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Four Year 1 students from the Faculty of Business Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), won the championship title at the Joint University Business Management Challenge (JUBMC) 2010 last week (27 November), making CUHK the champion of the challenge for the third year in a row.  They also reaped the ‘Best Presentation’ and ‘Most Creative’ awards. 

The CUHK team, AH-Bviation, comprising three Global Business Studies students Bonnie Chiu, Victor Hui, and Alan Yip, and one Professional Accountancy student Herman Mok, presented their proposal ‘genYLization’ at the finals. The team proposed a multi-dimensional plan for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) that catered to the needs of Generation Y (those who were born between 1980 and 1995), with a view to increasing its market share. Components of the plan included friendship-centred Gen Y credit cards, location-based SMS services and customized financial services. They also suggested staff changes to idea recognition and communication system to fully harness the potential of that age group. 

The judging panel consisted of representatives from HSBC, Hong Kong People Management Association, and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The panel members evaluated the teams on their analytical, organizational and presentation skills, as well as the feasibility of their proposals. They eventually named the CUHK team champion of JUBMC 2010. Rewards included a cash prize of HK$8,000 and internships for team members offered by HSBC, the title sponsor of the competition. 

The winning team said, ‘Having only been business students for three months, we have already been exposed to an array of new opportunities. The participation in JUBMC is one of the many exceptional opportunities for us to learn more about ourselves, other university students, and the real business environment. As part of Generation Y, this case is particularly fascinating. It also turned out to be an unexpected achievement. To us freshmen, winning had seemed beyond our reach. This experience shows us that nothing is really unreachable.’ 

The JUBMC is an inter-university business case competition focusing on managerial problems. Participants are expected to apply both analytical and problem solving skills with knowledge to find practical solutions for challenging business problems. Over 150 teams of students from local institutions took part in the competition this year.