Valuable gains from case competitions

Anyone aiming to reach the top in business needs to bring their “A game” to the office or boardroom day in, day out.

It is no wonder, therefore, that universities and business schools are encouraging MBA students to enter the growing number of case competitions which now vie for attention on the international scene.

Stephen Nason, professor of business practice at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School, believes the “real world” situations students tackle in such competitions provide valuable insights and experience.

“They don’t take a case that is two or three years old, but instead use a problem that a company is currently experiencing and probably doesn’t yet have a solution for,” Nason says. “Also, the students get a chance to present their recommendations to the firm’s executives, so they get a lot of grounded feedback right away.”

Substance is more important than style in these contests, but Nason admits that the participants’ analytical and problem-solving skills are not the sole factor determining success. “In a perfect world, the content of the recommendation would be the only thing that was important, but the reality is that if you can’t convince people and communicate the quality of your recommendation, then the best idea in the world won’t have any impact.”

Simon Wen Zhu, Nicky Loh and Clément Dieudonne are all members of a HKUST team which has struck a successful balance between the quality of the message and of the delivery.

Amongst other impressive results, the trio, who are all part of the 2012 intake, helped their team take first place at the InnovateChina 2013 Entrepreneurship Challenge in Shanghai and win the best “elevator pitch” award at the 30th Annual Global Venture Labs Investment Competition in Austin, Texas.

The trio with two other members also championed the One Million Entrepreneurship Competition held by HKUST last month.

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