LSBU students visit Guatemala
London South Bank University (LSBU) business students qualified and visited Guatemala for the Network of International Business Schools competition finalsA team of students from London South Bank University’s (LSBU) School of Business qualified for this year’s Network of International Business Schools (NIBs) competition finals 2018. The team travelled all the way to Guatemala in Late February to take part in this competition.
This high profile annual competition is one of the oldest business case competitions in the world and draws teams from business schools around the globe, challenging them to demonstrate their entrepreneurial flair and business skills, their adaptability and their ability to work as a team under pressure.
During the finals, teams compete head-to-head in each round, analysing a case study for four hours and then presenting their recommendations to a panel of judges made up of academics and business professionals. The event is rounded off with the judges scoring each team before deciding on a winner.
LSBU first entered the NIBs competition while hosting the event on campus in 2014. A team from the School of Business later qualified to take part in the finals in 2015, 2017 and again this year, in 2018.
Evidently, the School of Business is capable of competing at an international level and as the only UK qualifiers for the finals this year, our achievements continue to generate global recognition of both our students and the academic team who help to prepare them for this gruelling competition.
Christina Anderl and Professor Jon Warwick accompanied the students on the trip to Guatemala.
Professor Warwick sums up the expectation placed on the students during the competition. He said: “They have to solve an unseen business case in limited time, without access to external resources, and then pitch their solution to a panel of judges who are business experts in strategy, finance, marketing and all areas of business. The students are required to analyse the situation and develop creative solutions for short, medium, and long-term scenarios. Their proposed solutions need be practically feasible and financially sound. They also have to outline any potential risks involved.”
‘This team is then called on to present their ideas and defend them against probing questions from the judging panel. The types of cases presented could either be representative of a large, multi-national company or an SME and could be located anywhere in the world. It’s a real test of international business skills.”
“The toughest part for the students is the relentless nature of the competition. Solving a four-hour business case and then presenting for 20 minutes with a ten-minute question and answer session in front of the judging panel. This often starts before 8.00am. In the latter stages of the competition, they have to present two three-hour case studies per day so it’s a gruelling experience. For the coaches, the toughest part is the waiting while the team works and not being able to assist in any way.
“The NIBs competition is a great opportunity for our students to develop their business skills and apply their academic learning in a real, live environment. Students come together from all over the world, from different disciplines and it is important for them to work together as a team and to utilise each other’s areas of expertise.”
Although the team were not able to match last year’s performance when LSBU reached the semi-final stage, the students have gained enormous experience and learned so much from the other teams in the competition.
Our congratulations goes out to Anthony Schrauwen, Fatima Laiq, Leyddy Portas Sanchez and Omidreza Hosseini Tabar, who truly immersed themselves in the experience, and whom we are extremely proud of.
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