Aston University students celebrated success as they were awarded first place and a cash prize of £1000 at the Grand Final of the IBM Universities Business Challenge (UBC) 2009/10 held in London this month (19 March).
The team of four School of Engineering and Applied Science undergraduates (Christian Burton, Gregg Warwick, Maksim Aleksandrov and Marcus Chng) competed against a record 1,400 students from 75 university faculties in the premier business simulation competition aimed at all UK university undergraduates.
The UBC provides students with the opportunity of acting as a team of business consultants who have taken responsibility for improving the performance of a company. The simulation begins in October, where details of the company are given, through to March when final balance sheets for each team are revealed. Aston's team had the highest overall total for their company by over £100,000!
The challenge, now in its tenth year, helps students improve their decision-making skills, develop their team-working abilities and increase their knowledge of key business areas. The competition also acts as an important extra item for their CV.
Maureen Tibby, Head of the Careers and Employability Centre, said; 'The IBM UBC initiative is a fantastic learning experience that helps the students to improve their employability skills, helping them make the transition from university to the world of work.'
Lead sponsors IBM were joined by multi-national companies P&G, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Navy, all of whom sponsored the regional semi-finals.
Words by Munira Jasat
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