Jenkins MBA Students Plan to Start Case Competition Team After HEC Challenge

By Nikki Hensley (Jenkins MBA ’20), Eric Plant (Jenkins MBA ’20), Lacy Isley (Jenkins MBA ’19) and Javid Taghiyev (Jenkins MBA ’19)

What do you think of when you hear the phrase Corporate Social Responsibility? In February a group of Jenkins MBA students had the pleasure to be a part of the 10th edition of the HEC Montreal Corporate Social Responsibility Challenge. HEC welcomed 22 teams from North America and Europe to Montreal for a weekend of case presentations and networking events. Nikki Hensley, Eric Plant, Lacy Isley and Javid Taghiyev represented NC State Poole College, thanks to support from the Jenkins MBA program and the NC State Net Impact chapter.

“Many of the other schools don’t have sports so this was their equivalent to a sporting competition. Some schools were there to win.” – Lacy Isley (Jenkins MBA ’19)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an approach that businesses use to contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of all the stakeholders involved. CSR is a self-regulating concept that is increasing in popularity and awareness all over the world. Learning about the CSR challenges that multinational and local companies face was the biggest highlight for the Jenkins MBA students. Additionally, our students networked with students from a variety of locations and backgrounds and learned from their experiences about CSR and other case competitions.

“What I enjoyed most was meeting the other MBA students participating. They had a networking event every night.” – Eric Plant (Jenkins MBA ’20)

Another highlight of the case competition was the keynote speech by Craig Ryan, who serves as the Director of Social Entrepreneurship at BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada). BDC, one of the leading B-Corps in Canada, focuses on providing advisory services, financing and capital to small and medium sized businesses. Ryan highlighted several business that are exemplary examples of the B-Corp movement taking place in Canada.

“The biggest takeaways from the competition for me were how to apply the learned concepts in my future professional careers, think outside the box and to be confident in my plan of action.” – Javid Taghiyev (Jenkins MBA ’19)

As a result of their experience in the HEC Montreal Corporate Social Responsibility Challenge, Nikki Hensley and Eric Plant were inspired to start a Jenkins MBA Case Competition team that will participate in CSR, sustainability and other general business case competitions around the world. Contact Nikki (nahensle@ncsu.edu ) or Eric (ejplant@ncsu.edu) if you’re interested in finding out more.

“You don’t have to be a consultant to learn from a case competition. What I gained from the experience was much more than I thought.” – Nikki Hensley (Jenkins MBA ’20)