4th Annual JMH LaunchPad Pitch Competition another huge success for Mount Royal Students
On Wednesday April 5th, 2016, the 4th annual JMH Launch Pad Pitch Competition took place in Ross Glen Hall in front of approximately “200 high-energy supporters”. Seven Mount Royal student ventures competed in a “Dragon’s Dens-style” competition that seen the students pitch their ventures and answer questions from a panel of esteemed judges, all while vying for their share of over $75,000 in cash and prizes!
Ray De-Paul, Director for the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, reports that the successful evening began by paying tribute to some of the exceptional students that have participated in this competition in prior years. Ray indicated that all 7 pitches went incredibly well and the judges had the difficult task of announcing the winners.
Bissett School of Business extends congratulations to all of the 2016 LaunchPad winners:
Smoke Barrel (Zac Hartley)
Smoke Barrel manufactures custom hand crafted hot and cold smokers from old wine and whiskey barrels. The most beautiful smoker on the market can also be customized to tailor the product for the most discerning customer.
JMH & Co Award: $10,000
BUSY Foundation Award: $10,000
Stikeman Elliott LLP Legal Services: $10,000 (in-kind)
Green Cup (Emily Bartlett and Ozzy Lang)
Green Cup is a social enterprise that is reducing the amount of coffee cup waste in Canada. They sell advertisements on compostable cups and distribute those cups in the advertiser’s target market.
JMH & Co Award: $10,000
Institute for Environmental Sustainability Award: $2,500
Nomad Eco Products (Zachary Champoux)
Nomad Eco Products produces a 100% recycled yoga mat that mends our relationship with the planet by making what is torn, whole again. The yoga mats are made from recycled denim and are as unique as they are environmentally friendly.
JMH & Co Award: $10,000
TANG (Brad Williamson)
Tang is a geographic-based, temporary social media network that allows users to see what people are up to around them. Users can search for relevant content based off of a hashtag, within a particular vicinity, or both. The user controls how long the content exists so can share silly moments without the infinity history of most social media.
JMH & Co Award: $10,000
Little Blue Cloud (Carille Mendoza and Michaela Day)
Little Blue Cloud is an online/app-based resource for students struggling with depression and anxiety. Features such as an anonymous peer support chat system and a self-help database provide a comfortable, non-stigmatized environment where users can talk to others facing similar situations.
Institute for Community Prosperity Award: $2,500
Design4Change Marketing Services: $5,000 (in-kind)
The Well Brewing Company (Quinn Wilton)
The Well Brewing Company is Alberta’s first community-driven craft brewery and well-positioned to take advantage of the booming craft beer industry. Members receive exclusive access to member only beer, tasting events, and democratic voting on names and the types of beer being produced.
BUSY Foundation Award: $5,000
Congratulations to all participants and winners! The Bissett School of Business would also like to acknowledge the continued success of The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, for their continued success in mentoring and inspiring the entrepreneurial minds and ambitions of our Mount Royal Students!
“Community feedback about our students consistently puts them in a class of their own in Calgary.”-Ray DePaul
Bissett School of Business students take 1st Place in the 2016 CPA Board Governance Case Competition
The 2016 CPA Board Governance Case Competition was held on March 17-18 at Hotel Arts in Calgary. This competition is an annual event, organized and hosted by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, originally initiated by CMA Alberta. In this competition students are given a case to analyze. The case covers issues in accounting, board governance, and ethics. The case is kept secret until it is handed to the teams at the competition. Teams are then given six hours to analyze the case and present their analysis, recommending solutions to a judging panel of business leaders. Only four teams are selected to advance to the final round and prizes are awarded to the top three teams.
A total of thirteen teams representing all the universities and post-secondary institutions in Alberta participated in this year’s competition, vying for the top prize of $10,000.00. The Bissett School of Business from Mount Royal University had two teams participating.
Both teams from Mount Royal performed very well at this year’s competition. In particular, out of the thirteen teams that entered the competition, one of the Bissett teams not only made it to the final round, but finished first overall! This is a tremendous accomplishment! The participants work under extreme pressure to come up with their solution to the case to present to the panel of judges. They also have to be very strong technically in their accounting knowledge and other subject matter. Another critical component for the winning team was their strong presentation skills.
The students from the winning Bissett team were:
- Ross Graham
- Melissa Kinzner
- Shaelynn (Shae) Prefontaine
- Corey Reinhardt
- Peter Serafini
The following faculty coached the Bissett teams:
- Rafik Kurji
- Shiraz Kurji
- Simon Magennis
A lunch has been organized on Friday April 8 at 12:30 pm in room EB2027 to celebrate our teams from Mount Royal. The Dean, Associate Dean, and all Accounting faculty will be in attendance to celebrate the success of the students who participated in the 2016 CPA Board Governance Case Competition.
On behalf of the Bissett School of Business we would like to congratulate the winners on a job well done! Congratulations also goes out to the other participants. Thank you to our dedicated faculty members for providing coaching and mentoring to our students!
Bissett Finance students compete in the CIFP Case Challenge
The Bissett School of Business wishes to congratulate our students, coached by financial services contract faculty member, Sean Bjorkland, who competed in the annual CIFP Case competition, western edition, hosted by SAIT on March 12th.“After a sequestration period where the students analyzed a personal financial planning case, the students presented and answered questions from industry leaders. It is a challenging, if not daunting task. I was extremely impressed with our team’s bold, yet reasoned and comprehensive recommendations.- Cathy Roy-Heaton
Coach:
Sean Bjorkland, VP, Financial Planning, BMO Group & Contract Faculty, Bissett School of Business
Student Team:
Student Understudies:
Eight time JUNO award winner and humanitarian, Paul Brandt, named as “Storyteller in Residence” for Bissett School of Business
Famous for his story-telling through song, Paul Brandt is lending his expertise and time to the faculty, students and the community at large, by becoming the “Story-teller-in-residence” at Mount Royal University.
“We couldn’t be happier to have such a talented storyteller, as well as humanitarian, on board.” – Valerie Kinnear, Dean, Bissett School of Business
As an alumnus, and successful artist, Paul will help bring awareness to a variety of issues including that of missing and murdered indigenous women and human trafficking. Working closely with senior marketing students, an awareness campaign, W at MRU, is ongoing from March 21 through April 7th, beginning with a number of exhibits throughout the university as well as an evening of “talking, screenings and music” on March 30th in the Bella Concert Hall. More information on this campaign and the events can be found at www.mruimpact.com.
The Bissett School of Business welcomes Paul and looks forward to having him in residence for the next two years as he mentors students and continues to provide leadership for a number of student led initiatives.
Related news articles on Paul Brandt’s joining forces with MRU can be found on the following links:
http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2016/03/21/paul-brandt-telling-stories-at-mru.html
http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/03/21/paul-brandt-takes-on-mount-royal-roll
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/fortney-paul-brandt-brings-storytelling-skills-to-mount-royal-university
Bissett School of Business, Associate Professor, Allan Dwyer comments on the future of Alberta’s Oilsands.
A recent article by Kyle Bakx, CBC News Reporter, discussed the future of the Oilsands beyond the year 2020, with Bissett School of Business, Associate Professor, Allan Dywer providing comment. Allan’s concern is that there has not been enough research and development to keep pace with the increasingly competitive oil market and that the opportunity to decrease production costs through technological advancements has been lost.
‘The report confirmed my main concern, which is long term, the oilsands are not viable’– Allan Dwyer, Mount Royal University
To read the article in its entirety, please follow this link:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/oilsands-investment-economy-gdp-alberta-fed-report-1.3500768
Bissett student, Tim Lipp accepted into the Social Impact Incubator at the University of Waterloo
Wendelin Fraser, MRU Associate Professor and key advisor for Project Stoke reports: “Tim and his partner, fellow MRU student Paisley Dressler, have been “key to the success of this Mount Royal student initiative these past six months and as a result, this project won the Western Regional Challenge for Entrepreneurial Projects. Tim and his team will present their work at the National Enactus Exposition in Toronto, this coming May.”
- Dedicated space that fosters creativity and collaboration
- Weekly programming to help students conceive an idea that tackles a pressing environmental or social problem along with testing, launching and measuring the impact of their idea.
- Mentorship from entrepreneurs as well as consultation with professionals in areas such as: sales, legal, finance and communications.
- Peer-to-peer support
from like-minded, passionate people representing all six faculties.
- Access to startup funding in the form of grants and social financing opportunities
“The activities at St, Paul’s GreenHouse, University of Waterloo directly align with the University of Waterloo’s vision to be “recognized as a uniquely entrepreneurial university that applies innovative approaches to technology, social innovation, and social entrepreneurship in ways that create recognizable impact both in economic growth and improving the human condition.”
Congratulations Tim and enjoy your summer at Waterloo!
Peter Elson, Institute for Community Prosperity, releases publication
The Bissett School of Business would like to congratulate, Peter Elson PhD., Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Community Prosperity, Mount Royal University, for his work on the a new publication in the IPAC Series in Public Management and Governance that has just been released.
“Funding Policies and the Nonprofit Sector in Western Canada is the first book written explicitly to profile provincial nonprofit funding policies in Western Canada and involves authors who have spent decades analyzing and/or living this relationship” -Peter Elson.
Please review the highlights and table of contents; and then add it to your bookshelf.
The Institute of Community Prosperity partners to bring the first ever pan-Canadian National Youth Leadership and Innovation Strategy Summit to Toronto
The Bissett School of Business would like to congratulate The Institute for Community Prosperity as they will be one of 20 organizations partnering on a National Youth Leadership and Innovation Strategy Summit on April 29 and 30 in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, they are conducting the context-setting research for the event, which is the first ever pan-Canadian gathering of youth leadership development initiatives.
“On April 29 & 30, the country’s most innovative employers, youth leadership organizations and top young talent will come together to architect the first national plan for engaging young leaders to strengthen Canada’s capacity to develop young leaders and innovators.”
Bissett School Of Business HR program shares successes
HRC West – Case Competition
Annual HR Student Networking Event – March 15, 2016 (Summary written by Alex Lefter):
Bissett School of Business International Business and Supply Chain Management professors prepare for Conference Presentations!
Bissett School of Business would like to congratulate the following professors for their upcoming presentations at major conferences throughout North America:
Dr. Frank Cotae will present at the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) in Atlanta, Georgia and the last week of June both Frank and Dr. Halia Valladares will present a paper called ‘Experiential Learning: Integrating Simulations into International Business Curricula’ based on the teaching and innovation grant they received for this academic year.