HRIA presenting HR case competition to showcase student skills

5 post-secondary institutions involved

The Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA) is presenting its first HR case competition in March — and a second competition date has already been set for 2015.

The 2014 HRIA Challenge will be held at the University of Alberta on March 7 and 8 and showcase students’ skills through an academic competition among five post-secondary institutions: the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, Mount Royal University and Athabasca University.

The two-day competition will include a $1000 cash prize awarded to the winning team, as well as a $600 and $300 award for the second- and third-prize winners, respectively.

The challenge will officially kick-off with a dinner panel discussion designed to review practice cases sourced from Alia Azim Garcia’s book You Did What?!: A Reality Check on Human Resources Practices, with the author in attendance.

The main competition, held on March 8, will feature a panel of guest judges including Aly Bandali, HRIA’s board chair; Vince Tejada, director of employee engagement at Alberta Motor Association; and Connie Scott, manager of HR strategies at Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education.

Presentations held on the afternoon of the competition include a discussion on the critical importance of personal brand and professional appearance, led by Edmonton style consultant Lazina Mckenzie, as well as a lesson on the impact of different personality types on relationships in the workplace, presented by Alison Meyer McMahon, founder of HYPE (Helping Young Professionals Evolve).

HRIA has already confirmed the second round of competitions which will be held in Calgary at the Mount Royal University on March 6 and 7, 2015.

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