Undergraduate Students Win Six Awards in International and Local Competitions

Five undergraduate student teams of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School earned six awards in international and local competitions recently:

• University of Navarra International Case Competition (UNICC) in Spain
• Society of Actuaries’ (SOA) Student Case Study Challenge in the United States
• The Association of International Accountants’ (AIA) Business Sustainability and Risk Management Case Analysis Competition
• AIA CSR Reports Contest 2017
• B4B Challenge (Big Data for Business Challenge)

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1. University of Navarra International Case Competition (UNICC)

At the UNICC held in Pamplona, Spain on 26-31 March, 2017, the team formed by Angela Tang (International Business and Chinese Enterprise [IBCE], Year 2), Jackie Chan (Global Business Studies, Year 2), Kelly Wong (Professional Accountancy [PACC], Year 2) and Wilson Wong (IBCE, Year 2) were awarded 1st Runner-up, and Angela also won the Best Speaker Award. The team was coached by Dr. John Lai, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate Studies); Director of Global Business Programmes; and Senior Lecturer of Department of Management at CUHK Business School.

Organised and hosted by University of Navarra´s School of Economics and Business’ undergraduate students, the competition brought together 64 undergraduate students from 16 universities in 9 countries. Through three stages of competition in six days, they tackled three challenging business cases in a fast-paced setting. The judges of the competition were experienced professionals from the national and regional business community. In addition to competing as professional consultants, the teams got to know the gastronomy and culture of Navarre through guided tours by their ambassadors. Students enjoyed an enriching academic, social and cultural experience that strengthened their skills for the future.

2. Society of Actuaries’ (SOA) Student Case Study Challenge

Five final year students from the Insurance, Financial and Actuarial Analysis (IFAA) programme were awarded the first place at the 2017 Student Case Study Challenge of SOA. The team members included Derek Chau, Timothy Cheng, Yolanda Choy, Anson Lau and Jocelyn Wong. They were guided by Prof. Andrew Ng, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate Studies), Director of the IFAA programme, and Associate Professor of Practice in Actuarial Science, who served as faculty advisor to assist them in their overall approach. On top of the cash award of US$500 for each team member, CUHK Business School was granted US$5,000 which would certainly help support students’ activities in the future.

In this edition of the competition, 69 teams of undergraduate and master students from prestigious actuarial science programmes overseas participated. The case study this year focused on the coastal development of an island. Over the course of eight weeks, they applied their actuarial skills on economic development and environmental considerations involving coastal development. The teams would have to understand and select from potential data sources, develop models with appropriate accuracy metrics, summarise relevant results, and present written recommendations.

3. The Association of International Accountants’ (AIA) Business Sustainability and Risk Management Case Analysis Competition and CSR Reports Contest

Integrated BBA (IBBA) programme year 2 students, Ang Sea-yen and Tan Sze-may won the 2nd Runner-up at the 2nd Business Sustainability & Risk Management Case Analysis Competition. Five International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE) year 2 students, Gary Chan, Thomas Chan, Jacky Cheng, Gary Ngai, and Thomas Yeung also won the 1st Runner-up at the CSR Reports Contest 2017.

The Business Sustainability & Risk Management Case Analysis Competition and CSR Reports Contest were organised by the Hong Kong branch of AIA. The former required nominated teams from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China to complete a Sustainability Report and present their analysis for a case study that adopts the Global Reporting Initiative G4 standards. The latter required students to submit a CSR report on how the Hong Kong Jockey Club can enhance the efficiency of their CSR policies.

4. B4B Challenge (Big Data for Business Challenge)

Cheng Ningning (IBBA, Year 4) and Liu Jialu (Global Economic and Finance, Year 4) were part of the champion team of the Students Stream at B4B Challenge. Their winning project aims to help real estate developers and intermediaries to identify potential buyers and to differentiate home buyers and investors, thereby improving the sales effectiveness of cold calls.

In the competition organised by Innobator, finalist teams could not only seek advice and guidance from their mentors to gain insights on business and commercial applications, but also attend training in Shanghai where experts and business executives shared their experience and insights on business development and big data trends. The champion teams were invited to participate in post-competition roadshows in Hong Kong and mainland China, in which they would present and showcase their winning project to potential investors and customers.