By: Emma Tomini, Contributor
Laurentian University is honoured to be representing Canada as one of eight universities from eight different countries participating in the 20th International Workshop 2017, a sophisticated business simulation competition.
The competition is a project of the University of Applied Sciences Suedwestfalen, Germany and hosted by Foshan University, Foshan, China, will be taking place from April 29th to May 13th. The other participating countries include Belgium, Russia, Switzerland, Netherlands, China, Germany and Indonesia.
Laurentian students Kéandra Beauvais, Curtis Byron, Jean Noël Desmarais, Kevin Konate, Éric Lavergne-Giroux and Yuxin Ran make up the group that will be representing Canada at the workshop. These students were selected in an effort to represent the diversity that is characteristic of Laurentian and Canada as a whole.
The group includes two MBA students, and four students at the undergraduate level. Male and female students, exchange students, Indigenous students, Francophone students, and Anglophone students are all represented.
“It was a good representation of our campus, of Sudbury and of Canada of course,” says faculty mentor Luc Lagrandeur. The team believes that this diversity gives them an edge over other teams, allowing them to apply a multitude of perspectives to the same problem.
Upon arrival in Foshan, students are mixed with those from other universities so that the teams are made up of students from different countries. The team members will also be at varying education levels; undergraduates, Masters students, and even faculty mentors and professors may all be on the same team. This unique competition structure creates a completely immersive cultural experience, as well as an experience that would be more similar to that of a real life business environment. Even the boarding arrangements pair people up with students from other countries.
Within these teams, different rolls, such as logistics, marketing, operations etc, will be assigned to each team member, at which point the teams begin to formulate strategies for their randomly-assigned business in the hopes of being the most successful team.
The workshop will be an excellent opportunity for students to network, make friends and hone their practical skills and knowledge. “Being in business, we will probably all work to some degree in an international setting, so I think it’s important to get to know other cultures,” says fourth year commerce student Jean Noël Desmarais. Culture and diversity is at the centre of this international business workshop.
As the Faculty of Management is currently going through their AACSB accreditation, this is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the determination and aptness of Laurentian University and its students at an international level. “It’s a great honor just for Laurentian to be able to participate in this and, most importantly, to represent Canada,” said Luc Lagrandeur.
Good luck to these students and faculty from all of us at Laurentian!