Bootcamps

Every year, the JMSB MBA Case Competition Committee (MBACCC) offers students the opportunity to enter the world of case-solving. This is done in the Fall and Winter semesters by hosting Bootcamps and Workshops. Some focus on learning the basics of a case cracking while others focus on presentation skills.

Winter 2024

The Winter 2024 Case Cracking Boot John Molson School of Business had Benedict Marsh introduce MBA students to the unique opportunities that CCC provides via:

1. The experiential learning opportunities provided by MBA 659: Strategies in Action (SIA) & MANA 690: Live Case Experience

2. Details about the recruitment process for MBA 656: Case Competition Organizing Committee and the benefits it entails.

3. An introduction to the mindset required for cracking a business case under the guidance of faculty advisor Tim Field.

Vee Srithayakumar and Pratik Padalia also shared their experience as a part of SIA and Live Case respectively.

Fall 2023

On 30 September 2023, the CCC held its Fall’23 Case-Cracking Bootcamp. Our faculty advisor Tim Field, ran students through the mindset necessary for tackling the intricacies of a business case and informed students of future case competitions they could participate in over the year.

We would also like to extend our gratitude to Lisa Malachowski and Raul Braganza for sparing time to highlight the benefits of business case competitions as part of the #MBA journey.

Winter 2023

The MBA CCC organized a Case Cracking Workshop along with a Meet & Greet session where the students learned about the opportunities that the Case Competition Program has to offer: Strategies in Action elective (MBA 659), the Live Case Experience (MANA 690) and the MBA Case Competition Committee (MBA 656).

About 40 students attended the event. During the workshop, the students were given a case to read and were guided on the process of solving the case. The students were teamed up and asked to discuss the various aspects of the case like key issues while Prof. Tim was taking them through the case step by step. The highlight of the workshop was the active participation of the students. This was a great opportunity for the students to gain some valuable insights into case-solving.

The MBA CCC organized the tryouts for the MBA 659 SIA & the MANA 690 Live Case classes. Around 60 students showed interest and participated in the tryouts.

Fall 2022

The MBACCC kick-started the year of learning with a bootcamp. The bootcamp was organized virtually in the last week of September. The event was focused on providing an opportunity for the students to work on a case and present it along with the guidance of a coach. Prof. Tim lead a case discussion and breakdown to provide a foundation. We had Jonathan Faerman, Cassandra Boivin-Pelletier, Matthew Beck, Jesse Prent, Jeremy Rutman, and Hirak Chakraborty join us as coaches. The event was a success and 20 students benefitted from the session.

Winter 2022

The MBACCC hosted the Winter 2022 Bootcamp and Try-outs workshop on January 29, 2022, under the guidance of Prof. Timothy Field. It was attended by 37 students and esteemed coaches Anne Morinville, Cedrin S Law, Fatima Malik, Hirak Chakraborty, Jonathan Faerman, Marc LeGuen, and Matthew Beck. The MBACCC is known for its Bootcamps held every Fall and Winter Semester.

This Bootcamp was also a try-out session to select candidates for the competitions, SFU Net Impact, and Schulich Global Case Competition. The session started with a brief introduction of the MBACCC team and the coaches followed by a workshop hosted by Prof. Tim Field.

The students were divided into a team of four and each group was allocated a coach. The teams were assigned to breakout rooms to work on the case. In an hour the teams had to both deliberate amongst each other and prepare the presentation under the guidance of a coach. In the second half of the workshop, the coaches were shuffled amongst teams and the teams presented to their coach and to a new coach. Each presentation lasted for 10 minutes followed by a 5-minutes Q&A session. After the session, all the judges deliberated on the performance of students, and based on their feedback 8 students were selected for the two upcoming case competitions to represent JMSB.

Fall 2021

CCC officially kick-started the academic year 2021 with a series of bootcamps aimed at introducing to the participants the world of a case cracking, a much sought-after skillset to have in one’s arsenal. The bootcamp was organized in 2 phases in the 3rd & 4th week of September and saw a high level of enthusiasm and engagement.

The event started with the formal introduction of the CCC team followed by an icebreaker session before the actual session on ‘Introduction to case cracking’ by Prof. Tim Field. Post the session, the participants were given an opportunity to work on a case and the entire activity was overseen by Prof Tim. The session ended on a high note with many participants actively engaging in Q&A sessions with Tim and the CCC team and actively enquiring about the various internal and external case competitions to be held throughout the year.

The second bootcamp was aimed at giving the participants an opportunity to delve deep into case cracking. This time Cedrin Law oversaw the event and delivered an extremely insightful session on tips for making presentations. Post the session, all the participants were divided into groups of four to analyze and present recommendations for the same. The second bootcamp ended yet again on a high note with participants excited about the upcoming Creative Shock case competition after being equipped with the know-how of case cracking.

Winter 2021

On February 5th, the MBACCC continued its workshop series with a tailored seminar for its annual winter internal competition event. This year, the MBACCC collaborated with 457 ANEW to present a mandate for the annual Strategy Challenge Case Competition. The team welcomed 31 students from both the incoming and returning cohorts at the event.

The first half of the workshop was facilitated by the MBACCC faculty advisor, Prof. Tim Field. By providing an overview of general strategy & management tools Prof. Field set the stage for the second half of the workshop – in which Cedrin Law, MBACCC alumni, Coach, and seasoned marketing expert, walked students through various concepts and frameworks that they could leverage in analyzing and solving the 457ANEW Strategy Challenge mandate.

Fall 2020

In Fall 2020, the MBACCC quickly pivoted and adapted its bi-annual in-person bootcamps to a virtual format.  In addition to local participation, the Fall 2020 bootcamps saw students joining from all over the world with students attending from India, China, and the United Arab Emirates. The workshops saw a mix of participants, ranging from case competition novices to seasoned champions.

Bootcamp 1 had 32 registrants. The session was facilitated by the MBACCC faculty advisor, Prof. Tim Field. By solving a case in real-time, students were given an overview of the fundamental tools and approaches to case cracking.

Bootcamp 2 was led by Cedrin Law, MBACCC alumni and Coach. This hands-on session involved students working in teams to solve a case pertaining to a well-established international conglomerate.

Winter 2020

In Winter 2020 we hosted 2 sessions. The first session was led by Tim Field and focussed on the fundamental tools and approaches to case cracking.

Fall 2019

In September 2019 we hosted 2 sessions. The first session was led by Tim Field and focussed on the fundamental tools and approaches to case cracking.

The second session was led by JMSB MBA Alumni and CCC coach Stavros Athanasoulias. A short case was provided and students had the opportunity to work as a team and deliver a 5 minute presentation to a panel of judges.

Past Bootcamps

In January 2019, the CCC hosted a successful bootcamp with over 50 attendees. The session was followed by three presentations from the teams representing JMSB at the HEC CSR Challenge and Rotman A4S International Case Competition.

In September 2018, the CCC hosted two successful bootcamps, both with over 40 participants.