PBAC Case Competition
| December 2020 |
The Overview of the PBAC case competition.
Ivey MSc Pro Bono Analytics Club
Ivey MSc Students Compete to Develop Market Strategies For A Global Social Enterprise…
On December 5th, 2020, the Ivey Pro Bono Analytics Club (PBAC) concluded its premier case competition virtually, which provided MSc students with the opportunity to work on a market entry problem for a real start-up social enterprise. To create the case, PBAC collaborated with one of their community partners, KALAHUT The House of Arts (KALAHUT), co-founded by a current MSc student, Ritika Malhotra. “I personally got involved in this initiative to get a critical view of KALAHUT from the judges and the students so that we can alter our business as we move forward,” Ritika said.The case competition took place between November 30th to December 5th. Students had a total of six days to review the case material, develop a recommendation, and provide an implementation strategy to support KALAHUT in its expansion to external markets. In each recommendation, a market had to be chosen and a marketing plan developed that could be implemented by the owners in the near future. The case, written by the PBAC executive team, contained some company data and research, which students could use to inform their analysis. Ten teams were randomly split into two separate groups to compete during the preliminary rounds; each team presented to a judges’ panel consisting of three experts. This was followed by the final presentation round where the top team from each group presented in front of the full judges’ panel, the company owner, and an audience of non-competing MSc students. Finally, a winning team was announced! 
Mentorship Is Important
Mentorship was embedded into the event structure such that feedback was provided by judges at each stage of the competition. All the judges were from very impressive backgrounds and held manager, associate, or analyst positions at RBC, KPMG, IBM, DAC Group, RBI and Unilever. The remarkable judges were:Richard Donnelly (Associate at RBC Capital Markets)Veronica Wu (Data Scientist at Unilever)Jon McCollins (Associate Data Scientist at IBM)Yinka Adegbusi (Market Insights Manager at KPMG)Alina Zabolotsky (Digital Strategy Analyst at RBI)Anna Lo Giudice (Account Manager at DAC)
Two students from both finalist teams - “Great Name Pending” and “The Big Four”, explained how valuable meeting with the judges was in their further development:
*The two finalist teams’ presentations are shared on MSc Association’s YouTube Channel.
“I had a great time prepping for the case competition. It was very engaging and exciting to recommend solutions to the real-time problem of a startup. As our team reached the finals, the judges from the previous rounds mentored us and I loved that as part of the competition's format. Overall, an experience worth the while. Kudos to Team PBAC.”— Jagriti Malhotra [Team “Great Name Pending”]
“It was a great 6-day experience. Given a chance to work collaboratively with people of different backgrounds and work towards providing a recommendation for a startup is both exciting and challenging. I found that the mentorship component after the 1st round really helped our team advance in the finals. I very much enjoyed this aspect of the competition as it allowed us to take a step back, reflect on and improve our presentation. This is definitely one of the highlights of the event, and it adds a lot of value to the overall experience.”— Binghao Li [Team “The Big Four”]
The Winning Team - “The Big Four“
The judges panel announced the team The Big Four as the winner, based on the feasibility of their strategic recommendations and implementation plan for KALAHUT.
Feedback from “The Big Four” Team:
“The case competition was a whirlwind experience! As individuals, we were able to bring our unique perspectives to tackle the problems presented in the case. We gained an appreciation for data-driven decision-making and developing personas to understand and target market segments. Ultimately, we were able to develop a strategic marketing plan with specific recommendations that the company found valuable. We thank everyone involved for the exceptional experience!”
More contestants shared their experience of participating the PBAC case competition:
Max Zhang
MSc Business Analytics 2021
“After having spent over 3 months of study at Ivey, participating in the PBAC case competition provides a great chance for me to look back and reflect on what I have learnt through the journey. Systematically applying the skill and knowledge within the scope of the case not only helps consolidate my analytical mindset, but also shows direction on where I should aim to improve.”
Liza-Marie Muhairwe
MSc Business Analytics 2021
“The Pro Bono case competition was no doubt an amazing learning experience. Not only did I have the opportunity to solve a real-life case and provide insights to enhance the online presence of a start-up but also to apply my analytical skills in a team environment which in turn allowed me to build relationships despite the challenges that come with learning virtually.”
Echo Kexin Zhang
MSc International Business 2021
“All the planning has been executed rigorously! I have learned a lot from the other contestants, my teammates, the judges, and the PBAC executive team! I feel very fortunate that our MSc program has such a fantastic club that tirelessly devoted to enriching our students' experiences! I feel grateful for all the people involved who dedicated to making this fantastic case competition happen!”
Final Words from the PBAC
By offering students an opportunity to collaborate and solve a real-world problem, we were also able to provide a fellow classmate with a variety of insights she can use to improve her operations. “PBAC case competition has helped me in reflecting over KALALHUT’s pain points and planning for a structured marketing strategy. Students have brought forward some really cool strategies to expand in the international markets which we plan to implement in the coming days,” said Ritika. Moving forward, the PBAC team hopes to integrate the successes of the case competition into future events. We are sincerely grateful for the support from the participants, judges, MScA, Ivey program services and spectators alike and look forward to seeing how we can continue to create engaging events in the new year! PBAC Executive Team 2020-2021:
Talissa Watson (President and Founder)
Natalie Shields (VP Operations)
Nikhil Sant (VP Finance)
Alex Salmon (VP Partnerships and Alumni)
Aderimike Lala (VP Marketing and Digital Presence)
Deeksha Neekhra (VP Membership Learning)
KALAHUT - The House of Arts
Bridge the gap between the Indian cultural art forms and the rest of the world!Website: www.kalahut.com
Instagram: @kalahut_thehouseofarts
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bridgingthegapI