Knowing how to break down and solve complex problems can have a huge impact on a students’ career. But, there is a big difference between knowing theories and methods and being able to apply them to real problems with real clients. The best way to learn and to grow in confidence is to practice. In response, the inaugural ‘Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) Case Competition 2022’ was created to offer a new flagship platform for Lancaster students to practice their consulting skills.

On Wednesday 16 March 2022, LUMS hosted its first-ever Case Competition, organised and hosted by LUMS Careers in partnership with the Lancaster University Business Consultancy Society (BCS), Consulting Society, McCormick Consulting, and the Lancaster University Investment and Finance Society (LUIFS).

Let the competition begin…

Planning for the competition began in Summer 2021 and registrations opened in February, with 46 students putting themselves forward to compete in person on the 16^th of March. Undergraduate, postgraduate and Full-time MBA students all entered the competition for the same reasons: to learn new skills, build networks, and have fun along the way. LUMS Careers hoped to encourage students to engage in enquiry and apply their theoretical knowledge to provide a solution to a real-life "problem," and to connect their academic learning with skills for the workplace.

On competition day, teams of four had just one hour to assimilate a specialist ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) themed client case, propose recommendations, and prepare a 10-15-minute presentation. Each team was then invited to share their solution(s) to expert judging panels, facing a series of questions whilst defending their analysis, strategy and conclusions.

All presentations were completed by 16:00 and judges took a recess to deliberate a winner. The day reconvened for an afternoon plenary session and presentation ceremony in LUMS LT17. Carl Fitzsimmons, Principal Consultant & Founder of 4BOX Consulting (HR) Ltd. and a LUMS Leader in Residence, delivered an inspiring keynote speech prior to teams receiving their feedback and the final presentation of certificates and announcement of award winners.

Eleven students were recognised as “Standout Presenters”: Rutvi Shah, Suchita Keole, Esther Kithuka, Shahnawaz Khan, Shacind Ananthan, Ariana De Cross, Oluwafemi (Femi) Falodun, Richard Oseji, Supop Buranasumpatanon, Keerthana Vyakaranam, and Pankhuri Neb.

Full-time MBA students Chandragupt Sathe, Pankhuri Neb, Ruthvik Mabbu and Gaurav Sarpal of “Team Fantastic4” were celebrated as the “Top Performing Team” and crowned overall winners of the LUMS Case Competition 2022.

Pictured left to right: Pankhuri Neb, Gaurav Sarpal, Chandragupt Sathe, and Ruthvik Mabbu

Matthew Howard, LUMS Undergraduate Careers Manager, said “The calibre of consultancy skills showcased today was inspiring as students tackled a complex business problem on behalf of a client. Eight months ago, we set out to put Lancaster on the map for consulting careers and I feel proud of this amazing milestone that we have reached in partnership with our consulting societies. Well done to all teams who competed! Special thank you to LaVerne Handfield, LUMS Employability & Events Coordinator, for making today a reality, and thank you to all of our judges and events staff”.

A selection of student feedback:

“It was awesome being a part of the LUMS Case Competition and getting a certification for being one of the standout presenters. It was also very refreshing working with brilliant minds from other cohorts in Lancaster University.”

“It was an immensely valuable experience taking part in the competition. Getting to assimilate all the information in a short time and then present it with an argument was clearly a challenge that we loved.”

“The highlight of the competition was receiving critical feedback as that’s very vital, it made me reflect and learn. My biggest takeaway – you win some, you lose some but remember to have fun!”

Strategy for Winning Case Competitions:

Case competitions constitute a brilliant opportunity for practicing the process of solving complex problems and presenting them in a simple and structured way. Here are LUMS Careers ‘Top 6 Tips’ for competing in future competitions:

1. Be humble with yourself, your teammates and any client. You will indeed face some of the brightest contenders and judges, but do not fall for the pressure of portraying a distorted version of yourself.
2. Nominate a team lead and be MECE with limited time; this is how you analyse a large quantity of information in an efficient manner. Each team member’s workstream should be mutually exclusive – i.e. it shouldn’t overlap with what any other team member is analysing. At the same time, the team lead should ensure that each workstream will enable the team to be comprehensive in its approach. In short, look at everything important, but only once. This is what we mean by MECE: mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive.
3. Make it actionable. Ultimately, judges want solutions that feel tangible – ones they can execute readily, with an existing budget, and feel excited to promote to internal stakeholders. Craft a clear outline for how you’ll launch your idea, what money you’ll leverage, and what existing resources you can draw on. The judges will be much more impressed by a single deep and well-studied solution or recommendation than a set of broad and shallow ones.
4. Be hypothesis-driven. Use your business acumen to begin with a hypothesis – what do you think is the key driver of the business problem? Where do you think the potential solution lies? This allows you to be efficient in your analysis.
5. Use strategies and frameworks to analyse your case.
6. Have fun! That may sound cheesy, but it’s hard to envision and build out a business solution under time constraints if you’re not curious about the subject matter. Find teammates you enjoy spending time with, and let your enthusiasm shine when pitch day rolls around.

LUMS Careers offers a range of events, resources, tools and e-guides to support students who are interested in case competitions, problem-solving skills and consulting as a potential career path. Join the dedicated ‘Careers in Consultancy’ Microsoft Teams community to find out more.