In order to enhance students' exposure and encourage them to think out of the box, HKUST's School of Business and Management (SBM) has been using case studies as a teaching approach. It also collaborates with international corporations in organizing case analysis activities and competitions — a good example of which is the annual Citi International Case Competition which provides students with both practical experience and international exposures.

Thinking outside the box

Since 2003, the Citi International Case Competition has brought outstanding students from leading business schools from around the world to Hong Kong, enabling valuable academic and cultural exchanges. This competition is jointly organized by Citi and SBM of HKUST, and sponsored by the Citi Foundation. The competition aims to provide a forum for cross-cultural exchanges of ideas and experiences and an opportunity for students to tackle real business challenges of a leading global corporation.

Last year, the annual Citi International Case Competition came to its seventh round and was held in Hong Kong from November 2 to 5, attracting a record 21 teams from 10 countries: Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand and the U.S.

Mr Shengman Zhang, Citi Country Officer for Hong Kong, said, "The ability to generate innovative ideas and turn these into actionable client-focused plans is vital to the success of Citi and all leading corporations today, irrespective of their fields of business. As organizer and sponsor of the annual Citi International Case Competition, we hope to help nurture innovative thinking in our most promising future business leaders. Coming here to Hong Kong, they gain real-world experience in one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic business cities."

Case for analysis: Octopus Cards Limited

The target of this year’s case studies was Octopus Cards Limited (OCL). With more than 19 million Octopus in circulation, OCL is currently the world’s leading contactless smartcard system operator.

At the beginning of the competition, all participating teams were briefed on OCL's background and key business development issues.

Providing viable business solution for industry leaders

All student teams were then asked to come up with viable and innovative solutions to the strategic issues and managerial dilemmas that OCL faces — within 26 hours of attending the briefing. They were assessed by an 18-person judging panel comprising senior executives from Citi, HKUST, OCL, and other corporations.

The University of Melbourne finally bested 20 teams from leading business schools from around the world and emerged the winner with their innovative 10-year business plan for OCL. The first and second runners-up were respectively the University of Southern California and National University of Singapore.

Gaining experience and industrial recognition

The proposals submitted won the unanimous acclaim from the panel of judges. One of the judges, OCL's CEO Prudence Chan commented, "We are delighted with the high quality of the proposals and creative business solutions presented by students. All teams did a great job and demonstrated the talent, teamwork and innovative thinking that OCL whole-heartedly embraces."

Case teaching enriches students' practical experience and encourages students to think out of the box. The Citi International Case Competition as a complimentary extra-curricular activity provides an additional impetus for students to share and exchange experience with their peers from around the world. As case-based teaching is becoming increasingly popular among students, we expect it will be further promoted on the campus.