| Inter-Collegiate Business Competition | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1979 |
| Type | Undergraduate Business Competition |
| Location | Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Campus | Queen's University |
| Affiliations | Queen's Commerce Society |
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) is Canada's longest-running, undergraduate business case competition. The competition is held annually in January at Queen's University in Kingston, ON and hosts over 100 competitors from the top business schools across Canada as well as internationally. The most recent competition will feature final round qualifiers from the National University of Singapore and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. I.C.B.C. is a student run organization and is in association with the Queen's Commerce Society. It is run by an executive of commerce students.
The competition features eight different events in which students can compete in: Accounting, Business Policy, Ethics, Debating, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Management of Information Systems.
Over the course of the summer and in the early fall, the internal, national and international recruitment coordinators, as well as the University Liaison, will elicit interest from professors and students from around the world. Once registration is complete, prospective finalists compete for a position in the Final Round by completing a business case analysis that the I.C.B.C. executive provides; this makes up the Preliminary formerly Inter-University) Round. Students compete in one of the events, excluding Debating. Cases come from a variety of sources- some are written by Queen's School of Business faculty, some are written by corporate sponsors and others are acquired through partnerships with other recognized business schools. Students are given a month to complete their analysis after which their cases are sent back to the I.C.B.C. executive who distribute the cases to esteemed Queen's School of Business faculty for marking and evaluation. All entries are stripped of any details that identify the school from which the entry came from before being submitted for marking, ensuring that the process is as uniform as possible. After careful deliberation, the top 6 finalists in each category are selected and invited to compete in the Final Round of the competition in January.
The Final Round is a four-day event. The actual competition itself takes place over the course of two days, with four events being held each day. Competitors arrive in the morning and receive a business case in their respective discipline which they will have 5.5 hours to analyze and prepare a presentation for the judges. Debating in different in structure in that students are given several resolutions throughout the day and have shorter amounts of time to prepare their arguments. After the preparation time is up, students are escorted into their presentation room where they present their case in front of a panel of judges who are leaders from the respective industry and sponsor representatives. After their presentation is complete, the teams will have the opportunity to answer the judge's questions as well as receive feedback. The experience, although nerve-racking, has been described as exhilarating and profound for all those involved and has accrued benefits and relationships gained beyond that of the presentation.
Over the course of the weekend, competitors, observers, advisors, judges, volunteers, and sponsor representatives are treated to both formal and informal dinners and socials.
The internationally-renowned competition which is known today has come a long way from its modest beginnings. The inaugural event, held in 1978, was the innovation of Geoff Arnoldi, BCOMM '79, who modified a version of a Cornell University competition. I.C.B.C. '78 was a one-day, three-event competition, in which ten universities competed in a computer-simulated Business Game, a Business Policy case, and a Debate. New events were introduced in subsequent years, including Accounting, Labour Arbitration (which was replaced with Human Resources in 2010), Marketing and Management Information Systems (MIS). As the competition began to take shape and earn greater recognition, more universities began to participate in the exciting events I.C.B.C. had to offer.
In order to qualify for the Final Round of I.C.B.C., students had to compete in a Preliminary Round where in teams of two (three for Business Policy). The competitors analyzed real-world simulation problems and provided a written case analysis. In 1988, the qualification structure of this round changed. Instead of inviting the top five schools based on an overall score from their performance during the Preliminary (formerly Inter-University) Round, the best six teams from each event were invited to attend. This new structure further enhanced the ability of universities to be represented at the Final Round.
I.C.B.C. continued to find new ways to challenge the best and brightest business minds across Canada by adding more events to its roster. In 1995, Finance was introduced to the competition and, in 2001, the Sheldon Chumir Foundation Ethics Event.[1] For the first time in 2001, American universities participated in I.C.B.C. and technology was further integrated into the competition with the addition of laptops for competitor use during their preparation and presentations.
In 2002, I.C.B.C. broke new records with the entry of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Making the competition truly international, as well as many new American entrants. In 2003, I.C.B.C. celebrated its 25th Anniversary and was an undeniable success largely in part of its new venue with incredible facilities and cutting edge technology—the newly-built Goodes Hall, the Queen's School of Business building.
Past Winners:
| Year | Business Policy | Debating | Accounting | Marketing | Labour Arbitration | MIS | Finance | SCF Ethics | Human Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Queen's | ||||||||
| 1980 | McGill | Calgary | |||||||
| 1981 | Queen's | Western | |||||||
| 1982 | Lakehead | Calgary | |||||||
| 1983 | UNB | Calgary | Lakehead | ||||||
| 1984 | Memorial | Queen's | Laurier | ||||||
| 1985 | Calgary | Dalhousie | Laurier | ||||||
| 1986 | Queen's | Mt. Allison | Carleton | Carleton | |||||
| 1987 | Calgary | UBC | Calgary | Mt. Allison | |||||
| 1988 | Calgary | Queen's | Calgary | Saskatchewan | |||||
| 1989 | Laurier | Queen's | Carleton | Carleton | Alberta | ||||
| 1990 | Calgary | Calgary | Ottawa | Queen's | Alberta | ||||
| 1991 | Calgary | Calgary | Carleton | Ottawa | Queen's | Calgary | |||
| 1992 | Carleton | Calgary | Calgary | Queen's | Calgary | Alberta | |||
| 1993 | Calgary | Calgary | Carleton | Lakehead | Calgary | Calgary | |||
| 1994 | SFU | Laurier | Carleton | Calgary | Calgary | Laurier | |||
| 1995 | Memorial | Memorial | Carleton | Ottawa | Queen's | Memorial | Carleton | ||
| 1996 | Manitoba | Memorial | Carleton | Memorial | Queen's | Lakehead | Queen's | ||
| 1997 | Queen's | Memorial | Calgary | Queen's | Calgary / Queen's (tie) | Calgary | Queen's | ||
| 1998 | Calgary | Memorial | Calgary | Memorial | UBC | Queen's | Queen's | ||
| 1999 | Calgary | Queen's | UBC | Lakehead | Calgary | Manitoba | SFU | ||
| 2000 | Calgary | Queen's | SFU | Queen's | Calgary | Queen's | Carleton | ||
| 2001 | Queen's | Memorial | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Queen's | Manitoba | McGill | |
| 2002 | Calgary | Memorial | Memorial | UBC | Calgary | Memorial | Calgary | Calgary | |
| 2003 | Calgary | Memorial | McGill | Calgary | UBC | Lethbridge | Alberta | Lethbridge | |
| 2004 | Queen's | Alberta | Calgary | Concordia | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Queen's | |
| 2005 | Concordia | Calgary | Brock | Brock | Memorial | St. Mary's | Calgary | Calgary | |
| 2006 | Calgary | Calgary | Brock | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Carleton/Lakehead | |
| 2007 | Mt. Allison | Queen's | Carleton | Calgary | Calgary | Laurier | York | Concordia | |
| 2008 | Calgary | Laurier | Calgary | Laurier | Calgary | Manitoba | Calgary | Calgary | |
| 2009 | Queen's | Queen's | Western | Calgary | Calgary | McGill | Alberta | Calgary | |
| 2010 | Calgary | UBC | Calgary | UBC | Queen's | McGill | McGill | Laurier | |
| 2011 | Calgary | UBC | Concordia | SFU | Concordia | York | Regina | Concordia |
Geoff Arnoldi is the instigator and founder behind the prestigious I.C.B.C.
Mike Robins is a member of the BCOMM '79 class at Queen's University. He is a past competitor and long-time supporter of the competition.
Bob Schulz is the legendary University of Calgary professor and has been a fixture at I.C.B.C. since its beginnings in the late 1970s. He has lead U of C teams to have the most wins in the Business Policy and Debating Events, the longest running at the competition. Still, after having started teaching at the U of C in 1973 and attending over 30 Inter-Collegiate Business Competitions, Dr. Bob continues to bring students to compete in the competition. He has been credited with launching many graduate careers for students by training them for I.C.B.C. and showcasing their skills to many of the corporate sponsors and other recruiting opportunities present at I.C.B.C.
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition has typically been co-chaired by students in their third or fourth years who have previous I.C.B.C. Exec. experience.
| Year | Names |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Kelly Damp and Mandy Tran |
| 2011 | Doug Reeves and Matthew Zaffino |
| 2010 | Ian Grundy and Kayleigh Roberts |
| 2009 | Kayla Paret and Olivia Rejniak |
| 2008 | Darryl Proniuk and Natasha Struminikovski |
| 2007 | Nadja Schauer and Maxime Pelletier |
| 2006 | Ashley Boyce and Meghan Jones |
| 2005 | Derek Ha and Patrick Lutfy |
I.C.B.C. has been supported by many corporate and non-for-profit sponsors over the past three decades, including the most recent and notable additions of the Sheldon Chumir Ethics Event and the website sponsored by Caro.
The Queen's Case Competition (QCC) is the internal case competition that serves as a qualifier for any Queen's commerce student interest in competing at I.C.B.C.. The QCC is a two-day event held at the Queen's School of Business and run by the I.C.B.C. student executive with the support of the QSB and its faculty. The cases are written and judged by QSB staff and over 100 students get to compete in the competition.
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition has been run by students since its inception and continues to be a completely student-run initiative. The executive is usually a 16 to 20 member committee made up of undergraduate students in the Commerce Program at Queen's University. This committee includes Co-Chairs, a Case Coordinator, University Liaison, and Event, Social, Publication and Marketing Coordinators. The executive maintains a strong alumni network with many past competitors returning as judges and making up the recently formed Advisory Board.
During both QCC and the Final Weekend of I.C.B.C., student volunteers from the Queen's School of Business are hired to facilitate the competition and fill roles such as team hosts, photographers, drivers and event and technology assistants.
An article on Professor Bob Schulz at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/dr-bob-calgarys-king-of-competitive-case-study/article1382234/
Discussing the origins, growth and present status of I.C.B.C. at its 30th anniversary in 2009: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://schoolofbusiness.com/alumni_and_donors/qsb_magazine/inqw2008.pdf
A Queen's Commerce review of the 31st Annual Competition: http://business.queensu.ca/news/blog/qsbs-inter-collegiate-business-competition-a-huge-success