Written by Latisha Khorana, BBA #26
Marshall International Case Competition (MICC), one of the longest-running and an incredibly prestigious case competition hosted by USC Marshall school of business recently took place on February 18th to the 22nd of 2020. MICC brings together 20 reputable undergraduate business schools from all over the world to provide creative and practical solutions for real-world business problems. Thammasat Business School was graciously invited to be apart of MICC 2020 and the team representing Thammasat Business School consisted of Sarin Kulmanochawong (BBA #25), Pawarid Samalapa (BBA #26), Thanawin Suwattanakorn (BBA #26) and myself, Latisha Khorana (BBA #26). Additionally, our representing team was accompanied by our advisor, Ajarn Supawat Likittanawong.
Although the Case cracking session is the primary highlight of the entirety of the competition itself, MICC allocated several activities and events to allow the participating teams to get to know one another and to explore Los Angeles within a short period. On the first day, we were officially introduced to USC and their iconic marching band which put on a memorable welcoming show for us and the other participants and advisors in the room, as well as being introduced to the MICC's main corporate sponsor; Adobe. We were then formally introduced to the other participating teams in the room and had an eminent welcoming dinner. The second day brought upon a little tour of the USC campus itself, entailing the University Shirt swaps amongst us and other participants to encourage camaraderie. We also got to explore Los Angeles with a tour of Warner Brothers, visiting Griffith Tower and the Hollywood sign as well. We ended the day of enriching explorational activities by having a delicious dinner at the Grove hosted by USC.
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Finally, the third day was the long-awaited Case Cracking session. The competition briefing session included that with the new corporate sponsorship, MICC had changed the format of delivery in which the participating teams would now have to present their final solutions on Adobe Spark. In addition to that, each team would have 15 minutes to present followed by 15 minutes of QnA with 5 teams in each division which totals up to 4 divisions. The finalists of each division would proceed directly to the finals, in which they'd be given additional time to make edits if necessary to their final solution whilst the runner up from all the 4 divisions would compete for a challenger spot, which would then also get to present in the finals.
With sleepless nights of debates and constructive arguments, 24 hours flew by pretty quickly. Our team tried to formulate the best possible solution that would allow Adobe to become the catalyst for digital literacy amongst higher education. With that, we presented our recommendations to a panel of three judges. After what seemed to be a long while, all teams were asked to come in for the announcements of the finalists from each division and our team, Thammasat had made it to the finals placing first in our division. We quickly retracted to our rooms for last-minute touches and practice.
Then came the final presentation, although we were confident with our solution, but all other finalist teams also did very well. As we were kept on the edge of our seats for the results to unfold, our team had faith that we had done the absolute best. All the teams were then treated to an extravagant dinner however as all teams awaited the final announcement the tension throughout the hall was prominent. Our team was confident that our hard work would pay off, yet as all the other finalist teams did their best there was slight uncertainty that overwhelmed us. The moment finally came, during the commencement of the competition, MICC had announced that Thammasat Business School was the 1st runner up and our team was grateful that our hard work, late nights and ‘fight on’ spirit was able to result in such a positive ending. Other than being able to bring home a trophy, our team is extremely grateful for the chance to be a part of this experience where we've gained a network with other participants, knowledge extending beyond the classroom and a close bond with such a great team.
This successful outcome is highly attributed to the immense support we received even before the case competition had begun. Our gratitude as a team extends to our accompanying advisor, Ajarn Supawat Likittanawong, to Dr. Worapong Janyangyuen for his coaching, guidance, and supervision, to the BBA office for their great support and being able to make ends meet for our team, to our Alumni, Siwawong Wongsophanakul that played a vital role in guiding us and finally the BBA Thammasat program for giving us such an enriching and memorable opportunity.
Posed on April 21, 2020 |
