A tie in the semi-final round and a second round of voting was all that kept Enactus Memorial from qualifying for the final at the Enactus World Cup.

The team of undergraduate students finished in the top eight overall during the competition that took place in Beijing, China, from Oct. 22-24 and featured the top 34 teams from around the world.

“The goal for us was to win the world cup but with such great competition, this can never be expected,” said Stuart Wallace, vice-president, Enactus Memorial.

Memorial’s team won its opening round league over teams from Germany, Ukraine and Tajikistan. In the semi-final, Enactus Memorial took on Morocco, South Africa and Malaysia and tied Morocco for first place. With only one team moving on from each semi-final league, a second vote was needed to determine the winner, which Morocco won by a narrow margin.

Morocco eventually finished second overall. The host country China placed first, Puerto Rico was third and Ireland fourth.

“There’s always an initial disappointment when not winning a competition, especially since we believed that our projects and presentation were strong and could have competed on the final round stage,” said Mr. Wallace. “Although we are still disappointed, we are proud to have the opportunity to represent Canada and have heard very encouraging things from rival schools in Canada and around the world.”

Dr. Wilfred Zerbe, dean, Faculty of Business Administration, travelled with the team and said they performed well.

“Enactus Memorial was again outstanding ambassadors for Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador,” he said. “Competing in front of international judges who bring different perspectives and values is always challenging and Enactus Memorial met that challenge with an outstanding presentation that highlighted the impact their 10 projects are having on the standard of living and quality of life of individuals here at home, across Canada, and internationally.”

The impact of those projects is the true value of Enactus, says faculty advisor Prof. Lynn Morrissey, and participating in competitions and learning about community projects from around the world helps energize students to continue working hard on projects at home.

“We’ve already begun to talk about next year,” Prof. Morrissey said. “These students are so motivated and want to continue making an impact on our communities. They truly understand that the real achievement is helping those in need.”

Mr. Wallace agrees, saying the enthusiasm for Enactus grows through competition.

“Hundreds were turned away at the door to watch our semi-final room, and we were told that Canada was the second most followed team besides China at the competition,” he said. “Events like this bring people closer together … Speaking to newer members on the team, I believe that this competition has resulted in them becoming excited about Enactus and although they were great volunteers before, they have caught the Enactus "bug" and will be competing in many more competitions to come.”

Enactus Memorial is a student-run volunteer group, part of an international non-profit organization that mobilizes university and college students to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need through the application of business processes and models.

It’s one of the most successful Enactus teams in the world, having won the national championship seven times in nine years. The team won the world cup in 2008 and was the runnerup in 2007.

In the past year, Enactus Memorial has run 10 community projects that have established 60 new businesses, created 90 new jobs, generated $1.1 million in revenue and changed the lives of over 4,000 project participants.