MADISON, Wis (Apr 25) – The Wisconsin School of Business Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) hosted its third CIBER MBA International Business Case Competition last week at the Fluno Center for Executive Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As part of the competition, teams of MBA student from 11 top-ranked domestic and international business schools spent 24 hours developing and presenting their solutions for a global business problem before a panel of 17 corporate judges.
The problem: Where to locate a new Walt Disney Company theme park resort?
“This event is a unique opportunity for students representing a wide range of countries to get to know the people they will be doing business with around the world in the near future,” said Randy Dunham, co-faculty director of the Wisconsin School of Business CIBER. “It is a great chance for CIBERs to prepare the next generation of corporate leaders to compete in the global economy.”
Winning teams included: University of Washington (First Place), University of Maryland-College Park (Second Place), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (Third Place).
Three students won Best Individual Presenter awards: Carlos Currierche (Tecnológico de Monterrey); Ike Kim (University of Maryland-College Park); and, Michael Kirtman (University of Wisconsin-Madison).
Also participating in the competition were teams from the following schools: Bocconi University, Italy; Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Copenhagen Business School; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico; The Ohio State University; University of Connecticut; and, University of Kansas.
Foley & Lardner provided gold-level sponsorship of the event and Harley-Davidson Motor Company sponsored at the silver-level. Bronze level sponsors included Pearson-Prentice Hall, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods. The five participating U.S. schools, each home to a CIBER, also co-sponsored the competition.
In 1998, the University of Wisconsin-Madison was selected as a CIBER, joining a distinct network of universities nationwide, all of which are known for the strength of their international programs. Created by Congress in the late 1980s, CIBERs were established to help increase and promote the nation’s capacity for international understanding and economic enterprise. More information about CIBERs is available at: http://ciberweb.msu.edu/about.asp.
