Graduate students from business schools across the globe had 24 hours to showcase their business administration and entrepreneurship talents this weekend at the School of Management.
The 64 graduate students participated in the sixth annual International Tech Strategy Case Competition, which awarded $25,000 to the first to solve a marketing challenge with an emphasis on technology and business strategies.
Members of leading information technology firms judge the competition and final presentations.
After the team’s final presentations, the team from the Richard Ivey School of Business from the University of Western Ontario was awarded the top prize.
Teams came from schools as far the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, India and Seoul National University in South Korea.
SMG graduate students Neel Madhvani, Anish Menon, Kevin Schlabach and Tarun Theogaraj comprised BU’s team.
“I’d say this is a pretty intense competition,” Theogaraj said. “Our team has a good chance though, I’m ready for it.”
The competing students were given the details of the challenge Friday morning, and were allotted exactly 24 hours to work with their team to solve the business challenge and formulate presentations for judging.
The teams brought various strategies, perspectives and caffeinated beverages to the table for the daylong session.
“My concentration is in finance, so this is a little different than what I will be doing in a future job, but strategy is always important,” Menon said. “I have some jitters, but our team has worked together in the past and I think we work quite well together.”
The competition focuses on business strategy in collaboration with information technology to solve a practical challenge that telecommunications company Ericsson faces.
Ericsson, along with BU professor of Information Systems Venkat Venkatraman co-created the challenge, said John Chalykoff, an associated dean of SMG.
Freeman said the competition showcases the mission of SMG’s M.B.A. program.
“Our emphasis on information technology in business really sets BU’s program apart from the others,” Freeman said.
After the competition, the students were thrown a curve ball during the five-hour collaboration round, Chalykoff said.
“We are randomizing the teams and adding an anonymous member from Ericsson to each,” Chalykoff said. “This round, asking the contestants to develop an app, is especially focused on the technology aspect of business strategy.”
Freeman said the competition is a signature event for BU, embodying SMG’s aims and goals, reminding students that business is an international affair.
“This is really a chance for elite students to come together and show what they can do,” Freeman said. “This competition will make us aware of other strategies and help us raise our own game so that our students will be ready to compete globally after they graduate.”
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