By Shanleigh Brosseau, Editor-in-chief  

A team of four Laurentian students won second place in the finals of the International Business Competition at SolBridge International School of Business in South Korea.

The competition included a total of 24 teams representing various nationalities.

The team, which included Sarah Napoli, Maxime Leduc, Daniel Boileau, and Stephane Lauzon, was selected to compete by Luc Lagrandeur, assistant professor of marketing for the Department of Marketing and Management and coordinator of business competitions.

“The university and the Faculty of Management have a partnership agreement with SolBridge [International School of Business], because of that partnership we got invited to their International Business Plan Competition,” Lagrandeur said.

Lagrandeur teaches a case competition course, which allows students to be trained to compete in business competitions.

“Basically what I do every week is a mock competition. Three hours before class, teams receive their case problem and at seven o’clock when they get to class, they make the presentation,” Lagrandeur said. “I have 13 students [in the course], so I get to choose which ones I think work best together.”

“Based on the strengths of the students, I tried to create the dream team,” he said. “So far, I think I’m on the right track.”

The International Business Plan Competition involved presenting a solution for a South Korean multinational company – the Samsung Rewards Program.

“This gave them hands-on experience,” Lagrandeur said. “Trying to solve problems in a time constraint environment is a good reflection of the business world.”

“This is great to give our students exposure to international cultures and different ways of doing things. It also [aligns] with the Faculty of Management’s mission, to create socially responsible leaders of the global business world,” added Lagrandeur.

The ‘dream team’

Napoli, a fourth-year student in Business Administration, was one of the students placed on the team to compete in South Korea. According to Napoli, the “team dynamic” helped them reached the finals.

“It was our first time working together,” Napoli said. “We got lucky, I think because we are all similar people in the way we work and how we chose to work.”

Napoli said the team made sure to balance fun and work while competing, and ultimately coming in 2nd place in the finals.

“We made sure to have fun because we’re in South Korea, yeah it’s a case competition but we’re here to experience the culture too,” Napoli said.

“I think a big difference in what separated us [from the other teams], is that when we were presenting, I felt like we were having fun. A lot of the other teams [seemed] nervous and stressed, while we didn’t care too much about the outcome.”

“We just wanted to get up there and show them what we had and I think that gave us a lot of confidence,” she added.

Maxime Leduc, a fourth-year student in Commerce, said he is “proud to have represented the university at an international level with the team.”

“One comment we got was that we had great chemistry as a team,” Leduc said. “The chemistry was part of the class itself.”

A ‘cultural experience’

“Going to South Korea was definitely a huge culture shock,” Leduc said. “There are a lot of cultural differences to adapt to.”

Leduc says networking is what made his experience most valuable.

“If a business venture comes along that I need help with, or want to take to the next level, I immediately have a large amount of contacts on an international level that have similar visions and that are equally motivated,” Leduc said.

For Stephane Lauzon, a fourth-year student in Business Administration, heading to South Korea was his first abroad experience.

“The South Korea experience was really awesome, mostly for my first time leaving Canada,” Lauzon said. “The cultural experience in the city and the country itself was a bit shocking as the CCTV [surveillance] that they have everywhere isn’t something I was expecting or knew about.”

“The university vibe was really awesome as well,” he said. “The students were really friendly and welcoming, and it was a nice atmosphere.”

According to Lauzon, the 2nd place prize included a Samsung USB and a 60% scholarship to the SolBridge International School of Business.

“I’m considering [the scholarship] a bit, but I’m not one hundred percent sure how I feel about leaving the country for school,” said Lauzon. “It would be a really good experience, but I don’t know, I’m thinking about it.”