ALC business case competition gives Mount Allison students ‘real world’ opportunity

Students in a Mount Allison University marketing class and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) have embarked on a new project together — one that began as the idea of a Mount Allison student.

The ALC business case competition is taking place in Commerce professor Peter Sianchuk’s marketing management course, giving Mount Allison students the opportunity to work on a business case competition for an Atlantic Canadian company this semester.

Commerce student Jeff Owen of Moncton, NB devised the business case competition as a summer student at ALC last year.

“With input from several key ALC employees and feedback from colleagues, I was able to create the case study to reflect the current day needs of ALC,” says Owen. “In essence, the study looks at the millennial cohort and finding ways that the Lottery could better engage with this demographic.”

On his own initiative Owens wrote the case study and pitched it to both his employer and the professor.

“He had such energy and enthusiasm,” recalls Jean-Marc Landry, Atlantic Lottery’s Director of Customer Innovation. “He did all the work himself and when he brought it to me, I saw the merit. I had to see if there was potential.”

Owen has played a valuable role in the project, initially connecting the organizations and then assisting with the logistics for the competition. He will be attending the competition event as an observer, working with students and ALC staff members throughout the process.

Sianchuk says this is a great learning opportunity for students.

“Mount Allison’s Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies is always seeking to incorporate experiential learning within our Commerce program,” he says. “A ‘real life’ scenario business case with a local company is a great opportunity for everyone — the students, the company, and the University.”

“This is not a side-bar, it is their assignment,” says Landry. “Innovation comes from people and by having students seriously dig into the challenge we face, I’m confident we will get the freshest unfiltered opinions and ideas.”

The competition began in the class in January with ALC employees coming to campus to review the case competition with the class. Students will then work in groups throughout the semester presenting their final reports and presentations to ALC in March. Atlantic Lottery employees, along with Sianchuk, will evaluate the final reports, providing valuable feedback to all students. ALC will also award prizes for the top three groups.

While this is not the first case competition with a Maritime company at Mount Allison, it is the first of its kind with Atlantic Lottery. Fifty students in total will be participating in the project as part of their course work.

Caption: ALC staff members meet with Mount Allison students in a marketing management course taught by Prof. Peter Sianchuk. The students will be working on a business case competition with ALC as part of their course; organized by Mount Allison student and ALC summer intern Jeff Owen.