JMSB finishes strong as finalists in the 2012 Alberta Energy Challenge
From left: Michel Berger, Ariane Beaulieu Sirois, Amr Ezzat, Emma Craig and Dinos Papoulias.
Congratulations to the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) team for their performance at the Alberta Energy Challenge at the University of Alberta. The team, composed of Ariane Beaulieu Sirois, Michel Berger, Emma Craig and Dinos Papoulias, came together to make it into the finals of the competition.
JMSB was one of three teams that advanced to the finals. The University of Alberta took first place; the competition organizers do not give a formal second and third place ranking. This is the second year in a row the host university wins the competition. JMSB took home first in the inaugural competition in 2010.
This year, 11 teams participated in the competition, including universities from Canada, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
This rigorous competition took place over two action-packed days. The teams had 38 hours of preparation time, followed by a presentation which consisted of 2 minutes of uninterrupted opening remarks, followed by 20 minutes of Q&A, and 3 minutes of uninterrupted closing remarks. The format was similar in the finals with a longer Q&A period and more judges grilling the students with questions.
The case revolved around the infrastructure and labor issues in and around the oil sands. JMSB suggested a collaborative approach between oil sand players; project planning focused on cost reduction and long-term growth and profitability.
A special thank you to Amr Ezzat, the team's lead coach who accompanied them to Alberta. Amr was able to teach the team much about the energy industry in a very limited amount of time. Thanks also to the previous two Alberta Energy teams for their help. The spirit of collaboration exemplified by their continued involvement is a testament to the culture that Amr and the competition program have helped create.
The John Molson Competition Committee also thanks Mark Haber, head coach and advisor to the Competition Program, for his dedication to the new team at this competition.
The John Molson Competition Committee would also like to thank sponsors Pfizer, Power Corporation of Canada, National Bank and Rio Tinto for their contribution to the competition program.