Case Study Challenges form an important part of our students' educational journey as they not only provide a platform for them to develop deeper insights into the trading and maritime sectors but also give them the opportunity to engage with the industry.
The 2nd run of the ITI@SMU Case Study Challenge, developed in partnership with the BW Group, took place in March 2019. The myriad of diverse complexities faced by the modern-day maritime sector where issues such as stringent environmental standards, and evolving business environment, and the rise of disruptive technologies, have resulted in many shipping companies finding themselves navigating uncharted waters. Even maritime giants such as the BW Group are forced to re-examine their operations and business strategies if they are to thrive in the future.
Senior leaders from the industry made up the judging panel. They shared that the quality of the research and analysis produced was of such a high standard that they would be challenged to replicate something similar. The innovative solutions proposed by the students were impressive and provided important food for thought that the industry should consider seriously for their commercial viability.
The BW Group organised an exclusive visit for the two winning teams of the competition, a privilege which many would never get to experience.
SMU undergraduates took away the top prize at the inaugural ACTS (Association of Corporate Treasurers Singapore) Treasurers Asia Summit Business Case Competition in September 2019.
The competition was organised by ACTS in partnership with ITI@SMU and was designed to engage undergraduates, evaluate real-life corporate treasury challenges faced by organisations, and develop practical solutions that could be adopted by the different players in the financial eco-system. SMU was the knowledge partner for the case based on InstaRem.
The winning SMU team won the judges over with their creativity, convincing presentation as well as a marketing strategy. The team expressed their gratitude towards the organisers, as well as all the professors and industry experts who provided them with invaluable feedback at the various stages of the competition. They further highlighted that they were grateful to SMU for training them to be critical thinkers.
Apart from the top prize of $3,000, the team also secured for themselves an exceptional opportunity to undertake an internship programme with InstaRem. Another SMU team also picked up the Most Innovative Presentation Team award.
A case study competition on Precious Shipping (PCL) was organised in March 2018 which provided the students with an opportunity to exhibit their intellectual and analytical prowess against each other.
It focused on the various human capital challenges in the area of talent and leadership renewal faced by PCL as it chartered its course for the future.
Ten teams of three students each from the various schools in SMU participated in the challenge with four being shortlisted to present their findings to the judging panel.
The judges shared that they were highly impressed with the quality of analysis and commended the students for the effort that they had invested in the exercise. The top two winning teams won a trip to visit PCL in Bangkok, where they presented their case solution to the company’s senior management.
The Ant-Bytes Hackathon was co-organised by ITI@SMU and the School of Information System’s Smart-City Management and Technology.
Students from the International Trading Track and the Maritime Economics Track participated in the Hackathon, which started with a half-day workshop where the students were introduced to Micro:Bit and its applications. This was followed by the second segment where students formed teams to develop solutions for the various problems in different industry sectors by using Micro:Bit.