On March 1st, seven Master of Industrial Relations (MIR) students traveled to the New York State School of Industrial and Labour Relations (ILR) at Cornell University to participate in the annual Inter-University Negotiation Cup Competition. This year’s competition featured Master students from a handful of programs, including Cornell University, the University of Toronto, Rutgers University, and Pennsylvania State University. The students at this year’s event were treated to opening remarks by Javier Ramirez, United States President Joe Biden’s former appointee to run the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the current Deputy Director overseeing all FMCS mediators. Special thanks go to the faculty and staff at the ILR School for hosting this special event.
The competition involved a multi-party, multi-issue mock negotiation regarding a modernization agreement in the Canadian healthcare industry. The MIR students, all of which are enrolled in the elective MIR 886 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, were able to take the negotiation theories and concepts that they’ve learned throughout the semester and apply them in this great learning experience.
This year’s participants from the MIR program included: Spencer Bell, Daekwon Blair, Eric Fenech, Emily Heathcote, Maria Urzola Canabal, Chloe Valiquette, and Camilla Zienkiewicz. While our program didn’t win the negotiation cup, special recognition was provided to Emily and Maria who were individual award winners for receiving the highest point totals in their assigned roles. Beyond that, each of these students put forth an admirable effort and served as great representatives of the MIR program.