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Student teams from around the world participate in Scotiabank International Case Competition

Mar 19, 2021

The winning team (L-R): Anton Rzaev, Lars Schoningh, Mortiz Reimann, and Ties van der Linden

The winning team from Rotterdam School of Management.

The student teams in this year’s Scotiabank International Case Competition didn’t need to meet in person to have an international learning experience. Instead, they found creative ways to share their culture and engage in social activities in the competition’s new virtual format.

“Scotiabank International Case Competition’s first virtual event gave us a chance to experience the global nature of this competition through a whole new lens, or rather, screen,” said Jayshree Bhargava, an HBA ’21 candidate who co-chaired the event along with Trevor Smith, an HBA ’22 candidate. “Whether that was through participants showing us around their hometowns, talking about national foods, or uniting through our common internet lagging issues, it brought everyone together despite being up to 13,931 kilometres apart.”

Presented and sponsored by Ivey’s Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab and Scotiabank and organized by Ivey students, the competition challenged the student teams to analyze a real-world case on open banking and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. It also included a variety of virtual social activities, such as yoga, escape rooms, and trivia games.

Teams from around the world

In total, there were 80 students from 20 teams from 14 different countries participating in the five-day virtual competition, which ran from March 15-19. This year’s competition included teams from the following countries:

  • Australia – University of Technology Sydney;
  • Canada – Ivey Business School, and John Molson School of Business, Concordia University;
  • Denmark – Aarhus University;
  • Germany – Münster School of Business and Economics;
  • Hong Kong – HKU Business School, University of Hong Kong;
  • Indonesia – Universitas Indonesia;
  • Netherlands – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University;
  • New Zealand – University of Otago School of Business;
  • Peru – Universidad del Pacifico;
  • Singapore – Singapore Management University;
  • South Korea – Korea University Business School;
  • Spain – IE (Instituto de Empresa) Business School, and Universidad de Navarra - School of Economics & Business Administration;
  • Thailand – Thammasat University; and,
  • United States – Florida State College of Business, University of Pittsburgh, and Georgetown University.

Expert insights on open banking

The students also had a chance to learn about key insights and policy challenges related to the future of open banking in Canada. As part of the event, the students watched a virtual fireside chat with Ivey Dean Sharon Hodgson and Dave Forestell, Vice President, Office of the President and CEO at Scotiabank, on reliable and responsible open banking. The fireside chat was hosted by Ivey’s Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management.

The goal of the competition is to provide a forum where undergraduate business students can experience real-world business problems through case preparations and learn from the diverse perspectives of international competitors. This is the 31st year of the competition and each year it attracts teams from top-ranked undergraduate schools around the world.

And the winners are…

The team from Rotterdam School of Management, made up of Mortiz Reimann, Anton Rzaev, Lars Schoningh, and Ties van der Linden, took home the first-place prize. Finalists included Münster School of Business and Economics, Singapore Management University, and Universidad del Pacifico.

Universidad del Pacifico won the coveted Spirit Cup for their enthusiasm and participation in various events and challenges.

Thank you to the judges

  • William Burnfield, MBA ’84, Managing Director, Great Village International Consultants;
  • Craig Corte, Chief Information Officer, Tangerine;
  • Adam Eveline, MBA ’98, Vice President, Retail Customer and Channel Analytics, Scotiabank;
  • Dave Forestell, Vice President, Office of the President and CEO, Scotiabank;
  • Darren Jack, HBA ’88, MBA ’92, Executive Director, EY Caymen Limited, Cayman Islands and Co-Founder, Impact 360;
  • Zemfira Khisaeva, Head of Technology and Enterprise Strategy, Scotiabank;
  • Viler Lika, MBA ’14, Founder & CEO, SingleKey;
  • Janet Robson, Senior Manager, Investment Systems Solution Definition & Architecture, Scotiabank;
  • Ulzhan Salimbayeva, MBA ’18, Regulatory Engagement & Change Management, RBC;
  • Sanjay Sharma, Vice President, Enterprise & Business Architecture, Scotiabank;
  • Andrew Storey, Vice President, Analytics Engineering & Tangerine Analytics, Scotiabank;
  • Eric Swedersky, SVP of Delivery & Public Sector, SecureKey Technologies Inc.;
  • Kevin Teslyk, MBA ’01, Executive Vice President, Canadian Business Banking, Scotiabank; and,
  • Kevin Yousie, HBA ’77, MBA ’80, President & Founder, Crosswater Partners.