Third Time’s a Charm
By
Rachel Guest
Career Relationship Manager
AGSM @ UNSW Business School
AGSM Winning Team
Those that know me know that my competitive
streak can rival even the most atypical MBA, and
so when the time came for AGSM to participate
in the 3rd annual PwC Inter-University Case
for Change Competition this past July, I was
adamant that we were not walking out of the
finals without a win for AGSM.
Let’s go back to where it began…
In early 2014, myself and representatives
from MGSM and University of Sydney’s MBA
programs were invited to advise on the set
up of PwC’s inaugural Inter-University Case
Challenge, providing students from Sydney’s
premiere business schools an insight into the
world of consulting as they compete to solve
a real business issue facing one of PwC’s pro
bono clients.
The first Case for Change challenge saw
over 60 students from AGSM assemble into
teams of 3-4 to address the issues facing an
Indigenous Not for Profit organisation. Once
the case was released, the student teams were
given three weeks to deliver their slides and
accompanying report. Five finalist teams were
announced during a large networking event
at the PwC offices, where all the participants
came together to hear which of them would be
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AGSM
representing their school in the next round of
the competition.
Unsurprisingly, two of the five finalist teams
going through to the next round were from
AGSM and over the following two weeks, each
met with the CEO of the client and mentors
from PwC, to refine their recommendations
before the finals. I sat and beamed like a proud
mother as the two AGSM teams presented
their findings and expertly answered questions
posed by the panel of esteemed judges. Pride
turned to dismay as it was inexplicably decided
that a team from another school was the winner
and AGSM sadly left empty handed.
The following year, the proposed dates of the
PwC competition would coincide with AGSM’s
2015 consulting recruitment period making
it difficult for the majority of our students to
participate. And so, determined to secure a win
for AGSM, I set about designing our own InterUniversity Case Competition in partnership
with Accenture, inviting students from MGSM
and University of Sydney back for a rematch.
Participation from AGSM made up nearly 60%
of the final entries and again, I was delighted
to see that three of the five finalist teams were
representing AGSM.