Burnaby School District Case Competition

The Burnaby School District (BSD) Case Competition program was developed by the BCIT School of Business in partnership with the Burnaby School District. The BSD Case Competition program was targeted towards students in grades nine to twelve and was customized for the Summit Program. It consisted of three cases: Prostock Baseball, Burnaby Heights Hats Off Day, and Canadian Tire Driving School. The program was divided into two phases: mentorship and the case competition.

The first phase consisted of members from the BCIT chapters of MPI, MA, and SIFE that went to five different Burnaby High schools: Burnaby North, South, Central, Moscrop, and Cariboo Hill, for a month to provide guidance and answer questions students may have about developing a marketing plan that focuses on an element of the marketing mix: product, place, price, and promotion. The first case, Prostock Baseball, was a non-presentation practice case. For most students it was their first time developing a marketing case, so the focus was on the basics of the case. The second case, Hats Off Day, was a presentation case and was also the connection to phase two of the program, the case competition.

The case competition took place on Nov 17^th at the BCIT Burnaby Campus. It was a full day of hard work that tested the High School students’ ability to work as a cohesive team under tight time pressures. The students were given 45 minutes of practice before they had to deliver their ten minute PowerPoint presentations. The second half of the day consisted of a ten minute presentation from Annika from BC Hydro about sustainability. The students were then given two hours to develop a ten minute presentation that solves the problem stated in the case. The winner of the 2012 Case Study Competition was Burnaby North. Awards were also given out for the best market research, most innovative idea, and most convincing sales pitch.

My experience as the BSD Case Competition Event Coordinator was amazing! My main task was the development and organization of the case competition day for 73 high school students and teachers, ten BCIT mentors, and four judges. Although I developed the schedule and knew it inside and out, I did not know what to expect. It was my first time developing an event of that size with that many stakeholders.  I would definitely have to say with the help of the motivated mentors and BCIT staff it was a great success! I am deeply grateful for all the effort the mentors and BCIT staff have put into the mentoring sessions and the competition day. There was a touch of competition between the mentors wanting their respective school to win.  I think that determination was one of the driving factors that pushed the mentors to carry on through the high pressure ten hour day. This event definitely would not have been as successful without the mentors, BCIT Staff, and the high school students and teachers. This was definitely a rewarding experience!

Jennifer Wong
President | MPI BCIT
BSD Case Competition Event Coordinator

Being a director for the case study competition was by far the highlight of my time at BCIT. In June, during the beginning of the planning process I had no idea what to expect for the competition day and the mentor sessions, as something like this had never been done before at BCIT. The next five months were filled with meetings with an excellent team, and lots of emails and sessions with mentors and the high schools. Once the mentor sessions began in mid-October, the mentors, organizing team and I knew this event was going to be a success. I think it’s safe to say, we were all blown away by the amount of interest and hard work put into all the case work by the students. Their talent was truly displayed when each school made their first presentation and hurried back to their classrooms to prepare in just two hours, another case study preparation. The whole event was in large part a collaborated effort by BCIT, the BCITMA, SIFE BCIT, MPI BCIT, and the Burnaby School District to get everything organized. But what really tied it all together were the students and their drive to learn and succeed that resulted in their incredible performances. I had an extremely memorable time being a part of this event, because not only was I able to develop my writing, organizing, and communicating skills, I got to be a part of a special event that enriched and furthered education in the community.

Ayda Dabiri
Director of BSD Case Competition
BCIT Marketing Association

  

MPI BCIT Spreads Holiday Cheer!

MPI BCIT celebrated Christmas in style with reindeer antlers, santa hats and giant candy canes! On December 7^th, students from MPI BCIT brought the Christmas spirit to the Great Hall at BCIT taking fun and festive photos with students on campus at our Christmas Photo Booth. We offered students an opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit for only one dollar! Adrienne Regier (MPI BCIT’s Director of Events) and her team of dedicated individuals set up a backdrop, a registration table and Christmas props for all to enjoy. Many volunteers came out to help by encourage students to participate, dressing up in festive attire and even posing in pictures with their festive gear. Not only was this fundraiser a ton of fun, but it will allow MPI BCIT to continue to throw bigger and better events in the future to help out both BCIT students and the community!

Finally, I would like to give a huge thanks to Adrienne Regier and her team for all her hard work this year and we are very excited for what is to come in the New Year!

From everyone at MPI BCIT, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year! 

The Suite Mingler featuring Kemp Edmonds

What is a social media expert? Someone who is an expert in posting funny jokes on facebook? An expert at taking silly photos with Instagram? What many people don’t realize is what an important tool social media is for a business! Kemp Edmonds from Hootsuite sure does understand what it can do and how to use it. Lucky for all of those who attended The Suite Mingler, we learned some of those things!

Many of students probably think they know how to use social media. I sure realized while I was listening to Kemp that 'Yes, I know about social media, but not to the extent of all its capable of!'. 

Lucy Liu presenting Kemp with a thank-you gift

We learned about how different it is using social media for connected with friends and family from using social media for business. Kemp made it very cleat that it is very important to keep those two aspects of social media separate!

Megan, Nina and Leslie mingling!

Tyler, Chris and Albert mingling!

Event Director Adrienne Regier and President Jennifer Wong

The event was great being both educational and entertaining! We hope to have Kemp back sometime in the future!

To get more involved with social media and MPI BCIT, like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter! @mpibcit

Networking with the Stars

Networking with the Stars is a student-hosted event sponsored by the MPI BC Chapter aiming to connect students and members of industry to make meaningful and lasting connections! 48 determined tourism students dedicated time out of their busy BCIT schedule to plan and implement this event.

The event was started off by Darcy Rezac, CEO of AnaPacific Consulting and author of "Work the Pond". He discussed the importance of positive networking in the business industry, and gave the students tips on how to make talking to people easier. He was an enthusiastic & engaging speaker, and the students felt it really helped prepare them for the evening ahead.

Industry members began arriving right after the workshop, so the mingler started fast and strong. The food and atmosphere was prepared and set up beautifully, creating an elegant environment for students and industry to mingle and connect! As guests roamed the room and checked out the silent auction, violinists and a harpist played melodies that created a peaceful atmosphere.

Mary Ann Liu, Adrienne Regier, Megan Krentz, Megan Mascia, Carmen Merola, Maeghan Tuckey

Many students (and i'm sure some industry too!) were nervous to approach others, what should we talk about? Because of this, a networking activity was created where students had a famous landmark and industry had a corresponding location where the landmark was located! This let students and industry have something initially in common, a game they were both involved in.

We would like to thank all the sponsors that helped facilitate the success of this event:

• Vancouver Convention Centre
• Darcy Rezac from the Shepa Learning Centre
• Nasco Staffing Services
• Jon Benjamin Photography
• Art of the Party
• AVW Telav
• BCIT School of Business
• Foster Walker
• MPI BC Chapter

BCIT Student Achievement Awards – BCIT Students achieve greatness!

It was such an honor to attend the BCIT Awards ceremony with all my peers! It was a wonderful thing to see all the students dressed up with their family by their sides to accept their recognition for greatness!

These awards were given out for academic excellence as well as leadership and service.

Congratulations to all who received an award!

The BCIT Foundation gratefully acknowledges the generosity of our donors who make these awards possible. With your support, BCIT is able to recognize student success and academic excellence.

The following four MPI executives received awards:

Megan Krentz

Tyler Newton

Vivek Punwami

Jennifer Wong

Congratulations Everyone!

Students get a taste of Crème de la Crème

Have you ever tried a spoonful of milk and cookies?  How about a chocolate chip cookie atop a chocolate milk bubble that bursts upon scooping into your mouth?  Well I have, and that rather creative take on a classic was one of the many scrumptious and delightful hors d'oeuvres served at last weekend's Crème de la Crème wedding showcase.  Put on by the one of Vancouver's most sought after event planning companies, Countdown events, the show epitomized the luxury and grander that is the Vancouver wedding scene.  A strong and bustling industry for Vancouver, the clever event had hooks and tools had all attendees Brides-to-be or not enthralled.

Jennifer Wong and Nina Davidson

In addition to the never-ending array of tasters and treats, some of the season’s hottest gowns from Vera Wang, Nicole Miller, Alvina Valenta, and Oscar De La Renta strutted down the flower be-decked main hall.  Free photo shoots and prints, manicures, hair stylists and drinks lined the network of rooms allocated to the show at the downtown Four Seasons Hotel.  After being primped and preened each bride left with a gift packet with enough swag and magazines to last her until the special day.  One of the cleverest giveaways being a pair of freshwater pearl earings from Jeweliette Jewelry and the cheerful tag line: “Keep Calm and wear Pearls”.

Bride or not, the production of the entire event seemed to come off flawlessly and was an excellent opportunity for BCIT students to volunteer and get a taste behind the scenes of one of Vancouver’s most thriving and colorful industries.

Link BC Student Case Competition

Colleen Smith, Chanelle Gale, Shivani Mukerji, and Leslie Lessard

On Sunday, November 4, 2012, four members of MPI BCIT competed in the 6^th Annual Link BC Case Competition. The BCIT team, consisting of Chanelle Gale, Leslie Lessard, Shivani Mukerji, and Colleen Smith, placed first in their category, competing against five other teams. The event took place during the HOST BC conference, and brought together students studying in tourism and hospitality programs across BC.

Competition Awards during the Premier and Cabinet Luncheon

All of the teams were asked to come up with packages and marketing plan that could be implemented at one of the 18 Coast hotels across BC. The teams only had five hours to complete the marketing plan once given the location of the hotel and the official question.  The locations were randomly drawn. The BCIT team created four packages for Coast Hotel & Convention Centre Langley City included a mancation, a family cultural experience, and a romantic couples getaway grouped together with the phrase “Relive, remember, and renew at BC’s best coast.”

You can check out all of the presentations at slideshare.net/LinkBC (BCIT's presentation is the first one).

Congratulations Team BCIT!