MHC management students learn valuable virtual lesson

By MO CRANKER on December 16, 2020.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker

Students at Medicine Hat College have had a year full of adaptation and innovation.

For management students, the annual business pitches had to shift to a completely online format.

Management 270 course instructor Maranda Davies says it was important to make the shift online a positive one.

“When you look at how the business world has changed during the pandemic, it is clear that the future is going to have a lot of focus on digital communication,” she said. “Shifting the business pitches to be completely virtual gave many students skills this year that will help them going forward.”

Every year small teams of students work together to create business ideas, analyze the market for that idea and then present it to a panel of judges.

“I know doing a large presentation in front of judges can be difficult for students,” said Davies. “This year they got to present virtually, which definitely made things more comfortable for students.”

Hosting digital pitches also allowed instructors to get judges from around the province.

“Since they didn’t have to travel here, they could just sit in digitally,” said Davies. “It really let us get a wide range of people to be our Dragon panel.”

Davies says there was a large emphasis on business ideas that tackled environmental issues this year.

Joao Vitor Duz Batista’s business idea, Planteteers, set out to make gardening more sustainable. It won first prize and took home $350.

“We tried to create a flower pot made out of recycled products,” he said. “Doing more research into it, it turns out that the market doesn’t have many items like this.”

He says that the practical nature of the course will take students a long way in the business world.

“We read the books and get so much knowledge, but this is our chance to actually do it,” he said. “Being able to present ideas and get feedback is valuable to us.”

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