The International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition is not for the faint of heart.

First, there is more than three months of hard work, with students running a simulated business and making all the C-suite decisions to compete in a global market.

Then comes the three-day “intensive phase”—a description that might be an understatement.

Before their final presentations, students work through the night, polishing financial reports and strategic plans, reviewing every decision, rehearsing talking points, sweating every detail. 

“Then, with no sleep, there they are: in their suits, standing before the board of directors, spit-shined and ready,” says Sean Jasso, professor of practice for the School of Business, who serves as adviser to the teams. “They are well-rehearsed. They are ready. And they deliver.”

Deliver they have: The proof is on display in the School of Business trophy case with a decades-worth of victories.

The School of Business undergraduate team extended their successful run with a third-place finish for the undergrads in the 2021 competition, the 10th year UCR has entered.

The International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition, the world’s longest-running business strategy contest, attracts graduate and undergraduate teams who normally compete remotely over a three-month period. The use a software platform to run a simulated business in a global competitive market for five years. Students make all the strategic decisions: production output, hiring and firing, advertising and marketing, sales force management, financial decisions—even building factories. 

UCR’s track record of success provides an incentive for students to try their best.

“There are no slackers. They are truly dedicated,” Jasso adds. “This work is intensive, and it’s extracurricular, beyond homework or internships.

“We don’t participate just to learn. We compete to be ambassadors for the school. We go to deliver excellence.”