Take 140 of the most competitive, intelligent students in Canada and pit them against one another in a winner take-all contest for glory: The Accenture Case Competition – the culmination of intensity in the 2017 Ivey MBA Program. For three days our 5-person team competed against 24 other teams working to solve real-world problems for real companies by developing innovative solutions in Marketing, Finance and Corporate Strategy.

The word “team” shows up in the core value statement of 40% of Fortune 100 companies and nothing was more important in winning the Accenture Case Competition than teamwork. Our team was built from diverse skillsets in Engineering, Finance, Biology and Actuarial Science and thrived on the open flow of ideas, having fun, mutual respect and the competitive drive that brought us to Ivey. But despite winning, despite the prestige, despite the praise and congratulations from classmates and faculty, the most rewarding aspect of the competition occurred during the final presentation when we were introduced to our client.

To date in the program, all of our cases had been focused on how companies had historically solved their problems. Our final case focused on the social enterprise Me to We. During the presentation we were surprised with an introduction to its COO, Russ McLeod, and the revelation that this was an issue for which they were still seeking a solution. Presenting our strategy to Me to We and being received with enthusiasm and genuine interest will likely be the experience I remember most fondly from my MBA. At only 3 months into the program, it is amazing to know that we have already made an impact.