Inter-Collegiate Business Competition
 | |
| Type | Undergraduate Business Competition |
|---|---|
| Established | 1979 |
| Founder | Geoff Arnoldi |
| Location | Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Campus | Queen's University |
| Affiliations | Queen's Commerce Society |
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) is Canada's longest-running undergraduate business case competition. The competition is held annually in January at Queen's University in Kingston, ON and hosts over 100 competitors from business schools across the world. I.C.B.C. is a student-run organization associated with the Queen's Commerce Society.
History
The inaugural event of the competition, held in 1978, was the innovation of Geoff Arnoldi, BCOMM '79, who modified a Cornell University competition. I.C.B.C. '78 was a one-day, three-event competition in which ten universities competed in a computer-simulated Business Game, a Business Policy case, and a Debate. New events were introduced in subsequent years, including Accounting, Labour Arbitration (which was replaced with Human Resources in 2010), Marketing, and Management of Information Systems.
In order to qualify for the Final Round of I.C.B.C., students had to compete in a Preliminary Round in teams of two (three for Business Policy). The competitors analyzed real-world simulation problems and provided a written case analysis. In 1988, the qualification structure of this round changed. Instead of inviting the top five schools based on an overall score from their performance during the Preliminary Round, the top six teams from each individual event were invited to attend. This new structure further enhanced the ability of universities to be represented at the Final Round.
In 1995, Finance was introduced to the competition, and the Sheldon Chumir Foundation Ethics Event was added in 2001.[1] In 2001, American universities participated in I.C.B.C. for the first time and technology was integrated into the competition with the addition of laptops for competitor use during preparation and presentations.
Overview
The competition features eight different events in which students can compete in: Accounting, Business Policy, Ethics, Debating, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Management of Information Systems.
Over the course of the summer and in the early fall, the internal and Competitor Recruiting Officer and the University Liaison elicit interest from professors and students around the world. Once registration is complete, prospective finalists compete in the Preliminary (formerly Inter-University) Round by completing a business case analysis that the I.C.B.C. executive provides. Students are given one month to complete their analysis, after which their cases are sent to the Queen's School of Business faculty for evaluation. Entries are stripped of identifying details before being marked to ensure that the process is as uniform as possible. The top 5 finalists in each category and one International Invitational team are invited to compete in the Final Round of the competition in January.
The Final Round is a four-day event. The actual competition itself takes place over the course of two days, with four events being held each day. Competitors arrive in the morning and receive a business case in their respective discipline which they will have 5.5 hours to analyze and prepare a presentation for the judges. Debating is different in structure; students are given several resolutions throughout the day and have shorter amounts of time to prepare their arguments. After the preparation time is up, students are escorted into their presentation room where they present their case in front of a panel of judges who are leaders from the respective industry and sponsor representatives. After their presentation is complete, the teams will have the opportunity to answer the judge's questions as well as receive feedback.
Over the course of the weekend, competitors, observers, advisors, judges, volunteers, and sponsor representatives are treated to both formal and informal dinners and socials.
International Invitational
Introduced in 2012 by Co-Chairpersons Irina Rakhimova and Lauren Di Pede, the International Invitational was created to expand the competition internationally and to provide a global learning experience for all the competitors. The international invitational was representative of the vision for I.C.B.C.'s 35th anniversary - ensuring long term growth, fostering new relationships between international schools and domestic competitors and providing a global business education.. Schools are selected through an application process (separate from the Preliminary Round) based on their submitted statement of interest and a number of additional aspects, including, international reputation, historical performance at case competitions, and potential to participate in the Preliminary Round in the future. There is 1 spot out of 6 at the Final Round allocated for the International Invitational in each the following events: Business Policy, Finance, Marketing, Ethics, Human Resources and MIS.
Past winners
| Year | Business Policy | Debating | Accounting | Marketing | Labour Arbitration | MIS | Finance | Ethics | Human Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Queen's | ||||||||
| 1980 | McGill | Calgary | |||||||
| 1981 | Queen's | Western | |||||||
| 1982 | Lakehead | Calgary | |||||||
| 1983 | UNB | Calgary | Lakehead | ||||||
| 1984 | Memorial | Queen's | Laurier | ||||||
| 1985 | Calgary | Dalhousie | Laurier | ||||||
| 1986 | Queen's | Mt. Allison | Carleton | Carleton | |||||
| 1987 | Calgary | UBC | Calgary | Mt. Allison | |||||
| 1988 | Calgary | Queen's | Calgary | Saskatchewan | |||||
| 1989 | Laurier | Queen's | Carleton | Carleton | Alberta | ||||
| 1990 | Calgary | Calgary | Ottawa | Queen's | Alberta | ||||
| 1991 | Calgary | Calgary | Carleton | Ottawa | Queen's | Calgary | |||
| 1992 | Carleton | Calgary | Calgary | Queen's | Calgary | Alberta | |||
| 1993 | Calgary | Calgary | Carleton | Lakehead | Calgary | Calgary | |||
| 1994 | SFU | Laurier | Carleton | Calgary | Calgary | Laurier | |||
| 1995 | Memorial | Memorial | Carleton | Ottawa | Queen's | Memorial | Carleton | ||
| 1996 | Manitoba | Memorial | Carleton | Memorial | Queen's | Lakehead | Queen's | ||
| 1997 | Queen's | Memorial | Calgary | Queen's | Calgary / Queen's | Calgary | Queen's | ||
| 1998 | Calgary | Memorial | Calgary | Memorial | UBC | Queen's | Queen's | ||
| 1999 | Calgary | Queen's | UBC | Lakehead | Calgary | Manitoba | SFU | ||
| 2000 | Calgary | Queen's | SFU | Queen's | Calgary | Queen's | Carleton | ||
| 2001 | Queen's | Memorial | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Queen's | Manitoba | McGill | |
| 2002 | Calgary | Memorial | Memorial | UBC | Calgary | Memorial | Calgary | Calgary | |
| 2003 | Calgary | Memorial | McGill | Calgary | UBC | Lethbridge | Alberta | Lethbridge | |
| 2004 | Queen's | Alberta | Calgary | Concordia | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Queen's | |
| 2005 | Concordia | Calgary | Brock | Brock | Memorial | St. Mary's | Calgary | Calgary | |
| 2006 | Calgary | Calgary | Brock | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Calgary | Carleton/Lakehead | |
| 2007 | Mt. Allison | Queen's | Carleton | Calgary | Calgary | Laurier | York | Concordia | |
| 2008 | Calgary | Laurier | Calgary | Laurier | Calgary | Manitoba | Calgary | Calgary | |
| 2009 | Queen's | Queen's | Western | Calgary | Calgary | McGill | Alberta | Calgary | |
| 2010 | Calgary | UBC | Calgary | UBC | Queen's | McGill | McGill | Laurier | |
| 2011 | Calgary | UBC | Concordia | SFU | Brock | York | Regina | Concordia | |
| 2012 | Queensland UOT | Dalhousie | Dalhousie | Calgary | Dalhousie | York | Okanagan | Regina | |
| 2013 | Notre Dame | Calgary | Calgary | Laurier | Carleton | Concordia | UPEI | McGill | |
| 2014 | Queen's | McGill | Calgary | Dalhousie | Saint Mary's | Calgary | Vermont | Concordia | |
| 2015 | Concordia | Calgary | Okanagan | Regina | Calgary | Queen’s | Massachusetts | SFU | |
| 2016 | Concordia | Calgary | Calgary | Queen’s | Carleton | Calgary | McGill | Regina |
Historic figures
Geoff Arnoldi is the founder of I.C.B.C.
Mike Robins is a member of the BCOMM '79 class at Queen's University. He is a past competitor and long-time supporter of the competition.
Bob Schulz is a professor at the University of Calgary and has been a fixture at I.C.B.C. since its beginnings in the late 1970s. He has led U of C teams to have the most wins in the Business Policy and Debating Events, the longest running at the competition. He has been credited with launching many graduate careers for students by training them for I.C.B.C. and showcasing their skills to many of the corporate sponsors.
The Arnoldi Award is presented to an individual each year who contributes to the planning of the competition in a significant way.
Past winners of the Arnoldi Award:
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Tony Pasteris |
| 2015 | Lori Garnier |
| 2014 | William (Bill) Cannon |
| 2013 | Lewis Johnson |
| 2012 | Olivia Rejniak |
| 2011 | Shannon Goodspeed |
| 2010 | Sean Tucker |
The Co-Chairpersons Award is presented to a competing school each year that exemplifies the most spirit and sportsmanship throughout the competition.
Past winners of the Co-Chairpersons Award:
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Concordia University |
| 2015 | Concordia University |
| 2014 | Concordia University |
| 2013 | Concordia University |
| 2012 | Concordia University |
| 2011 | Concordia University |
| 2010 | Concordia University |
Queen's Case Competition
The Queen's Case Competition (QCC) is the internal case competition that serves as a qualifier for any Queen's Commerce student interested in competing at I.C.B.C. The QCC is a two-day event held at the Queen's School of Business with over 100 competitors. The cases are written and judged by Queen's School of Business staff.
Executive and volunteers
The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition has been run by students since its inception and continues to be a completely student-run initiative. The executive is usually a 16 to 20 member committee made up of undergraduate students in the Commerce Program at Queen's University. The executive maintains a strong alumni network with many past competitors returning as judges and making up the recently formed Advisory Board.
For both QCC and the Final Weekend of I.C.B.C., student volunteers from the Queen's School of Business are hired to facilitate the competition and fill roles such as team hosts, photographers, drivers, and event and technology assistants.
Past Co-Chairpersons
| Year | Co-Chairpersons |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Derek Ha and Partrick Lutfy |
| 2006 | Ashley Boyce and Meghan Jones |
| 2007 | Nadja Schauer and Maxime Pelletier |
| 2008 | Darryl Proniuk and Natasha Struminikovski |
| 2009 | Kayla Paret and Olivia Rejniak |
| 2010 | Ian Grundy and Kayleigh Roberts |
| 2011 | Doug Reeves and Matthew Zaffino |
| 2012 | Kelly Damp and Mandy Tran |
| 2013 | Lauren Di Pede and Irina Rakhimova |
| 2014 | Samir Kulkarni and Ziming Yang |
| 2015 | Jasmine Xiao and Sudiksha Shrimali |
| 2016 | Josephine Koopman and Connie Li |