News Article

The Distributed Learning team, 709 Solutions, took first place at College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) annual Business Case competition this past weekend. The competition included 10 teams from CNA campuses, two from College of the North Atlantic-Qatar and one from the college’s Distributed Learning Service (DLS). DLS provides web-based online access to College of the North Atlantic courses and programs.
 
The winning team consisted of Mallory Yates of Gander, Courtney Vivian of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and Wendy Hodder of St. John’s, and were coached by instructors Lisa Skinner and Tina Dean.
 
Students were challenged in a round robin case competition event from Friday to Saturday and the event concluded with a final round, with winning teams announced at the awards banquet. The competition was an excellent learning opportunity as the students had to think quickly under stressful situations and were challenged by two panels of industry judges on business solutions and strategies.

Mary Vaughan, the college’s Dean of Business and Information Technology, says she was impressed by how the students rose to every challenge and pushed themselves to new levels over the course of the two-day competition.

“The 2014 Business Case competition has surpassed our expectations,” she said. “With record attendance and the students from various program areas, this year was a great success. The students showed strong business knowledge and confidence as they defended their recommendations to a panel of industry judges.
 
“It takes great courage to take this challenge on and our students, whether they were first year students or third year, showed their high level of critical thinking skills and business savviness. They are all to be commended.”
 
709 Solutions came in first in each round as well as in the finals, and showed confidence and energy throughout the two-day competition.
 
“They were positive and ready for the challenge and this all paid off with their top placement,” said Vaughan. “For the distance students, they practiced and came together as a team in an online environment. When they were face-to-face in Grand Falls-Windsor it was as if they had been a team for many years. It is amazing to see the confidence they showed throughout he competition and their high level of business knowledge.”
 
“The team put all of their training into practice as they worked on the cases,” said Dean. “Their ability to be creative and defend their choices to the judges, showed this. Both Lisa and I are so proud of them.”
 
Grand Falls-Windsor teams Business As Usual and Brand Knew Solutions took second and third place respectively. CNA President and CEO Ann Marie Vaughan said all the participants should be commended for their efforts.
 
“This competition provides students with a chance to take the things they’ve learned in the classroom and apply them, but it also builds confidence that will carry on into their professional careers,” said President Vaughan. “While the classroom setting is essential, there are so many more facets to what CNA offers. These opportunities give them a chance to see what thinking on their feet and producing quick results will be like when they enter the workforce.”
 
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Media Contact:
 
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca