Held in Saskatoon on November 1, the JSGS Internal Case Competition brought together students from both campuses to showcase their knowledge and expertise. The JSGS would like to congratulate the first place team (Evan Horbay, Mariia Koropetska, Eric Neudorf and Brenda Schurr) on their accomplishment and would also like to recognize the runner-up team (Nathanial Deng Mayen, Peter Maduakor, Kristine St. Laurent and Tara Todd) for a valiant effort. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsor, SaskTel, 28 students were able to participate in the full-day event.
“Over the years, the internal case competition has grown to become one of the flagship events for our students,” says Dionne Pohler, JSGS Assistant Professor and one of two faculty leads on the case competition. “This year’s competitors all did extremely well, especially given the tight timelines and new two-case model.”
In response to feedback from previous years, the JSGS changed the format to provide all teams with the opportunity to write a briefing note, present in front of the panel of judges, and observe their fellow colleagues. Teams were asked to review and provide recommendations on two policy-related case studies - "Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program"and "Ebola Threat in Saskatchewan". Both cases required that students outline the situation, conduct background research, prepare an analysis and develop a set of plausible recommendations. Half of the teams were asked to write a briefing note on the CTFWP case in the morning and to present on the Ebola case in the afternoon (and vice versa).
This year the school was very fortunate to welcome some new and familiar faces to the judging panel - Ron Styles, President and CEO of SaskTel; Rhonda Laing, Director of Policy, Planning and External Relations, Western Economic Diversification Canada; and Laurie Pushor, Acting Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy. The judges each took on the roles of ministers and/or the premier, and during the Q&A period really challenged each team to think about the practicality of their recommendations, especially when it came to implementation.
In addition to serving as the team coach, Ken Rasmussen reviewed and assessed all eight briefing notes. Both scores from the presentations and briefing notes were used to assess each teams’ performance, and to determine the first place team.
Over the course of the coming weeks, Dionne Pohler and Ken Rasmussen will be assessing the overall performance of the students to determine which individuals will represent the school at the National Public Administration Case Competition, being held in Halifax (Dalhousie University) on February 7, 2015.
In addition to congratulating the students, the school would like to thank the faculty leads (Dionne Pohler and Ken Rasmussen), the student volunteers and staff for their involvement in making this year’s competition a success.
For more information, contact:
Erica Schindel, Communications & Marketing Specialist
Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
141.1-101 Diefenbaker Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B8
Phone: 306-966-2663
Email: erica.schindel@usask.ca