IBSS and The Asia Institute Held the 3rd IBSS Virtual Business Project Competition

From July 15 to August 2, 2024, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), in collaboration with its long term partner The Asia Institute, successfully hosted the 3^rd IBSS Virtual Business Project Competition. This marks the competition’s third edition following its successful organisation in 2022 and 2023, drawing participation from over ten countries across five continents and students from 20 universities.

The competition was 3 weeks in length and intensive, including pre-scheduled morning sessions and group work in the evenings. During this unique program, IBSS students were assigned to groups with other students from all around the world. Each team worked on real-world projects with 3 organizations from Asia, Europe and Africa, to help identify solutions that will be later implemented in the companies. All projects were aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This format supports students with intercultural communication, developing teamwork skills, and understanding challenges companies face today.

The participating universities in this year's competition included RMIT University in Australia, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, the University of Leeds in the UK, the University of Bergamo in Italy, and Simon Fraser University in Canada. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the competition aimed to cultivate university students' international vision, social responsibility, and team collaboration skills. Over the course of three challenging and intense weeks, under the guidance of 9 professional mentors including faculty from IBSS, the students provided innovative change proposals for the three organisations from Kenya, Cyprus, and Japan, covering on improving of quality education, reduction of inequalitiy, sustainability, health and well-being.

On August 2, the competition concluded with an online closing ceremony. After fierce competition, first, second, and third prizes were awarded to the project teams. Throughout this process, students not only honed their project management, professional presentation, and cross-cultural collaboration skills, but also gained an understanding of cultural differences in global teams. Additionally, they received guidance from mentors with rich academic and practical experience, gaining a deeper understanding of the gap between the modern business environment and sustainable development goals, as well as diverse innovative solutions.

Group photo at the closing ceremony

At the closing ceremony, Professor Ewout van der Schaft, Associate Dean for Internationalisation at International Business School Suzhou, and Mr Bradley Feuling, Chairman and CEO of The Asia Institute, delivered speeches. Professor Ewout highly praised the students for their excellent team work and academic qualities, reiterating IBSS's mission to bridging East and West and its commitment to focusing on internationalisation and cross-cultural cooperation.

Mr Bradley Feuling also expressed his sincere gratitude to all the IBSS staff, members of the corporate organisations, and students who devoted great effort to this project. He mentioned that scheduling and communication among members are significant challenges, especially in an international team, but he has seen that the teams have done very well. He has noted that many of the teams’ innovative solutions, can help the 3 participating companies with for solving their real-world problems.

With the successful conclusion of the IBSS Virtual Business Project Competition, we have witnessed the outstanding performance of the new generation of university students. IBSS aims to continue to provide its students with international opportunities, cultivating them to become future leaders capable of driving change on a global scale.