Winners of the inaugural Bachelor of Commerce Case Competition, the K.A.R.M Consultants team

University of Melbourne students are tackling complex business scenarios in a competition that allows them to apply their knowledge to real world situations and provides an insight into graduate employment.

The inaugural Bachelor of Commerce Case Competition, held from 7-10 October at the University of Melbourne, required students to analyse a complex business scenario and communicate their recommendations to a broad business audience.

Nearly 50 students from the Bachelor of Commerce participated in the event which was won by the K.A.R.M Consultants team. The Case Comp Saints and Smith Apples teams filled the minor placings.

Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, Professor Margaret Abernethy, who was on the judging panel for the final, said that the competition provided great benefits for the students involved.

“The students were truly amazing. It is wonderful to be associated with these types of initiatives. The students learn so much and it enables them to engage with industry partners who sponsor the competition and also offer to judge the competition.”

“It was great to see the students bring together their knowledge of all our disciplines in trying to solve a very complex problem,” said Professor Abernethy.

Event organiser Monique Shears, from the Faculty of Business and Economics Commerce Student Centre, says case-based interviews are increasingly being used by employers as part of the graduate recruitment process, “This further increases the importance of holding a domestic competition. Case competitions help develop students’ business, analytical, problem-solving, communication, presentation and teamwork skills – skills that are fundamental to the development of future business leaders,” she says.

The Faculty of Business and Economics has a proud history of involvement and achievement in International Business Case Competitions according to Ms Shears. “This new Faculty competition was designed to complement the international case competition program by providing a greater number of students the opportunity to participate,” she said.

In recent years the Faculty has provided significant support to students participating in international case competitions, funding students to attend competitions held by institutions including the University of Southern California (Marshall Business School) in the United States, McGill University in Canada and Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.

This year’s competition was chaired by final year students Giulia Mastroianni, Jaque Qian and Alexander Lau and was sponsored by GE, Shinewing Hall Chadwick and LEK Consulting.

The event was run over four days and included case analysis and case workshopping. Teams then participated in a preliminary round of presentations followed by finals. Presentations were judged by panels comprising of senior academics, recent graduates along with senior industry representatives. Students were guided through the process by Dr Jennifer Grafton, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Accounting, and also received a great deal of support and advice from industry representatives, recent graduates and Faculty staff.