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CMU Students Compete For Their Future In Business Competition

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Hundreds of students fighting to make a profitable company in just a four-hour span, many with a real career on the line.

It’s the eighth annual ERPsim Invitational Competition at Central Michigan University.

Business and computer science students teaming up with real world corporations to dive head first into a management simulation.

“I would convert, I would convert what we have,” says Mt. Pleasant grad student Sydney Cox.

She’s talking about cereal ingredients. A decision like that is part of growing her team’s company in the ERPsim competition. A real world game simulation, showing off the skills these college students have.

“Dealing with the unknown, dealing with the pressure and being able to communicate through situations,” says Kathryn Ramsey, CMU alum and current systems analyst for Blue Cross Blue Shield. “Being able to understand the important priorities and prioritize them correctly.”

Students have mentors from some of the biggest companies in the state and are prepped to handle disaster and plan on how to build a more successful company in a four-hour span.

“We had a little communication error,” says Houghton Lake senior Andrew DiCapo. “We invested too much money into the company so we spent too much cash than we had but we were able to reverse that and fix it.”

“It’s really nice to be able to take the stuff that you’re talking about in class and see it actually happen in the real world scenario,” says business professor Kyle Nothstine.

It’s great to have the most profitable company and win the award at the end of the day but these kids are also fighting for something else. They are fighting for careers. Many of these companies are looking for future interns and full-time employees.

“There are so many companies and corporations waiting with open arms to accept these students,” Ramsey says.

“Last year, one company hired 13 people on the day of the event,” Nothstine says. “That they hadn’t already had connections with.”

The SAP system they are using is very popular for companies of all industries and a firm grasp on the workings this early can skyrocket the careers of these students.

“Just proving to companies that we know how to run some of the operations,” DiCapo says. “It’s really cool and shows them what Central is teaching us.”

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