University of New England students defend reputation as ‘the ones to beat’ on the international stage.

Months of preparation and hard work saw three student teams from the University of New England (UNE) celebrating great results at the recent International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) Student Case Study Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the end of June 2018.

A team of four UNE students has taken out the intermediate (postgraduate) division of the IFAMA Student Case Study Competition in which students compete against universities from around the world. Notably UNE had only one postgraduate student in the team.  Mikayla Bruce, Lucy Collingridge, Chrissy Stannard and Emma McCrabb defeated a South African team in the competition final. Two other UNE teams finished second and third in the Undergraduate division of the Competition. The great results follow on from UNE’s success in 2017 in finishing first and third in the Undergraduate division of the global competition. Lucy Collingridge, currently completing her Graduate Certificate in Agriculture with UNE  is studying online while working in Narrabri for North West Local Land Services as a Biosecurity Officer, and was Skyping into weekly practice sessions with her team in the lead up to the competition.

The IFAMA Case Study Competition is an amazing opportunity to put our skills to the test in a high-pressure situation. Working as a team was vital to our success – the preparation we put in meant that we knew our individual strengths and how they worked together in our team, and how to apply these skills to deliver the best end result possible. In the real world this would be to a client, but in our case it was to a judging panel.

We’re really happy with the outcome, but it’s down to all that practice time and the coaching and leadership from Stuart Mounter and Derek Baker.”

Students from UNE Agriculture and UNE Business School worked with Dr Stuart Mounter and Professor Derek Baker in preparation for the competition, with additional support from Lyn Gollan and Sally Strelitz.

It’s UNE’s fourth year of participation in the competition and there’s no doubt our outstanding results are making other universities take notice” says Stuart Mounter. “IFAMA is the only international agribusiness conference and it brings together the world’s leading scholars and students, industry and NGO professionals, and policy makers in the one forum. So the competition really provides an opportunity to  showcase the caliber of our students on a global stage and enables the students to apply their practical and analytical skills to real world challenges”.

In addition to participating in the IFAMA conference the students spent two weeks travelling Argentina and Uruguay as part of an  agribusiness and agriculture study tour comprising 29 UNE students in total.    The students visited a variety of farms, industry bodies, service providers and businesses.

It’s this kind of international experience, that we have embedded in our curriculum, that gives students the chance to gain a perspective of the similarities and differences between Australian and global agribusiness and agricultural practices. This understanding shapes their view of some of our universal challenges in the sector and gives UNE’s students a unique reference point in the global sector as they look to move into graduate positions in the industry”, shares Stuart Mounter.

The three successful student teams will celebrate their outcomes and thank sponsor RaboBank during Ag-Week at UNE, holding an Agribusiness Mixer event to share more of their experiences with the university and,local and national industry networks in Armidale on 2 August 2018.

UNE’s 3 students teams at IFAMA 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Contact:

Dr Stuart Mounter – 02 67733159

Ms Sally Strelitz  – 0407005205

Ms Lucy Collingridge – 0447066244