News

The students enrolled in the Supply Chain class in Industrial Engineering at Dalhousie University took part in a case sponsored by JDI. Over 3,800 Atlantic Canadian university students have participated in JDI case competitions to date, but this was a first in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Engineering. The case was based on a real-life supply chain management problem that came up in JDI’s Forestry and Forest Products division. The students in the class (a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students) participated in teams to come up with a solution to a complex problem that that needed an integrated supplier selection, transportation, inventory, and warehousing solution.

The presentations very well received. Mr. Jim Jordan, the sponsor of the case and Vice President of Supply Chain Management at JDI said to Dr. Uday Venkatadri, an Associate Professor at Dalhousie and the course instructor, “Your class did a great job.” Ms. Linda Tran, Quality Assurance Manager at Irving Shipbuilding, who was one of the judges at the presentations said “We really enjoyed the presentations - kudos to you and your class!”. Ms. Tran had taken the class many years ago when she was an undergraduate student in Industrial Engineering. It was very nice to have her back, this time listening to the presentations rather than making them in class.

The association between JDI and Dalhousie is not exactly new: the company is proud to have over 190 Dalhousie alumni as part of their team across operations - and look forward to hiring more. Between 2016-2018 they are forecasting hiring almost 7,900 people across their operations. Students interested in paid work terms, internships or co-ops can join JDI as they are forecasting over 600 student positions in 2016. The case competition was also an excellent opportunity to bring Dalhousie students in direct contact with JDI.

After the presentations, Mr. Jordan brainstormed with the class on what makes a good presentation to senior management, something that many engineering students will face as they progress through their careers. This, of course, included building trust through solid engineering analysis and sound judgement. For Dr. Uday Venkatadri, the case was all about giving the students a chance to showcase their technical skills (e.g. routing optimization, inventory management, and systems costing), learnt through various modules in the class, by applying them in an industry context.

While all the presentations were excellent, three cash prizes were awarded to the winning teams:

·       First prize winners: Ms. Molly Elliott, Mr. Parth Pancholi, Mr. Christian Noel Samuel

·       Second prize winners: Mr. Abdullah Abdullsalaam, Mr. Vikas Bawa, Mr. Mohamed Fadhel, and Mr. Shamsuddin Thanawala

·       Third prize winners: Mr. Rob Dumont, Mr. Luke Pitts, Mr. Daniel Ulch, and Mr. Jacob Wing

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to JDI for this great opportunity!