UNYP Represented at KPMG Case Competition National Round

Imagine you’re a business consultant working for the owners of an amusement park in Dubai. After investing a large sum of money to build the park, your clients realize that there’s an issue with the steel in the rides. An employee filmed a ride crashing and is threatening to release the footage to the press days before the grand opening. They need damage control. What do you do?

A University of New York in Prague student found himself pondering this question not long ago at the KPMG Case Competition. Studying Business Administration, he teamed up with three other students from different colleges to participate. The goal of the international competition is to provide real experience to aspiring business people and give them an inside look into the type of work firms like KPMG undertake. Last year, 600 students from more than 440 universities from around the world participated, according to the KPMG website.

At each round, teams must solve a complex business problem, like the previously mentioned amusement park. They have three hours to put together a presentation with their strategy. The regional competition was held in Brno, and the team with our UNYP student advanced to the national round in Prague.

“I loved going from having a blank page to having a whole strategy in such a short time,” he said. “It’s great instant gratification.”

In addition to experiencing a few days in the life of a consultant, students also get access to industry experts and travel to Lisbon if they advance to the final round. Although the team with our student didn’t go beyond the Prague round, he was the only student representing UNYP this year.

Our UNYP representant has a year and half left until graduation, but he could see himself participating in the competition next year if he’s not busy working. UNYP’s instruction helps him practice presenting in English, which is the language of the competition.

Next time, he would make one change. Although by the end of the competition the UNYP student had made friends with his teammates, he didn’t know them going in. “I don’t recommend meeting for the first time at the competition, like us. To win, you should know the people beforehand and what their strengths and weaknesses are,” he said. “It’s really about teamwork so if you know the people it’s better. Everyone needs to work and support each other so it’s very important.”