Catherine Dubé
For the past three years, the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management has had resounding success with the mini-commerce games. The competition, which goes by the name Place à la jeunesse, brings together 90 francophone high schools in the province. Its goal is to introduce young people to the world of business, entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, and, just recently, debating, with a view to participating in the university-level Jeux du commerce. In total, winners of the competition receive $58,500 in scholarships.
One past winner of the competition enjoyed the experience so much that she decided to enrol at the Telfer School of Management. Jade St-Laurent is now in her second year of an undergraduate program in marketing. “When I arrived at the University, I knew that I wanted to take part in the Jeux du commerce,” she says. She believes that Place à la jeunesse prepared her for a number of her courses. In addition to learning how to solve cases through the competition, she and her team won first prize for a marketing case study.
Normand Fortier, the creator of Place à la jeunesse, speaks enthusiastically about how the activity has grown over the years. This former professor says he is proud to see young professionals at work. “The closeness that develops between the high school and university students is something to see. The collaborative effort gives young people confidence and encourages them to pursue post-secondary studies.”
In the initial years of the competition, winners received $1000 in scholarships; today, they can win a scholarship of $5000, testimony to how the event has grown.
Related Link:
Place à la jeunesse
