Source: University of Otago
Arts and Science student Matthew Gibb was one of three Otago undergraduates who competed at the International Case Competition late last year.
Three Otago students who had not previously met found they made a great team when they represented Aotearoa in a prestigious international case competition (ICC).
Commerce student Sarah-Joy Aruwa, Arts and Science student Matthew Gibb and Laws and Commerce student Caitlyn Smith participated in the FEP – U.Porto International Case Competition alongside University of Waikato student Stella McLean.
Together they made up Team Universities of New Zealand (TUNZ).
The team was coached by Dr John Guthrie, founder of the Student Development Society – the sponsors of TUNZ, and the founder of the Otago Case Competition Programme. He was formerly working in the Department of Marketing at the Otago Business School.
Case competitions pose real-life business challenges to its contestants and invite them to find solutions that will positively impact the company.
For the U.Porto ICC, university students from around the globe were given 36 hours to identify issues within their business case, brainstorm strategies and make recommendations based on their evaluation.
They then presented their ideas to a panel of judges.
Sarah-Joy Aruwa.
The U.Porto ICC was not the only time Sarah-Joy and Matthew have participated in a case competition this year. Both students were selected for TUNZ based on their performance at Otago’s biannual PwC Case Competition.
“It’s a fun experience, it’s a different way of thinking to in the classroom. It’s more direct problem solving,” she says.
Matthew says he is drawn to case competitions because of their range of applications in the business space.
“I just thought ‘why not’. It was an opportunity for me to develop my skills learnt at university and use them in the real world.”
This annual competition is normally held in Portugal but moved to an online format due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, which presented its own unique challenges.
Due to time zone differences, TUNZ received their case at 10pm and immediately got to work.
It was the first time Matthew and Sarah-Joy have participated in a competition that saw them hard at work as late as 4am.
It was up to each team to decide how they wanted to divide their time and TUNZ meant business, allowing themselves just seven hours to sleep each day.
Their allocation of time had been decided weeks prior at their training sessions, where all four members of TUNZ would solve three-hour cases together over Zoom to practise.
“I think those sessions did help just to see how everyone thought in different ways,” Sarah-Joy says.
At the U.Porto ICC, TUNZ received a case from Portuguese energy company Galp, who wanted to know how they could stay profitable while transitioning to renewable energy in line with Portugal’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Caitlyn Smith.
The team remained cool under pressure, even after their presentation was disrupted by technical difficulties.
“Our slide presentation shut down and it was awkward silence for a bit and then we had to ask the judges if we could have a few minutes to sort it out,” Sarah-Joy says.
“We came back and I think it crashed one more time but Stella sorted it out pretty fast.
“I think at that point we just had to find the humour in it because there was nothing we could do really.”
The team became temporary flatmates as they all stayed at the home of their advisor for the duration of the competition.
“I feel like we got more comfortable with each other a lot as we went on. It was our first time meeting each other in person as well. Cooking together was nice,” Sarah-Joy says.
Matthew says hashing out the details of the case as a team was a highlight for him.
“No one was afraid to speak up. We were able to challenge each other and refine our ideas,” he says.
Bonding with teammates made the experience even more worthwhile for Matthew.
“On the first day I felt like I was quite shy but you kind of open up when you’re spending so much time with people.
“You’re sort of working on the same problem together,” he says.
Sarah-Joy says it was both an awesome opportunity and an honour to be representing the nation in the U.Porto ICC.
“Representing your country comes with a big expectation but it’s something you get to be proud of as well.”
The University of New South Wales took first place in the competition, followed by the University of Belgrade in second place and Lazaridis in third.
– Kōrero by Keilah Fox
