Three University of Guyana students from the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI) recently outshone many of their colleagues from around the world in the GloBus International competition – a business simulation competition that focuses on competitive business strategy in a truly global market arena.

The students who participated in the competition and made the University and the entire country as a whole proud are: Mr. Sean Langevine (Management programme); Ms. Anisa Ramraj (Management programme); and Ms. Traceyann Massay-Gillis (Business Management programme).

In the simulation, each group was required to run a company in head-to-head competition against other students who were also put in charge of other companies, all of which manufactured and sold two product categories: (1) wearable video cameras and (2) sophisticated camera-equipped copter drones.

Providing a brief background of how students were able to enter the competition, Dean of SEBI, Prof. Leyland M. Lucas explained that over the past two years, students in SEBI have been engaged in a simulation exercise as part of the requirement for the BUAD 4201 Course (Business Policy & Strategy), which is taken by students in their final semester. This course is a senior-level management course that focuses on firm efforts to attain and sustain a competitive advantage. It is concerned with managing the competitive position and long-term development of the business enterprise to ensure its survival and success. The goal of the course is to increase the students’ effectiveness in managing strategically. During the just-completed 2nd semester, several groups were recognised for their performances, which involved being ranked in the Top 100 Globally.

Recent statistics indicated that in the second semester of the 2020/2021 academic year the simulation was used by over 30,000 students, 253 campuses, and in 28 countries. Of all the groups around the world participating in the semester-long competition, 675 teams were invited to compete in the May 2021 Best Strategy Invitational (BSI) Tournament and 65 of them accepted the invitation. They were separated into 6 different simulation industries, each competing for a BSI Grand Championship.

Mr. Langevine and Ms. Ramraj were grouped with D Safare Company while Ms. Massy-Gillis was placed in J Photography Company. At the end of the Invitational Tournament, D Safare finished in 1st place as the overall best-performing company and J Photography finished 6th. The SEBI students were extremely delighted with their successes and expressed gratitude to UG for allowing them to participate in the international competition.  

Langevine said: “The process was complex. We were placed in an industry with students from around the world. Unlike the in-class simulations where we had 1 to 2 weeks to make strategic decisions, think about what other companies might do, and formulate a strategy to outperform them. I believed in my vision and strategy. I was confident in my ability due to the knowledge gained during my interactive sessions with Professor Lucas, the Business Policy and Strategy course lecturer at the University of Guyana. He had a unique way of teaching, where he forced me to find what I was looking for by providing clues, but once I found them, I never forgot them.”

Ms. Ramraj said: “When I first saw the invitation to participate in the GloBus Best Strategy Invitational, my first thought was that I would have to tell this to Sean Langevine. This was because he was exceptionally outstanding at understanding the simulation and its mechanisms. After having told him, I thought it would have ended there for me, even though there was a small voice at the back of my mind telling me to go for it. This voice won when Mr. Langevine asked me to participate in the competition alongside him. Having been friends for the last 4 years, I accepted.”

She added: “As Guyanese, we often hear of the accomplishments of citizens from other countries and not much news of ourselves unless it’s a tragedy of some sort. Thus, competing with the world was nerve-wracking, to say the least, as we wanted to bring recognition to our country for a positive reason. When I entered the competition, I felt relaxed, calm, and collective – that only lasted until the first day of the competition. The anxiety of having to compete against international teams was intense – it was terrifying. However, as we excelled each week, the fear and anxiety faded, and the trust in myself and my teammate increased.”

In a brief comment, Ms Massay-Gillis expressed: “I considered this an incredible honour since our group received honourable mentions for placing in the top 50 for a few categories during the weeks of the competition. However, I was the lone participant since the other members opted out of the competition. On recognition that first place garnered an invitation to a global competition, I was eager for more chances to compete and refine my knowledge and strategies. This made my semester even more exciting.”

She added: “I was excited and proud to represent the University of Guyana, SEBI and MNG-4202 Business Policy & Strategy Class at this international level. This was a chance for me to put what was taught during this semester into practice. The knowledge gained from various courses such as Business Policy & Strategy, Financial Management, and International Marketing and Export really helped me through this process.”

Chancellor, Prof. Edward Greene, Vice-Chancellor, XI, Prof. Paloma Mohamed Martin; Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Dr. Emanuel Cummings (Academic Engagement) and Dr. Mellissa Ifill (Institutional Advancement), and the entire Senior Management Team, Faculty and Staff of the University of Guyana extend congratulations to the distinguished students for their success and for making the University proud.

Persons who wish to pursue one of the programmes being offered by SEBI are kindly asked to click on the following link: https://sebi.uog.edu.gy/academic-programmes

Prospective students can also choose from over 140 Programmes including those offered at the PhD, Masters, Postgraduate, Undergraduate, Associate Degree, and Diploma and Certificate levels.

College of Medical Sciences - https://fhs.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry - https://faf.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Faculty of Education and Humanities - https://feh.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences – https://fees.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Faculty of Engineering and Technology - https://fot.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Faculty of Natural Sciences - https://fns.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Faculty of Social Sciences - https://fss.uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) - https://idce.uog.edu.gy/programmes-offered

 

For all of the University’s programmes and courses, please click here: https://uog.edu.gy/srms/departments

 

Visit UG’s official website at: https://www.uog.edu.gy/

 

The link here provides a list of adoptions to the GloBus platform: https://www.glo-bus.com/home/stats/adoptions.

 

Please see the certificates and photographs for the students below.

 

 

UG IN BRIEF

The University of Guyana is the 58th-year state university of Guyana. It offers 136 programmes in over 60 disciplines online and face-to-face in 8 campuses across Guyana. With a student population of now 10,000, UG has provided education, learning and research for over 50,000 alumni. The mission of the University is to discover, generate, disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community, the nation and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry. UG’s forward-thinking Blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the University’s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of Guyana.

 

Contact:     

Ms. Krest Cummings

Public Relations Officer

Department of Events Conferences and Communications (DECC)

592-623-5104