University Canada West (UCW) was the top team at the 2023 BC MBA Games. The 2023 edition of this prestigious event was held over the weekend from December 1 to 3 at the SFU Beedie School of Business in downtown Vancouver.
The competition featured some of BC’s top business schools vying for the coveted BC MBA Games trophy, including last year’s winning school, Simon Fraser University.
This year, UCW claimed the top spot in all three categories – Sports, Spirit and Case.
UCW was victorious in the Sports competition, winning each round of both the dodgeball and eSports components.
In the Spirit competition, UCW raised more than $13,000 – the highest amount out of the six schools competing in the Games. All proceeds went to WISH Drop-in Centre Society, a local organization that supports street-based vulnerable sex workers experiencing poverty, homelessness, trauma, violence, stigma and a lack of access to support and opportunities.
In the Case category, out of the three case competitions, UCW secured first place in the Pecha Kucha Case Competition, second place in the Take Home Case Competition and second place in the Live Case Competition. Overall, UCW tied for first place with SFU in the Case component of the competition.
“BC MBA Games 2023 champions, those words are still ringing in my ears. I am so proud of our school and the team. It still feels unreal to win the Games this year in UCW’s second year of participation. The team worked so hard and their dedication was unparalleled,” said UCW Faculty & BC MBA Games Team Head Coach Urvish Subodh.
As the winning school, UCW will host the 2024 BC MBA Games.
Team Captain Jim Isaac shared his thoughts on the remarkable achievement.
“It is a great privilege to be a part of history that will have many more chapters to come. As we bring this trophy home, we also carry the great responsibility of hosting the Games next year for British Columbia,” he said.
“I want to dedicate this award to our resilient student community and the First Nations on whose territories we build our dreams and future. The hard work and dedication of each member of the team pushed all of us forward.”
This year’s winning team includes:
- Urvish Subodh, Head Coach
- Jim Isaac, Team Captain
- Dhibendran Selvarajah, Case Captain
- Mrinal Bhandari, Spirit Captain
- Carlo Mario Leon, Sports Captain
- Nidhi Gandhi, Vice-Captain
- Mohammad Sadi, Case Team
- Swati Malik, Case Team
- Vishruti Dave, Case Team
- Kalyan Cheekuri, Case Team
- Angad Singh Thukral, Case Team
- Shakthi Lakshman, Case Team
- Pema Yangzom Sherpa, Spirit Team
- Uzma Khan, Spirit Team
- Lovekumar Doshi, Spirit Team
- Tirth Sagar, Spirit Team
- Shiva Ghandali, Sports Team
- Precious Kamanga, Sports Team
- Gurtej Dadhwal, Sports Team
- Deepak Kumar, Sports Team
- Sanjay Gurmukhani, Sports Team
- Sergio Manuel, Sports Team
- Ardalan Shahrizad, Sports Team
- Sylez Samuel, Sports Team
- Malena Estupinan, Project Manager
- Enzo Ozawa, Project Manager
- Cheryl Thomas, Case Coach
The BC MBA Games is a premier annual event that brings together top MBA students from BC universities to compete in academic, athletic and team spirit challenges while expanding their personal and professional networks. Launched in 2015 by Vancouver Island University, the Games have grown to become the largest gathering of MBA students in BC, with approximately 160 students participating annually.
This year’s theme was “Decolonizing Business”, which inspires current and future leaders to critically examine the systems and structures that perpetuate colonization, and act as changemakers to re-envision how businesses operate today. This means acknowledging the harms of colonialism, committing to reconciliation efforts and creating space for Indigenous leadership in business.
Published on December 4, 2023.
