Rotman Commerce students place first runner-up at prestigious global case competition
On October 2, after several days of intense competition, four Rotman Commerce students from the Rotman Commerce Competition Team (RCCT) placed second at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) International Case Competition. Out of the 15 other teams spread out with a total of 60 undergraduate business students from around the globe, Allysen Kwok (BCom ‘26), Rachel Ma (BCom ‘25), Mike Zhang (BCom ‘27), and Ishaan Aujla (BCom ‘26) placed first in both the 5 hour Mini Case division and the 24 hour Case, winning the First Runner-up Award.
Mike Zhang, BCom ‘27“After all the hard work that our team put in, it felt great to see it pay off and place second. The entire experience was surreal and I could not have asked for a better team.”
The HKUST International Case Competition, sponsored by HSBC, is a premier business case competition in Hong Kong for students to take on business cases developed by The Thompson Center for Business Case Studies. Organized by the HKUST Business School in 2003, the competition seeks for students to understand business challenges in the real world, encouraging both teamwork and cross-cultural exchange.
“For this competition in particular, I found that the cases themselves were quite difficult. We practiced cases on digital banks, the housing crisis, and sustainable startups, and the actual case was about HSBC — all topics and industries that require a level of technical expertise. We also had to understand the Hong Kong market, which was another added level of difficulty,” Allysen noted.
No case competition is without its challenges, but RCCT persevered, using the knowledge they have gained from past experiences with case competitions and the various skills they have developed throughout their time in the club. “I’m really lucky to have been training and competing with RCCT over the last 3 years, and I’ve noticed myself grow in so many ways! I think the most important ‘skill’ to have for case competitions is passion. It doesn’t matter how much training you’ve had, how much you know about the industry, or really anything else — I find that passion really translates to meaningful effort, contagious excitement within a team, and both a good time and good performance overall, ” Rachel answered.
The RCCT team spent over 80 hours in preparation and training for the competition, wanting nothing more than to quench their thirst for victory and represent Rotman Commerce well. It is clear that the team has a deep connection of friendship, supporting each other and confident in one another’s abilities. “Our team dynamic was truly exceptional. I love this team and I believe that we nicely complement each other with a wide range of unique perspectives,” Mike added.
While it might seem daunting at first, case competitions are fun and a wonderful way to build connections with like-minded students. With each new case competition, you are able to improve your soft skills, such as communication, amongst both your team and to the judges; critical thinking, as you analyze the case and develop solutions; and time management while tackling those tricky deadlines. RCCT gave their own tips, with Allysen advising that “having a clear storyline is super important — it doesn’t matter if your solution is really good if the judges can’t understand what it is or why it’s the best.”
Ishaan Aujla, BCom ‘26“At times competitions may seem intimidating, but the benefits are vast. The more you do, the better you get, and the more you will enjoy. There is truly no replacement to the type of learning environment in case competitions.”
RCCT encourages taking the opportunity to participate in any case competition as a tremendous step towards personal growth, and even a possibility for finding success in your journey. As a team, Allysen, Ishaan, Mike and Rachel overcame the challenges that were thrown at them. They each brought their unique skills to the presentations that emphasized their determination for success and commitment to their passions.
By Anika Kulathu (BCom ’27) | October 10, 2024
