A team of TRU business students finished ahead of 19 other major universities to capture third place in Excalibur, Canada’s largest Human Resource Case Competition, held March 21 and 22 in Montreal.

Katie Tallon, Calli-Jo Duncan, Barbara Fraser, and Fred Zhou will share a $1,500 scholarship. The team were coached by TRU faculty Andrew Fergus (left) and Richard Roy.

A team of Thompson Rivers University business students finished ahead of 19 other major universities to capture third place in Canada’s largest Human Resource Case Competition, held last week in Montreal.

Finishing only behind the HEC Montreal School of Business and the University of Alberta, the TRU team of Calli-Jo Duncan, Katie Tallon, Barbara Fraser, and Fred Zhou will share a $1,500 scholarship for their efforts in the prestigious two-day Excalibur Case Competition.

Coached by HR faculty professors Andrew Fergus and Richard Roy, the HR Management students were tested on their ability to integrate their understanding of HR theory with practical applications, with scenarios drawn from real-life HR issues experienced by Canadian companies. Teams competed in three distinctly different rounds – however, all tested the ability of the teams to quickly analyze problems and identify solutions.

“Our team impressed the judges with their knowledge and understanding of human resource issues, and the ability to resolve practical work place challenges, ” said Roy”Where other universities had nearby teams to practice for the competition, our students spent hours practicing against themselves.”

The Human Resource Management Major is one of seven different options available to students in the Bachelor of Business Administration degree at TRUIn the tradition of TRU programs, the BBA degree features extensive “hands-on” experience through Co-op Education, Study Abroad opportunities, real-life experiences in research and competitions like the Excalibur Case Competition, and strong connections to related professional associations.

The British Columbia Human Resource Management Association (BCHRMA) is one such group, and they provided sponsorship to help the team defray the costs of airfare and accommodation.

Contact :

• Richard Roy, TRU Assistant Professor, School of Business and Economics, (p)250-371-5803
• Andrew Fergus,TRU Assistant Professor, School of Business and Economics, (p) 250-377-6015