Compete

The application for a spot in the Challenge is open to all UConn junior and senior students. Teams are made up of four different functional areas.  There are four positions available in. If interested, please indicate which functional area you would like to be responsible for on your team.

1. Accounting/Finance
2. Management/International Business
3. Marketing
4. OPIM/IT/BIS

**IMPORTANT** Please keep in mind that you will be working across times zones with your teammates and must remain flexible. The students participating from other universities have had to compete for their spot in this competition and are representing their schools at a high level. Also, carefully note the competition agenda which runs over 3 weeks this year.  The events are primarily on the weekend to allow for students to continue their studies in their home institutions.

Application Deadline is Friday, September 29, 2024.

Apply to the UConn team using the button above.

Successful applicants will be contacted by Monday, October 4 by 5:00pm EST

For more details, contact: global.business@uconn.edu

What is the composition of each team?

Each team will be comprised of four, currently enrolled, business students working on their first university degree (undergraduates). No alternates are permitted. Each of the four members of the team must be degree seeking undergraduate students registered within the business school at the university they are from, and each student will be representing a different specific function in the following areas : Finance/Accounting, Marketing, Management/International Business, and Operations/BIS. Students are only permitted to participate as a team member in the UConn International Case Challenge one time. Students from different universities will be mixed and formed into an entirely new team for the competition. Each 4-student team will have at least one student from an international business school. Students will be connected prior to the competition by the UConn International Case Challenge Management Team.

What is the length and nature of the case that will be analyzed?

The nature of the case that will be used, and the particular business issues involved, will be kept secret until competition packets are distributed on Thursday evening. The case is always international in nature and may address multiple geographical regions and multiple functional areas. In the past cases have focus on areas of sustainable business, the UN SDGs, M&A, tech advances and corporate agility, social enterprise, etc. To prepare for the competition teams may want to practice analyzing other business cases such as those published by Harvard Business School. These are copyrighted and can be purchased from Harvard Business School Publishing. Similar business case studies may be available from other websites or within your own university.

How will the CASE be distributed?

The case will be released simultaneously to all participants during the Challenge Kickoff. A follow up email will also be sent to each individual with all necessary information related to the case.

What’s the technology set up for the competition?

Student teams will arrange their own work/meeting schedule for the two weeks they will be engaged in “solving” the case. They may use the platforms and apps of their choice. All official Case Challenge events will be conducted via WebEx and IT support will be provided for the events. The Preliminary Round will allow students to submit their presentation (video and audio) using dropbox for the judges to review.

How many faculty advisors are there for each team? What is their function?

In the past, teams have had the option of being accompanied by an advisor. For the 2020 **Virtual** competition, this is of course not necessary.  Advisors who have been responsible for selecting or preparing their students to compete are not allowed to assist in case analysis or to be in contact with their teams once the case is released on Saturday October 17^th. Faculty advisors will be permitted to observe their own team members’ presentations should they be selected to advance to the Final Round on November 7^th. They may contact Arminda Kamphausen to make arrangements to receive an invitation and link to the event. Attendance at the final round is mandatory for all teams.

Can teams use other consultants during case competition?

No. Teams are expected to produce original work solely attributable to the four members. Teams may not consult with advisors, other faculty, staff, team hosts, other students, or any other non-team members during preparation of the case analysis or on the day of competition. Student are welcome to use books, internet web page information, or any other non-human resource to gather information.

Any other helpful hints in regard to case preparation?

It is always an advantage to be educated about current world issues. Teams should become familiar with conducting online searches for relevant information and sources. Teams may have access to their home institution library if helpful and any other online databases.

How will Competition Day be managed?

Teams will not be allowed to make a change to their slides/physical presentation for the final round, but may adjust their speaking assignments/presentation from the preliminary submission.

On the Final Round of the Case Challenge, each team will have 35 minutes for their presentation Teams will enter the central administrative room first for a camera/mic/tech check.  Then will enter the judges room at the scheduled time. Each presentation will include five minutes for set up, 20 minutes for presentation, followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer session (with the panel of judges). Teams must leave the room immediately after they have finished the Q&A session as must all audience members to allow for the judges to have a time to consult. Before the beginning of the next presentation audience members and teams who have already presented may re-enter the Judges Competition room. This format will repeat for each of the final presentation.

Teams may present their case analysis using Power Point. When preparing the Power Point presentation, teams should choose fonts carefully to ensure that all slides will show equally well on different computers (use common font styles). Team members should wear attire typical to a formal business presentation. We highly recommend that the presentation of the case solution include all team members, and be as “balanced” as possible. Teams should work to capitalize on the strengths of each individual team member!

How will the judging work?

Judging will be “blind”, meaning our judges will not be told and should not be led by the team to know which school each student represents. Teams should not include any graphics or words in the presentation that would identify your school, state, or country, and clothing should be neutral in color and not school-oriented in any way. Teams should be prepared for questions from the judges. The judges may opt to assume roles during the Q&A — for example, board members, firm officers, executives, etc. Judges of the preliminary rounds will be different than the judges for the final round of competition.

Will we receive feedback about our presentation?

We are in the process of arranging the best mode of providing judges feedback for the preliminary round submission. Recordings of final presentations can also be requested by team members, and we will work with final judges to provide their feedback as well.  All feedback may turn out to be in written form this year.

Awards

First Place: 

• Santiago Altamirano, Purdue University
• Renée Ramirez, Belmont University
• Kristen Connors, University of Vermont

Second Place: 

• Carlos Sanabria, Purdue University
• Jordan Rainville, University of Vermont
• Giovanni Verde, University of Trento

Third Place: 

• Diego Hilsaca, Purdue University
• Madison Woodson, Belmont University
• Lily Li, University of Maryland

Best Q+A: 

• Diego Hilsaca, University of Trento
• Kristin Connors, University of Vermont
• Benjamin Wolf, University of Vermont

Best Presenter: 

• Lucas Füchtner, Purdue University
• Carlos Sanabria, Purdue University
• Renée Ramirez, Belmont University

Participants

• Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Florida State University, College of Business (Tallahassee, Florida)
• Purdue University, Krannert School of Management (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• University of Connecticut, School of Business (Storrs, Connecticut)
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business (College Park, Maryland)
• University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management (Trento, Italy)
• University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business (Burlington, Vermont)

Awards

Winner: 

• Jenna Lemmer, University of Johannesburg
• George Scribano, Florida State University
• Nadine Eloseily, University of Maryland, College Park
• Katelyn Arrowsmith, Purdue University

 Second Place: 

• Diksha Garg, University of Maryland, College Park
• Susanna Bertolini, University of Trento
• Sean Grossnickle, Belmont University
• Erin Webster, Florida State University

Third Place: 

• Brenna Kelly, University of Connecticut
• Maria Kissel, University of Vermont
• Filippo Perini, University of Trento
• Bongani Mokoena, University of Johannesburg

Best Q+A:

• George Scribano, Florida State University
• Filippo Perini, University of Trento
• Elizabeth Plowman, Purdue University
• Nadine Eloseily, University of Maryland, College Park

Best Presenter:

• Brenna Kelly, University of Connecticut
• Giovanni Bino, University of Trento
• Sean Grossnickle, Belmont University
• Claire Greenlaw, University of Vermont

Participants

Schools that sent participants in 2018:

• Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Florida State University, College of Business (Tallahassee, Florida)
• Purdue University, Krannert School of Management (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• University of Connecticut, School of Business (Storrs, Connecticut)
• University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg Business School (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business (College Park, Maryland)
• University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management (Trento, Italy)
• University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business (Burlington, Vermont)

Awards

First Place

• Shruti Kansara, Bryant University
• Julia Elliot, San Diego State Universityy
• Joshua Dahlberg, Belmont University
• Kahan Soni, University of Connecticut

Second Place

• Robert Jordan, Bowie State University
• Shadman Khan, Purdue University
• Colleen Kane, Florida State University
• Ludovica Grilli, University of Trento

Third Place

• Kate Haagensen, University of Vermont
• Ankit Sheth, University of Maryland
• Lorenzo D'Auria, University of Trento
• Jordan Patterson, Bryant University

Best Presenter: Kate Haagensen
Best Q&A: Jordan Patterson

Participants

• Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Florida State University, College of Business (Tallahassee, Florida)
• Purdue University, Krannert School of Management (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• San Diego State University, College of Business Administration (San Diego, California)
• University of Connecticut, School of Business (Storrs, Connecticut)
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business (College Park, Maryland)
• University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management (Trento, Italy)
• University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business (Burlington, Vermont)

Awards

First Place

• Mayar Dessokey, The American University in Cairo
• Andrew Hughes, Belmont University
• Robert Menzel, Florida State University
• Xin Wei, Purdue University

Second Place

• Igli Bajo, Trento University
• Kelsey Rodgers, Florida State University
• Jessica Ting, University of Maryland
• Emily Weissman, Belmont University

Third Place

• William Criminsi, Trento University
• Joshua Groh, Purdue University
• Hlobile Jele, University of Johannensburg
• Sopanha Mao, San Diego State University

Best Presenter: Joshua Hancock
Best Q&A: Jessica Ting

Participants

• Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Florida State University, College of Business (Tallahassee, Florida)
• Purdue University, Krannert School of Management (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• San Diego State University, College of Business Administration (San Diego, California)
• University of Connecticut, School of Business (Storrs, Connecticut)
• University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Management (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business (College Park, Maryland)
• University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management (Trento, Italy)
• University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business (Burlington, Vermont)

Awards

Winner: Pick-6 Consulting

• Austin Coon, Purdue University
• Alandar Detwiler, University of Vermont
• Justice Dlamini, University of Johannesburg
• Parker Higgins, Belmont University

 Second Place: Quadruple Threat

• Stacia Smart, University of Connecticut
• Gianmarco Vanin, University of Trento
• Christopher Wagner, Florida State University
• Lauren Willey, San Diego State University

Third Place: KGME

• Gail Capati, San Diego State University
• Khotlello Mooka, University of Johannesburg
• Michael McGovern, University of Maryland
• Evan Silverberg, University of Vermont

Best Presenter: Parker Higgins
Best Q&A: Christopher Wagner

Participants

• Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Florida State University, College of Business (Tallahassee, Florida)
• Purdue University, Krannert School of Management (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• San Diego State University, College of Business Administration (San Diego, California)
• University of Connecticut, School of Business (Storrs, Connecticut)
• University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Management (Johannesburg, South Africa)
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business (College Park, Maryland)
• University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management (Trento, Italy)
• University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business (Burlington, Vermont)

Awards

Winner: 4Sight Consulting

• Rebecca Frutos, University of Connecticut
• So Ikeya, Rikkyo University
• Steven Bell, Belmont University
• Haoshi Cheng, University of North Carolina

 Second Place: Abroad & Beyond

• Naoto Ito, Rikkyo University
• Vivian Yun-Ju Wang, University of North Carolina
• Cecilia Medieros, San Diego State University
• Mitchell Dupre, Bryant University

Third Place: 50 Shades for Ray (Charles)

• Kassandra McGlone, Bryant University
• Sean McHugh, Belmont University
• Riley Owens, Purdue University
• Francesco Capozza, University of Trento

Best Q+A: Rebecca Frutos
Best Presenter: Kassandra McGlone

Participants

Schools that sent participants in 2014:

• Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Bryant University, College of Business (Smithfield, Rhode Island)
• Brigham Young University, Marriott School of Management (Provo, Utah)
• Purdue University, Krannert School of Management (West Lafayette, Indiana)
• Rikkyo University, Department of Global Business(Tokyo, Japan)
• San Diego State University, College of Business Administration (San Diego, California)
• Tecnológico de Monterrey, International Undergraduate Program< (Guadalajara, Mexico)
• University of Connecticut, School of Business (Storrs, Connecticut)
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business (College Park, Maryland)
• University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
• University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management (Trento, Italy)