Case Competitions

Showcase your business savvy through case competitions

Ivy College of Business graduate students will be presented with opportunities to showcase their business savvy through case competitions. Participants strive to develop and present the best solution to a business case in an allocated timeframe by applying their classroom and industry knowledge. Teams are pitted head-to-head, and winners often walk away with generous prizes.

Case competitions offer a wonderful opportunity to travel and meet other graduate business students from all over the country. While most of the competitions are designed for MBA students, there are opportunities for information systems and business analytics students. To prepare our students for the competition, we provide training workshops where they will learn all the tips and tricks to succeed.

Below is a comprehensive list of the case competitions available to eligible graduate students. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Riniker, eriniker@iastate.edu.

Case competition schedule

All trainings will be held in collaboration with BUSAD 5920. There are three mandatory workshop dates your team will attend to prepare for competition: October 11, 8:00-10:45 a.m., October 18, 8:00-10:45 a.m., and October 25, 7:30-10:45 a.m.

Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition (Mays Business School at Texas A&M University)
The competition focuses on showcasing students’ analytical skills to solve real-world business problems for Humana using real data. This competition heavily relies on data analytics, meaning members of the team will need to know how to work with big data sets, clean data, and how to compare models.

• Dates: August – November 2024. Training will begin in spring 2024.
• Location: virtual.
• Team requirements: two to four full-time or part-time master’s students enrolled at the same university.
  • Teams can be interdisciplinary.
  • Students applying must have at least two semesters of MBA or master’s coursework completed.
  • Students need experience using big-data sets, cleaning data, and comparing models/tools.
  • One domestic student is required for knowledge of U.S. healthcare systems.
  • This case competition requires a significant amount of time dedicated to learning and sorting data.
• Deadline: September 10, 2024.
• Team training: spring 2024 and early fall.

National MBA Baylor Case Competition in Ethical Leadership
The National MBA Case Competition in Ethical Leadership is part of Baylor University’s Dale P. Jones Business Ethics Forum in which 12-15 teams from MBA programs across the country compete and grow in their ethical awareness and decision making.

• Dates: November 14-15, 2024.
• Location: Baylor University- Hankamer School of Business, Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. Waco, Texas.
• Team requirements: four full-time MBA students.
• Deadline: September 10, 2024.

BYU: Faith and Belief @ Work Case Competition
Brigham Young University strives to bring MBA students together in an effort to network while competitively solving real business needs in the space of faith and belief at work.

• Date: February 5-8, 2025.
• Location: Provo, Utah.
• Team requirements: four full-time MBA students.
• Deadline: January 15, 2025.
• Team training: January 30, 2025.

TCU Supply Chain Case Competition
Texas Christian University will host a highly competitive case competition focused on supply chain management for cash prizes where the MBA students showcase their innovation and intelligence.

• Date: February 20-22, 2025.
• Location: Fort Worth, Texas.
• Team requirements: four full-time MBA or MS SCM students.
• Team training: January 19, 2025.

Ivy Mind-to-Market Case Competition
The Ivy College of Business has partnered with the Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship to create an exceptional applied learning experience for MBA students interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. The live case will be drawn from a tenant in the Iowa State University Research Park, a 220-acre innovation community and incubator for new and expanding businesses in Ames, Iowa.

• The challenge will focus on science and technology-related organizations and entrepreneurial-minded students.
• Date: March 6-8, 2025.
• Location: Iowa State University.
• Team requirements: three to four full-time MBA students.
• Deadline: January 15, 2025.
• Team training: January 30, 2025.

Big XII Case Competition (Baylor University)
The 17^th annual Big XII event will be hosted by Baylor University this year. The competition is highly competitive and one that Iowa State is invited back to year after year.

• Date: March 28, 2025.
• Location: Waco, Texas.
• Team requirements: four full-time MBA students.
  • The Internal Case Competition 2024 winners will be given preference but will need to express interest by applying.
• Deadline: January 15, 2025.
• Team training: January 30, 2025.

Iowa Business Analytics
The Tippie College of Business Case Competition showcases analytics professionals by using programming, data analysis, visualization, and presentation skills.

• Date: early April 2025.
• Location: Iowa City, Iowa.
• Team requirements: three to four master’s students.
• Deadline: January 15, 2025.
• Team training: January 30, 2025.

MBA Internal Case Competition

The Ivy College of Business internal MBA Case Competition provides second-year, full-time MBA students with an opportunity to use the knowledge they have acquired during core courses. In 24 hours, the teams will need to analyze a business case and present their findings to a panel of judges. Scholarships are awarded to the winning team and individuals with outstanding performance during the competition. Award recipients will be recognized at the MBA Case Competition reception.

Professional MBA Strategic Case Competition

The Ivy College of Business Professional MBA Strategic Case Competition provides professional MBA students with an opportunity to use the knowledge they have acquired during MBA program. As a part of their MBA capstone course, MGMT 504, Strategic Management, students will work together on a team on this final project. Over several days, the teams will analyze a business case and present their findings to a panel of judges. Scholarships are awarded to the winning team and individuals with outstanding performance during the competition. Award recipients at the conclusion of the event.

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