Bringing home 7 podiums in 36 hours: the HR Sympo Story

5:30am wake-up calls. Three-hour case preps. A halftime show choreographed the morning of. This is what 36 hours at HR Sympo looks like.

Friday: 12:00PM

The buses left JMSB Friday morning with forty-nine delegates wearing brand-new JMCC merch—burgundy joggers, quarter-zips, gold and burgundy scarves. Destination: Université de Sherbrooke. Mission: HR Sympo, Eastern Canada's premier HR case competition, back after a one-year hiatus.

JMSB wasn't alone. Six other schools—ESG, FSA, UDS, HEC, EG3R, and UQO—were converging on Sherbrooke for the same reason. Seven schools. One weekend. Everything on the line.

The buses pulled into the hotel around mid-afternoon. Room assignments were announced. Some got paired with close friends. Others got matched with teammates they were just getting to know. Either way, by Sunday, they'd all be family.

Saturday: 5:30am

By 5:30am, delegates were up, throwing on suits and blazers, grabbing breakfast, and heading to their assigned case rooms.

HR Sympo had eight cases this year. HR Management, HR Mandate, Change Management, Employer Branding among others. Then there were more unique ones. Arbitration put two teams from opposing schools head-to-head in front of a jury; one defending the employer, the other representing the union. The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion case gave teams a real partner firm's EDI practices and asked them to analyze what was working, what wasn't, and what needed to change. And then there was the surprise case—delegates had been given two weeks to prepare pitches on how to improve HR Sympo itself. What could make the competition better? What should change? Finally, Quiz—a rapid-fire test of HR knowledge under pressure.

Three hours on the clock. Delegates dove in. They absorbed the case. Built their analysis. Structured their presentations. Rehearsed their delivery. And then it was time to present.

Meanwhile, while some delegates were deep in case prep and presentations, others were on the soccer field. JMSB's athletes laced up and went to battle in the HR Sympo soccer tournament. The participation teams—JMCC's brand ambassadors who'd been tackling challenges all weekend—put together a halftime show. Choreographed that morning. Dance routines. Coordinated cheers. Social media content filmed on the fly.

Everyone gave their all... and held their breath for results.

Saturday: 8:00PM

By dinner, every delegate was exhausted. But the night wasn't over. After the meal, the HR Sympo organizing committee took the stage. The room went quiet. Results were about to drop.

One by one, the podiums were announced.

Change Management: 2nd place

Employer Brand: 3rd place

Professionalism: 2nd place

Contribution: 3rd place

Surprise case 3rd place

Then came the big announcements. Participation: 1st place. JMCC's brand ambassadors dominated with their energy

Coordinator of the Year: Laurie Gauthier, recognized for the leadership and heart she poured into making JMSB's performance possible. Seven podiums. Months of preparation paying off.

Sunday 10:00AM

The buses left Sherbrooke early Sunday. Delegates were quieter this time; some slept, some scrolled through photos, some just stared out the window with smiles they couldn't wipe off.

Forty-nine JMCC delegates had represented JMSB. They'd shown up with heart, resilience, and world-class thinking. They'd brought home 7 podiums. And they'd proven something important: this is just the beginning.

HR Sympo is the first competition of the year. JDC, JDCC, FO and HM are approaching and the season is just getting started.

A huge congratulations to every delegate who competed. You made us proud. Thank you to Symposium GRH 2025 for bringing HR Sympo back. Thank you to our incredible coaches for preparing our team and helping them rise to the challenge.

And to everyone reading this who's wondering if they should get involved: this could be you next year. Your next win starts here.