Asper School students place first in Romanian case competition.
I.H. Asper School of Business students have compared case competitions to pressure cookers, escape rooms, and high-stakes sports matches.
It’s a learning experience where students are presented with a business case study and a time limit to come up with a solution. It’s always an intense moment which calls to mind the Eminem classic “Lose Yourself.”
And it’s true. While participating in a recent international case competition in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Asper Bachelor of Commerce students Kunjal Dhokiya, Katelyn Ko, Priyansh Modi, and Sam Wilson faced the triangle of demons: sweaty palms, weak knees and heavy arms.
But when it counted, they lost themselves in the moment. Competing in the finals against teams from internationally recognized institutions, including Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and Thammasat University in Thailand, the Asper students beat out major competitors and arrived home with a stunning first-place win for Asper.
The win represents an incredible addition to Asper’s recent case achievements, and has spread the University of Manitoba name around the globe.
A win like this doesn’t just happen—it is molded and formed by Asper’s case competition community, which comes together to guide the students on this unforgettable learning experience.
For Kunjal, Katelyn, Priyansh, and Sam, the summer of 2026 was, let’s say, “hot brain summer.” From June to August, the team underwent academic challenges that pushed them to orient themselves to the business landscape of Romania.
Practices were coaching sessions, where they would spend the day focused on a single case, then get feedback from Asper School’s coaches, Asper alumni, and connections from Manitoba and beyond.
The team didn't just learn a series of facts about business in Romania. They successfully levelled up their classroom knowledge to develop an instinctive understanding of Romanian customers. They also learned their own strengths, individually and as a team.
Kunjal got deep into technical strategy; Katelyn was the storyteller who threaded the start and end of the cases; Priyansh, the finance fan and math man; and Sam supported the overall strategy and marketing, while wrangling teammates for time and pacing.
At Babeș-Bolyai University, buckling up for round one, the team tackled a six-hour case that focused on bringing an automotive parts company into the age of electric vehicles for one of Romania’s largest automotive distributors.
Before going into the room to present, the most important note from their coach Judy Jayasuriya, (Lead, Experiential Learning at Asper School), had nothing to do with international vehicle markets; the advice was to smile. A lot. Like in a stereotypical “Friendly Manitoba” way.
While it had the added benefit of boosting their confidence, “our faces were sore,” said Sam Wilson.
Their solution for the case was strong enough to place them second in their pool. A major clue for the next round came in the form of the judges’ questions for them, which gave them a better understanding of what their audience was interested in.
“All of the questions were very practical, very logical, very finance-based,” Priyansh Modi said. “So, we knew that in the bigger, longer case that we need to focus on the financials way more.”
The second round, the challenging 14-hour case, started with an Amazing Race-like flourish. Sam was to grab an envelope in the hotel lobby at 8 a.m. When he did, he was thrilled at what he saw written on it: BT Asset Management.
Banca Transilvania (BT), Romania’s largest investment-fund manager, happened to be one of the cases the group practiced with during their summer training. To say Priyansh and Kunjal (the resident finance whizzes of the group) were excited is a huge understatement.
“I had to check the envelope for myself. I thought Sam was messing with us,” Kunjal Dhokiya said. “Because this case was made for us and our skills.”
Ironically, that initial excitement gave way to stress when their passion for the case made things harder for them.
A seemingly comfortable 14 hours turned into a mad dash. They lost time going back and forth on ideas. Five hours before the deadline, they felt they didn’t have anything usable. Then Sam got stuck in a hotel stairwell after everyone’s keycards shut down. Katelyn Ko: “We got a little delirious—we were mad at each other, but we also couldn’t stop laughing.”
But when it came down to it, they turned every disagreement into a bold idea, and worked quick.
What followed was a collision course of big, cheer-worthy moments. The group presents in the second round. Their passion and deeper knowledge showed. “The judges were stunned by the team’s solution,” said coach Judy Jayasuriya. They knew their audience inside and out.
They advanced to the finals, where they re-presented their solution to a new group of judges. They especially nailed the Q&A, which Kunjal and Priyansh correctly predicted would get extremely detailed about finance and has prepared for each question.
At the gala dinner, they waited with excruciating patience to hear the words “First place goes to… the Asper School of Business!”
Cue: fists in the air, balloons, group photos.
Winning is nice. But the win, and the badge of Asper pride that comes with it, was just a natural by-product of what the group was encouraged to do above all: to have fun and enjoy this learning experience, together.
“The energy was different with our team,” said Katelyn. “For us, keeping our energy high was something we actively decided on. The goal of cases, presentations, and competition was to have fun coming up with creative solutions.”
In those knees-weak-arms-are-heavy moments before presenting, Kunjal would play the song “Y Que Fue?” by Don Miguelo to the humorous annoyance of his teammates. It would always cut their nerves with laughter. Sam Wilson would lead a cheer that went, “team on me, team on three—one, two, three—team!”
Armed with months of preparation, the support of their coaches and the Asper case competition volunteer community, they stepped into the room ready for anything.
Weak knees, heavy arms, but outrageously big smiles.
Bachelor of Commerce students Kunjal Dhokiya, Katelyn Ko, Priyansh Modi and Sam Wilson thank their coaching team: Matt Borgford, Garrison Glatz, Bhaumik Gandhi and Judy Jayasuriya.
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Case competitions give students an opportunity to showcase complex problem-solving skills in diverse teams. One of the many experiential learning opportunities available to students at the Asper School of Business, case competition connects students to top business school and industry experts around the world and right here in Manitoba. Learn more about case competition opportunities at the Asper School of Business.
At UM, we encourage life-long curiosity while providing tools – inside and outside the classroom – to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Empowering learners is one of the strategic themes you’ll find in MomentUM: Leading change together, the University of Manitoba’s 2024–2029 strategic plan.
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