinder Gill and Bill Huynh, BBA double degree student Ashley Harold, Accounting student Angelo Pirrera and faculty advisors Ken Walker and Mark Parker.

For Gill, who acted as team captain and participated in the 2020 competition, this win was just as special as the in-person event the previous year.

“Goodman is able to uphold their reputation as a global business school and is also able to show the rest of the world that our students are ready to make major contributions to the business world,” he said.

The advisors were impressed with the level of poise and polish the team possessed when presenting.

“Their achievement reflected their ability to work well together and draw upon each other’s individual strengths and abilities,” Parker said. “The confidence in which they answered challenging questions and how well prepared they were for such questions was impressive.”

This year’s virtual format provided more opportunities for the team to prepare. Without having to meet on site like in past years, it was easier to get everyone together for mock cases and to solicit feedback from advisors and Goodman professors, Walker said.

“Ultimately, it all came down to the team’s ability to adapt to this new form of virtual delivery and their commitment to utilizing their own and others’ suggestions about best practices,” he said. “Goodman’s focus on case analysis discussion and assessment, its concentration on collaborative activities and responsibilities, and its emphasis on graduating students who possess both practical real-world business skills and wide-ranging communications capabilities certainly contributed to this team’s win.”

Gill encourages students to get involved in case competitions, which he says have enhanced his university experience.

“People generally regret not getting involved, so whether you are in your first or fifth year, go out and find those opportunities that will be another step in developing yourself into the person you want to become on the path to the career you want to achieve,” he said.

The team members thanked their advisors, faculty members who provided feedback on presentations and Teighan McIntyre, Goodman’s Student Programming and Engagement Co-ordinator for helping them achieve this success.