Harrison College of Business Team to Compete in England

Southeast Only Team to Represent U.S. in International Competition for Second Year

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Jan. 24, 2008 – A team of students from Southeast Missouri State University’s Harrison College of Business will travel to England in April to compete in the championship round of an international case competition.

The competition, which will be held at Coventry University in Coventry, England, is sponsored by the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS), an association of 80 business schools located across the globe.

The Southeast team is, for the second year in a row, the only team from the United States chosen to compete in the final round of competition. The team will compete against nine international teams in the finals, including teams from three universities in Canada, as well as teams from Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.

 “This is only the second year that Southeast has entered a team in the NIBS competition,” added Dr. Willie Redmond, associate professor of economics and finance, who serves as faculty advisor for the team. “I’m very excited that our students have made the finals each of the two years that we have entered this prestigious competition. In fact, we are one of only three universities to earn a place in the finals over these two years,” Redmond said.

“It is truly an honor to be chosen for this competition,” team member Callie Carter said. “It is very notable that Southeast is the only university from the United States to be chosen. It shows Southeast is providing key opportunities and necessary skills for its students to be able to compete with schools from across the world. My other three teammates are very smart and talented individuals, and I feel this is a chance of a lifetime.”

Southeast’s team, which consists of four business students, includes Carter, a senior accounting major from Jonesboro, Ill.; Nicole Gemoules, a senior accounting major from Perryville, Mo.; Jennifer Koenig, a senior accounting major from Perryville, Mo.; and Scott Price, a senior finance major from Sullivan, Mo. Team members were chosen through a combination of department nominations and essay competitions.

Redmond is impressed with the time and effort the team has put into preparing for the competition.

“As their advisor, I am perhaps more proud of the team than they are of themselves, because I saw the work they put in to enable their selection for the championship round,” he said. “During the qualifying round of the competition, the students were sent a business case by the NIBS organizing board, with which they were given six hours to identify the relevant issues, suggest a feasible solution, and send it back to the judging panel. To simulate this scenario in their practice sessions, the students worked a number of cases in six-hour timeframes, which meant we had several sessions that ended post-midnight.”

The championship round will operate in a similar manner, although students will have only four hours of preparation for each case they present to the judges, Redmond said.

 “Qualifying to compete in England was the result of many long hours of practicing,” Gemoules added. “It is both exciting and rewarding to see our hard work pay off.”

Gemoules also attributes the team’s success, in part, to the education they have received from the Harrison College of Business.

“The quality of education is evident,” she stated. “The College provides a well-rounded education to all majors. Our team consists of three accounting majors and one finance major, all of whom are well educated in topics involving marketing, economics and business analysis. Additionally, Southeast provided the foundation for excellent writing and public speaking skills that are required to succeed in this competition.”

The NIBS competition is another step in Southeast’s continuous efforts to provide students with real world experience and internationalize the University, according to Redmond.

“This is an invaluable experience for our students,” Redmond said. “On one hand, they get the experience of thinking through varied business problems in a competitive setting, as a paid consultant may have to do. However, even more importantly, they get the experience of traveling to a different country and interacting with students from different countries and cultures.”

Koenig says she is looking forward to the experience.

“This is a great opportunity to learn more about international business environments,” she said. “I’m looking forward to meeting people from different cultures and learning from them.”