Universal Case Competition

Initially, the Universal Case Competition was developed for the CAPS510 Capstone Case Competition Course as a platform for the graduate students to practice their newly learned skills in coaching in effective speaking. As we needed participants to get this case competition going, the undergraduates were invited to participate. And that gave the graduate students the opportunity to practice their coaching skills, while the participants competed in a live case competition. That was how it all started, simply by chance.

Best Overall Team Spring 2016

So, since the first PreMasters Program cohort, we have successfully organized and completed a series of four Universal Case Competition. Come this summer, Fraser International College will again be hosting the fifth Universal Case Competition but with a slight change in management. From the initial beginning, we had wanted the Universal Case Competition program to be managed and owned by students, so the change was in the plans.

With a new organizing structure in place, the Universal Case Competition is now a program managed entirely by students through a project manager and a team of volunteers. Overseeing and supporting the program are a faculty member acting as Program Director and a staff member who is the Student Success Manager of FIC. Together, we will have many more Universal Case Competition.

Effective Speaking for The Royal Air Cadet League of Canada, Squadron 754

I was invited to teach a group of Air Cadets in Effective Speaking and without hesitation I accepted the role. I was tasked with eight Cadets between aged twelve and sixteen, in four weeks to turn them to effective speakers. Each week we would have approximately two to three hours to learn and practice.

Squadron 754

During which, I have learned to appreciate the uniqueness of this effective speaking class as it was not easy to teach, although the students were just high school kids. The effective speaking class was so much different from a university level class. There were no tools and props allowed in the effective speaking competition. So, I could not teach the usefulness of tools and props. I am so used to teaching presentation skills using tools such as power point slides and so forth but in this class I am limited to verbal and non-verbal skills. And due to this limitation, critical thinking skills become an important factor. And it was tough to teach critical thinking to least experienced and exposed individuals in that four weeks. Next year, if invited again, I will request for a longer duration.

Ultimately, the cadets that were in the effective speaking class learned valuable speaking skills and enjoyed the lessons. I had a good time and truly enjoyed the teaching and learning from the Cadets in the effective speaking sessions. It was a lot of fun doing it.