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(L to R): Chenyu Yang, Saleem Tawakol, Michael Bliemel (advisor), Jordan Cromwell

Since June, Rowe MBA students Jordan Cromwell, Saleem Tawakol and Chenyu Yang have been preparing for IBM’s international Watson Analytics Global Competition (WAGC). It was held earlier this month in Las Vegas, as part of IBM’s largest annual conference, World of Watson.

The three students won the chance to compete at the Vegas conference when they were named one of the top three student teams in the world in the competition. (See “MBA team makes top 3 in the world in IBM competition,” June 2016.) At the end of the Vegas competition, they were named second-place winners.

Tawakol describes the impact of the event on himself and his fellow students: “Taking part allowed us to meet with some of the brightest minds in the technology field,” he says. “It was great to network with IBM executives, IBM’s affiliates and the other finalist teams. We are proud to represent Dalhousie University by achieving the ‘Worldwide First Runner-Up Team’ title at the first-ever IBM WAGC event.”

Aside from being proud of the performance of the Rowe team, Dr. Michael Bliemel, the students’ advisor, was also pleased with their very “Canadian” sportsmanship. “When one of the challengers had a computer problem our team lent them a laptop to use during the judging,” he explains.

Bliemel and his colleagues are now signing up students for next year’s competition and hoping to again compete globally. “Competitions like these allow our students to get amazing networking and brand-building opportunities,” he says. “The World of Watson conference really allows us to show that our students and programs are among the world’s best.”