The 2nd annual Alberta Energy Challenge was held at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, from September 29th to October 2nd, 2011. This year, schools came from across North America to complete in the competition. Some of the competing universities included: the University of British Columbia, McGill University, Concordia University, the University of Calgary, Penn State University, Oklahoma University, and the University of California Berkeley.

From left: Cole Thorpe, Tyler Webb, Kelsey Heggie, Adam Stewart

Edwards sent four students to this year’s competition after placing second in the inaugural Alberta Energy Challenge last year. The four students who attended this year’s competition were:, Adam Stewart, fourth year Finance major; Tyler Webb, fourth year Human Resources major; Kelsey Heggie, third year Human Resources major; and Cole Thorpe, third year Management major.

This year, teams were given 36 hours to solve a case based on Suncor Energy. Students were challenged to develop a comprehensive and innovative strategic vision for Suncor Energy moving forward into 2050. Competition participants were allowed to use publicly available information from the internet and university databases to build their analysis and recommendation. The competition culminated on the final day with two rounds of presentations.

The preliminary round of presentations had teams separated into three different presentation rooms with four teams competing in each room. Teams were given 25 minutes to present their analysis and ideas to a distinguished panel of judges, including senior representatives from Suncor and Cenovus, as well as leading professionals from the energy sector. After round one was over, judges selected one team from each presentation room to participate in the final round of presentations.

The Edwards team won their respective presentation room for the second straight year, allowing them to advance to the final round. In the final round, Edwards competed against two different University of Alberta teams who had also won their respective presentation rooms. After a grueling set of 35-minute final presentations and several tough questions from the ten-judge panel, it was announced that the Edwards team had taken second place for a second straight year!