Business Competitions
The Alberta School of Business has a thriving culture which places a strong emphasis on case competitions. Case competitions are an excellent way for students to apply their classroom knowledge, enhance their problem solving skills, and network with other students and professionals in the industry.
Case competition team representing the UofA at CIBCC in Thailand
A business case is a description of an actual situation, commonly involving a decision, a challenge, an opportunity, or a problem faced by a real individual or an organization. Often, in a case competition, students assume the roles and responsibilities of the decision makers which are the individuals or organizations facing the business challenge. Other times, students assume the role of a consultant who proposes solutions and recommendations to the decision makers.
Benefits of Cases and Case Competitions:
- Enhance presentation skills and the ability to sell your ideas
- Connect classroom knowledge and theories to real life applications
- Get involved in the process of solving real world problems.
- Work in a team setting and develop robust listening and communication skills
- Network with other students and professionals in the industry who often attend these case competitions (as judges or sponsors).
- Travel the world (if you formally represent the UofA at an international case competition).
How to Get Involved
In the Alberta School of Business, there are multiple ways that students can get involved in case competitions or develop their case competition skills:
- Case competitions that are organized and hosted by ASB Student Organizations.
- External case competitions
- ASB Case Competitions Program - ASB Case Team
- ASB Case Competitions Program - ASB Case Primer Series (Coming Soon)
International Commodities Trading Competition
The Alberta School of Business is continuing the International Commodities Trading Competition (ICTC). This flagship event is designed to introduce participants worldwide to the complexities of commodities trading.
Click here to learn more about ICTC.
Join Our Coaches Community
The Alberta School of Business welcomes students and alumni to support the training and development of our case competition teams. By sharing your insights and experiences, you’ll play a key role in preparing our students to represent the School across Canada and around the world.
Whether you can commit to a single session or participate more regularly, your involvement—at any level—makes a meaningful impact. To learn more and express your interest, apply here.
Come to our Info Session on September 24!
The Careers and Work Integrated Learning Office will be hosting a Case Competitions Information Session in BUS 4-06. All BCom students are invited to attend and learn about case competitions and our vibrant competition community. Register here!
Join our mailing list to receive all updates on case competitions at the Alberta School of Business!
Case Competitions FAQ
In the upcoming 26-27 academic year, the ASB Case Team plans to participate in the following case competitions:
Global Case Competitions - Summer and Fall 2026
|
Case Competitions |
Dates |
|
SIBC-ICC (Sydney) |
July 19 - 24, 2026 |
|
BBU ICC (Romania) NHH ICC (Norway) |
September 13 - 19, 2026 September 20 - 25, 2026 |
|
HKICC (Hong Kong ) |
October 25 - 30, 2026 |
|
CECC (Austria) |
November 22 - 27, 2026 |
Global Case Competitions - Winter and Spring 2027 (TBA)
|
Case Competitions |
Dates |
|
To be updated! |
Development Case Competitions: Academic Year 2026/2027 (tentative)
|
Case Competitions |
Dates |
|
LazsICC (Waterloo) |
October 11 - 17, 2026 |
|
November 1 - 8, 2026 |
|
|
AIBC (Jasper) |
November 8 - 14, 2026 |
|
MIPC (Online and Montreal) |
Prelim: September 15, 2026 - October 2, 2026 |
|
Prelim: October 10 - 25, 2026 |
|
|
More to be added! |
|
Discovery Case Competitions: Academic Year 2026-2027 (tentative)
|
Case Competitions |
Dates |
| AECC (Edmonton) |
February 15 - 19, 2027 |
| DICCC (Online and Calgary) |
Prelim: October 5, 2026 |
|
More to be added! |
Due to the rich diversity and varying levels of competition, we have decided to organize case competitions into 3 categories.
Discovery Case Competitions: Discovery case competitions take place within Alberta or are virtual competitions. These case competitions will not have year of study restrictions, however, preference will be given to junior (i.e. first and second year) students.
Development Case Competitions: Development case competitions are those hosted by universities, and organizations in Canada and the United States. Student travel outside of Alberta, but within Canada and the United States, may be required. These competitions may have participating universities from across the world. These case competitions will be reserved for second to last year and final year students (60 credits or less remaining at the start of the upcoming academic year-September).
Global Case Competitions: Case competitions that are hosted by universities outside of Canada and the United States. Student travel outside of Canada and the United States is required. These case competitions will be reserved for students in their final year of their BCom program. Each student in the ASB Case Competition Program will be limited to a maximum of one Global Case Competition during their BCom degree.The Alberta School of Business will offer 2 streams through which students can improve their case competition competencies. In the ASB Case Team, students will be formally trained by faculty and will officially represent the Alberta School of Business in case competitions. The ASB Case Primer Series will be a self-directed program where students can use online modules and resources developed by the School of Business to set themselves up for success in case competitions they pursue independently.
The ASB Case Team requires significantly more commitment and time from the student, and the student may need to accommodate the availability of the faculty member for training sessions. The ASB Case Primer Series is more suited for those students who may be unable to fully commit to case competition training, but still want to gain skills and knowledge that will help them prepare for future case competitions, and in related professional skill development such as analytical thinking, presentation skills, audience analysis, perspective taking, and systems mapping.
The ASB Case Primer Series is still in development.
The selection process is slightly different depending on the competition category. We distinguish between higher performance and entry-level competitions.
Higher Performance Competitions (Global & Development)
These competitions are considered higher performance and have a more rigorous selection process.
The process involves two main stages:
- Formal Application: Candidates must submit a formal application, which consists of a Letter of Intent and a Resume.
- Interview Stage: If selected to proceed, candidates will attend an interview. This stage is rigorous and requires the candidate to present a short case in addition to answering general questions.
Entry-Level Competitions (Discovery)
Discovery Case Competitions are considered entry-level, and the process is simpler.
The process also involves two main stages:
- Formal Application: Candidates must submit a formal application, consisting of a Letter of Intent and a Resume.
- Interview Stage: If selected, candidates will attend an interview. Crucially, there is no case component in this interview; candidates will only answer general questions.
To not miss a recruitment cycle, you can sign up for the mailing list here.
You can access all of the available applications here.
For most student organizations, case competitions are open to all undergraduate students (including non-business students). However, fees may vary per case competition. This live document features all of the case competitions organized by student organizations.
Is your case competition missing from the list? Reach out via compete@ualberta.ca and we will include your competition.
These are case competitions where you are able to participate independently as an undergraduate student. These competitions are organized by third parties (not UofA student groups). ASB also does not formally participate in these competitions. However, these case competitions are a fantastic way to network with students outside of ASB.
Please see this live document to see the repository of external case competitions.
If you have any inquiries about case competitions in the Alberta School of Business, please do not hesitate to contact the CWIL office at compete@ualberta.ca.