2021 VIRTUAL STUDENT CASE COMPETITION
CALL FOR TEAM APPLICATIONS

Since 2005, IFAMA has offered the only International Student Case Competition for the agribusiness sector giving students and early career professionals a global stage to demonstrate their analytical and problem-solving skills, while providing their universities a venue to showcase the next generation of business leaders.

The International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) is pleased to announce the 2021 Student Case Competition will occur virtually. IFAMA is now accepting applications team applications.

TEAM COMPETITION AND STRUCTURE

Student Teams may consist of either undergraduate; graduate students, or early career professionals who have graduated within the last three years. Teams are limited to 3-5 members.

The official 2021 case study is being written with the help of two faculty members of INCAE Business School (Costa Rica), who are also graduates of Harvard business School and experts in the case methods approach.

Competing teams will receive a complex case study of a real-world challenge. They will be asked to develop a creative, practical solution, and build a presentation that communicates their perspective, analyses, and recommendations before a panel of judges.

The competition will occur in two stages. A preliminary and finals round. Institutions may register more than one team and at more than one level.

PRELIMINARIES ROUND 1: MAY 2021

Teams will draft a five-page report which contains the following:

a.      A clear description of the problem or problems to be solved.
b.      A deep analysis using the teaching case data only.
c.       Clear cut solutions and decisions to solve the problem and recommendations based on their analysis.
d.      The teams will have 24 hours to analyze and deliver their reports electronically.
e.      Each submission will be analyzed by a panel of industry and academic judges.

The top four undergraduate teams; two graduate teams; and two early career professional teams will be selected by the judges to advance to the FINALS.

The teams will be given either a short update to the case or an entirely new case for analysis. As with the preliminary round, they will be expected to analyze the case and formulate the clear cut recommendations to solve the problem and present them in a PowerPoint presentation. The final round will occur regionally, and it will be livestreamed, during June 21-25. One-half hour will be allotted for the presentation and question and answer period. Teams will not attend the other team’s presentation and the judges will assign scores based on the prepared reports, presentations, and responses to the judges’ questions.

FINALIST ROUND 2:  JUNE 21-25, 2021

It is expected that all team members will speak and significantly contribute to their team’s presentation. The presentation will be Live streamed. Approximately 20 minutes will be allocated for each presentation, with 15 minutes allotted to the presentation and 5 minutes for a question-and-answer period with the panel of judges. The panel of judges will judge each team based on their written documents, presentation, and responses to the judges’ questions.

The winning teams of the Student Case Competition will be recognized in an awards ceremony following the finals.

APPLICATION

Each team must have an Advisor (either academic or industry member of IFAMA) who will serve as the primary contact for the team. Students are expected to work independently of their advisor during the competition.

An application with the team members must be submitted by April 1.

Upon acceptance of the application, all student team members and their advisors are expected to follow the normal process to register for the IFAMA Conference. A fully paid registration is required for all team members no later than May 1.

RELEVANT DATES

  April 1: Formal applications are due to the IFAMA Business Office

  April 30: Deadline to register to the conference and notify IFAMA of final team

  May: Preliminary round

  June 21-25: Finalist round: Student International Case Competition & IFAMA World Conference & awards ceremony

IFAMA 2021 STUDENT CASE COMPETITION CHAIRS

Chair: Juan José Bolaños Herrera, CEO, Piñalbo

Questions may be addressed to the IFAMA Business Office: ifama@ifama.org

SPONSORED BY:

DOWNLOAD CALL FOR TEAM APPLICATIONS

QUESTIONS? Please contact: Juan José Bolaños Herrera: ifama@ifama.org

TEAM REGISTRATION  HERE