The Business School

IBM praise BU students' award success

11 May 2011

IBM present Business School students with national award.

Five top Business School students received the ultimate accolade at Bournemouth University (BU) yesterday where they were presented with the IBM University Business Challenge trophy and £1000.

IBM’s School and University Attraction Manager, Gwyneth Barker, had earmarked BU’s team of final–year Accounting and Finance students for success from the start. Speaking after the presentation she said: “We’ve always been a secret fan club of the Bournemouth team because we were so impressed with them at the semi finals. When it came to the grand final we were thrilled to see them win.”

The University Business Challenge is a complex business simulation, in which students must maximise profits and increase the share price of their company. The BU team, made up of Kelly Doyle, Jeme Durici, Charli Gazzard, Gary King and Angel Yeung, rose to the challenge spectacularly, beating 263 other teams to the top spot.

Project team leader Jeme Durici said: “You have to think about all the decisions you’d make in day–to–day business, like marketing, pricing, production, customer perception and customer service. The first simulation was managing a brewery, producing two main products for four different markets; premium beer and the industrial side for wholesale. You had to run that business, thinking about how much you produced, the selling price and other important factors.”

By the end of the competition the BU team were nearly £2 million ahead of their nearest competitors, Imperial College London. Their success was largely down to excellent teamwork, which the judges noted in the early stages of the competition.

Gwyneth said: “It was how they worked together; the fact that they didn’t know each other yet worked so well as a team. The other aspect in their success was their presentation skills. When they had to do pitches they were very articulate and communicated what they wanted well. Overall they were a very impressive team.”

This is the first time a BU team has won this highly regarded national competition – something BU’s Vice Chancellor Professor John Vinney described as a ‘huge accolade and testament to the skill and ability of our students’.

Mark Ridolfo, BU’s Coordinator for IBM University Business Challenge added: “We select students ourselves and we’re looking for those who are intellectually and academically strong, but also who are going to be good ambassadors for the university and who are going to work well in a group. I think the five students who have won this year really demonstrate that combination of capabilities.”

As well as IBM, representatives were also present from JP Morgan, providing an excellent networking opportunity for the successful students.