Winners Announced in CUHK Academic Cup Case Competition 2020
Hundreds of students gathered together on 18th January, to participate in the CUHK Academic Cup 2020. Excitement and anticipations filled the halls of CUHK’s Lee Shau Kee Building, as teams worked tirelessly to prepare the case and waited for their turn to present in the competition.
This year’s competition focused on the internationalisation goal of Cycles Devinci, a bike manufacturer aiming to expand its business into the Asia-Pacific market. Teams were given actual data of the industry and business environments to identify the main challenges and subsidiary issues of the company, and used their analytic skills to screen high-potential markets with profitable trends and opportunities.
Teams then presented their solutions to a panel of expert judges, and were evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate their insights of various markets, creative thinking, and the quality of the recommended strategies.
The Academic Cup is an annual case analysis competition organised by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School, aiming to encourage teamwork and bridge the gap between classroom learning and the business world by challenging students to apply adaptive thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills to actual business situations. Students with outstanding performance are given the opportunity to further represent CUHK in local and international case competitions.
Champions – Team Candide
Kwok Ting Chun, Jason (Global Business Studies, year 1)
Tong Ngo Nam (Global Business Studies, year 1
Tang Long Ching (Global Business Studies, year 1)
Hang Hou In (Global Business Studies, year 1)
Academic Cup Champion Team (Team Candide): Kwok Ting Chun, Jason (second one from the left), Hang Hou In (third one from the left), Tong Ngo Nam (fourth one from the left), and Tang Long Ching (second one from the right).
First-runner up – Team Genesis
Hsieh Wei Ting, Sylvia (Quantitative Finance, year 1)
Chan Yi Ting, Elaine (Quantitative Finance, year 1)
Jang Hiu Fung, Jafer (Quantitative Finance, year 1)
Lee Sum Yi (International Business and Chinese Enterprise, year 1)
Academic Cup 1st Runner-up Team (Team Genesis): Lee Sum Yi (second one from the left), Chan Yi Ting, Elaine(third one from the left), Hsieh Wei Ting, Sylvia(fourth one from the left), and Jang Hiu Fung, Jafer (second one from the right).
Second-runner up – Team Alpha
Karuniawan Cahaya Putra (Professional Accountancy, year 2)
Kusnarto Leony (Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science, year 2)
Lin Ziqi, Kevin (Professional Accountancy, year 2)
Ji Zhou, Barry (Integrated BBA, year 2)
Academic Cup 2nd Runner-up Team (Team Alpha): Ji Zhou, Barry (first one from the left), Kusnarto Leony (third one from the left), Karuniawan Cahaya Putra (fourth one from the left), Lin Ziqi, Kevin (second one from the right).
Best Presenter Award
Tang Long Ching (Global Business Studies, year 1)
Tang Long Ching (first from the left) answering the judges’ questions regarding Team Candide’s proposal during the final round’s QnA, while her teammates Kwok Ting Chun, Jason, Hang Hou In, and Tong Ngo Nam (from second left to right) listened carefully and getting ready to support.
Student Sharing
“Right after we received the case, we spent about half an hour to study the case materials thoroughly and highlighted some important points as groundwork on formulating a general framework for our presentation. After conducting research on some of our ideas, we came up with a 3-step expansion plan for Devinci to penetrate the China market. We then focused our effort on writing a coherent storyline for the presentation, completed with analytical data and graphs to support our recommended solution. Our team enjoyed cracking a business case in a limited timeframe. Personally, the time limit was what made the competition exciting as it forced each team to their limit.
Through researching a suitable country for the firm to expand, I also learned a lot more about consumption habits, demographics, and macro trends in different countries. My biggest takeaway from Academic cup was the importance of time management. Our team effectively set internal deadlines for different stages such as brainstorming, researching, and creating presentation slides, which left us with plenty of time to sharpen our verbal presentation and prepare for the Q and A session.”
Kwok Ting Chun, Jason (Global Business Studies, year 1)
“As a rookies for the case competition, we encountered a few challenges in dealing and converting heaps of data and graphs into meaningful insights to formulate the strategies in a short period of time. Based on our research, our team decided to focus on building brand awareness as part of the recommended solution. In order to handle the huge workload, we created a clear division of work based on each member’s talents. We also learned to express the comprehensive recommendations in a readable and clear way.
The experience was simply fascinating. Solving a business case within 48 hours seems to be a fairy tale, yet with persistence and perseverance, it is not an impossible task. Our team comprised of members with diverse skills sets, and utilizing each member’s strong suit was the key to success for our case competition team. In addition, other from bolstering our friendship, we have also enhanced our presentation skills and business knowledge.”
Hsieh Wei Ting, Sylvia (Quantitative Finance, year 1)
