Curtin University Dubai, one of Australia’s most highly regarded and prestigious universities, Business Cup Challenge 2018 came to a thrilling finish as team Lycan from Delhi Private School from Dubai were crowned the champions. With a focus on blockchain technology for this year’s challenge, the finale, held at Emirates Institute for Banking and Finance in Dubai Academic City, witnessed some spectacular real-world business cases and plans which the students presented to a professional panel during the event.
Team Synergy from GEMS Our Own Indian School Dubai and Block (Chain) Heads from Raha International School Abu Dhabi, also finished strong as they won the first and second runners-up titles respectively.
Introduced for the first time in the fifth season of the Business Cup Challenge were special awards presented by the event sponsors. The award for ‘Most Creative Team’ by Gulf News went to team Satoshi Nakamoto from Al Zuhour Private School, ‘Best Solution to the Fine Case Study’ by Fine Hygienic Holding was won by Raffles Tycoons from Raffles Academy, and team Bitsquad from Cambridge International School Dubai won the title for ‘Best Solution to Hunter Foods Case Study’ by Hunter Foods.
The judging panel was comprised of Mr. Dan Adkins, CEO – Transnational Academic Group Middle East, Dr. Khayati Shetty, Head of Curtin University Dubai’s Business and Media School, and Ms. Sandi Saksena, Empowerment Officer at Echelon Advisors and Management Consultants and Advisory board Member CEO’s Club UAE Women’s Division.
“Being among the judges today and watching these competitive students presenting their case studies was probably the one of the toughest tasks I have ever come across. These students and teams displayed sheer brilliance in the way they presented their ideas. They were extremely creative and the synergy among them was outstanding. They were all winners today,” said Mr Daniel Adkins CEO Transnational Academic Group Middle East, Curtin University Dubai’s Academic Infrastructure Provider.
The Business Cup Challenge by Curtin University Dubai is an interschool competition and a unique CSR initiative that introduces high school students into the business world at a young age. Students were challenged to review real-world business cases and come up with innovative solutions. Students also had the opportunity to work as part of a team in a competitive environment, using their critical-thinking, problem solving skills, and their business acumen.
“The event witnessed an increased level of interest this year from schools across UAE; the Business Cup Challenge differs from a one-day competition as it focuses equally on learning as well as imparting skills necessary in real-life businesses. The objective behind this four week initiative is to prepare school leavers for the real world as they embark on a journey into the working world. Students not only compete but also learn with each case study. We again thank our sponsors and partners Gulf News, BPG Group, Hunter Foods FZCO, and Fine Hygienic Holdings FZE for their support,” concluded Daniel Adkins.
The topic for the Business Cup Challenge 2019 will be Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) which was announced during the award ceremony.