News and Events

Business students excel in UK competition

16 March 2009

IBM Challenge Team L-R Lucianne, Adam, Emily, Jan, Andrew

A group of BU students has successfully reached second place in a leading national business competition.

Business students from BU are celebrating after finishing second in the grand final of the IBM Universities Business Challenge (UBC) – the premier business game for undergraduate students in the UK.

The five undergraduates, representing BU’s Business School, will share a prize of £500 after beating teams from Lancaster, Liverpool, Exeter, Abertay Dundee and Anglia Ruskin. One of three teams from Imperial College won the final.

The students rose to the challenge by proving their skills as management consultants throughout the competition. Their achievement is made all the more satisfying given that a record 250 teams and 1,200 students from over 80 UK universities entered this year’s competition.

Team members included Lucianne Pharoah (Accounting and Law), Adam Griffin (Accounting and Finance), Emily Mascarenhas (Business Studies), Jan Foryszewski (Business Studies) and Andrew Winsper (Business Information Systems Management).

Mark Ridolfo, who manages the Business Studies degree, and mentored the team, said: “Although the setting was controlled, the students made critical business decisions that directly affected their simulated company's performance.

“Our courses focus on giving students a comprehensive understanding of the range of problems faced by those operating in business, finance and management. Having these business insights definitely gave our students a significant advantage over many of the other teams.”

Team member Lucianne Pharoah, 21, said: “It’s an amazing opportunity to be part of something that really does teach and test invaluable skills that have the possibility to help in every area of your life and career.

“I have gained so much from the tasks we’ve been given and look forward to putting my finance and business knowledge into practical situations. ‘The Apprentice’ here we come!”

The BU team finished top of their qualifying group in the first round last autumn. In February they convincingly won their semi-final, beating leading universities including Brunel, Oxford Brookes, Portsmouth, Southampton and Sheffield to reach the Challenge Grand Final.