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SYSBS-Ivey International Business Case Competition & Forum Event Highlights

Nov 17, 2018

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With the aim to further promote the use of business cases in Asian academic institutions, a new case competition cum forum has emerged. The first SYSBS-Ivey International Case Competition and Forum was held at Sun Yat-sen University campus from November 9th to 11th, 2018.


International Business Case Competition

The competition consisted of preliminary, semi-final and final rounds. In the semi-final round held on November 10th, the top 10 teams selected from a total of 173 teams presented their analysis & recommendations on the case “Alibaba Group: Acquiring Lazada to Win The Southeast Asia E-Commerce Battle”. The case was designed for students to discuss and devise the international market-entry and / or mergers & acquisitions strategies for a well-established China e-commerce conglomerate to expand its business globally.


Based on the teams' presentation, analysis & Q&A performance, four teams with the highest scores were selected to proceed to the final round. The finalists were given 2.5 hours to analyze the business case “The Pearl Industry: Is There a Market Opportunity?” and presented their business solutions to the judging panels. The case introduces students to the topics of entrepreneurship, industry analysis, competitive and marketing strategy. It was sure a tough decision for the judges as all the teams competed head-to-head against each other.

Presentation given by University of Hong Kong during semi-final round

Presentation given by The University of Hong Kong during semi-final round.

Judges Deliberation - Case Competition

Judges deliberation - All teams were of high standard and it was a tough decision for the judges!

SYSBS-Ivey International Business Case Competition.

Tea break during the competition.

Professor Paul Beamish with the students

The Event provided a platform for students to network with Faculty and corporate professionals around the globe.


The competition finished with various prizes being awarded:

The Championship & The Best Team Awards went to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Championship & The Best Team Awards went to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The University of Hong Kong wins the First Runner-Up Award.

The University of Hong Kong won the First Runner-Up Award.

The Second-Up Award went to Ateneo de Manila University.

The Second Runner-Up Award went to Ateneo de Manila University.

Nankai University won the Fourth Place.

Nankai University won the Fourth Place.

Lea Mae A. Cabeliza from Ateneo de Manila University claimed the Best Presenter Title.

Lea Mae A. Cabeliza from Ateneo de Manila University claimed the Best Presenter Title.

Most Popular Team Award went to Central University of Finance and Economics.

Most Popular Team Award went to Central University of Finance and Economics.

Congratulations to all the teams!


Case Teaching Workshop & Forum

Together with the Case Competition, a Case Teaching Workshop, Forum and a series of Case Lectures were featured as part of the grand event as well. Ivey’s renowned faculty Professor Paul Beamish was invited to be the facilitator of the case workshop, where he shared valuable insights of how to deploy Case Method in the classrooms.


Case Teaching Workshop

Case Teaching Workshop facilitated by Professor Paul Beamish.

We are delighted to have invited Professor Paul Beamish as the facilitator for our Case Teaching Workshop.

Class Discussion

Group discussion during workshop.


Case Teaching & Learning Forum

Case Teaching & Learning Forum

Faculty & Corporate Professionals were invited to join the panel discussion held on November 10th, 2018 where they shared their valuable insights about using Case Method in the classroom. From the left: Professor Chris WH Chan (Moderator), Professor Paul Beamish (Panelist), Mr. Yang Zhiwei (Panelist), Mr. Zhang Wenxiang (Panelist) and Professor Liang Jianping (Panelist).

2018 SYSBS-Ivey International Business Case Competition and Forum

Keynote Speech given by Professor Paul Beamish on the topic: "The Development of Case Teaching in China: Looking Back and Looking Forward".

2018 SYSBS-Ivey International Business Case Competition and Forum

Keynote Speech given by Dr. Jianping Liang on the topic: "Capacity Building on Case Teaching, Writing & Learning".


Case Lecture Series

SYSBS-Ivey International Business Case Competition

Case Lecture Series presented by Mr. Zhiwei Yang (Director, Case Research Center, China Busines Executives Academy, Dailian).


This is the first international business case competition cum forum event held in China. We believe it has provided valuable experience for the students and academic professionals to learn more about the Case Method. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the participating universities, speakers, honorable judges as well as to the student volunteer team from Sun Yat-sen University for their strong support of this event. We hope to see you again next year! 


Head over to the Image Gallery to take a look of the photos taken during the event!