UMD Students Shine in National Case Competitions

Students from the University of Maryland recently demonstrated their creativity, business acumen, and commitment to social and global impact at two national case competitions, with support from the Title VI CIBE grant from the Center for Global Business (CGB). These competitions challenged teams to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world problems by collaborating to develop innovative solutions.

After winning first place in CGB’s Grand Global Challenges Competition in February, four undergraduate students traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (IBESCC) at Loyola Marymount University. The team explored the complex and often unreported issue of sand mining through their project, Rice to the Rescue, proposing the use of rice husk ash as a sustainable alternative to river sand. To prepare, the team spent months conducting in-depth research, consulting with experts, and refining their proposal. Once in Los Angeles, they presented their solution through a 25-minute presentation, a 90-second elevator pitch, and a 10-minute ethics proposal.

The students who competed in IBESCC include juniors Anna Craun, an accounting and information systems major; Neha Veeragandham, a computer science major; Clara Hong, a computer science and mathematics major; Olivia Kuznetsova, an economics major; and Zoie Luka, an information science major. Team member Neha Veeragandham described the experience: “We walked away from this competition with a strong sense of pride in our work, improved presentation skills, and valuable insights that we’ll carry with us into future competitions and our careers. This was our entire team’s first case competition, and it was certainly an unforgettable experience.”

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, four graduate students from the Robert H. Smith School of Business participated in the NASBITE International Business Case Competition. The competition focused on Save the Girls, a socially driven brand known for its stylish, functional cellphone pocket purses, with some proceeds supporting breast cancer research. The team conducted a thorough analysis of the company’s operations, customer base, and supply chain to provide recommendations on how Save the Girls can expand its market and identify ideal manufacturing locations to support sustainable growth.

The students also had the opportunity to meet Save the Girls CEO Tami Trover Lange, whose inspiring story resonated with them and reinforced their belief in using business as a force for positive impact.

Annu (MS in Information Systems), Utkarsh (Flex MBA), Yancy (MS in Business Analytics), and Yajaira (Full-time MBA) reflected on their experience, saying, “Although we didn’t take home first place, we are incredibly proud of the work we produced and the way we represented our program. The competition allowed us to sharpen our business skills, but more importantly, it gave us the opportunity to contribute to a meaningful cause. We walked away not only with a deeper understanding of global business strategy but also with new friendships, memories, and inspiration for our future careers.”

The Center for Global Business is the hub of global experiential learning at the Smith School and is supported in part by CIBE, a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education.