News Briefs

The first international case competition in the United States for graduate business students was recently launched by UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Teams worldwide competed to solve international cases involving multinational companies and earn an $8,000 cash prize. The winner was the University of Otago School of Business in New Zealand, followed by Emory’s Goizueta Business School, Copenhagen Business School, UNC Kenan-Flagler and Universitá Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Italy. The final round of the competition was held earlier this month at Emory.

The two business schools collaborated to develop the competition for the Partnership in International Management, an international consortium of business schools. Typically, in case competitions, small teams of students tackle a

problem based on a real-life business challenge and recommend a solution. The competitions test analytical abilities, problem solving and presentation skills and knowledge.

"Case competitions are an effective tool for business students to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom," said Amanda McCorkle Laird, associate director of international programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler. "What had been missing was an international competition that looked at international business issues for multinational companies. An added benefit of this competition is the increased interaction among students and faculty around the globe to share their diverse approaches, perspectives and experiences."

During the first round, 13 teams of business students competed virtually. Judges for the first round were from Italy, Spain, Thailand, Chile and the United States. The winners of the first round went on to compete in Atlanta.

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Noted music instructor Bradley Simmons will teach a master class in Afro-Cuban drumming during the spring semester at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

The class will meet on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 thru March 23 at the Stone Center, located on the UNC’s campus. Registration is $5 per person, and the first four people to register and pay the fee receive free use of drums. The class is open to UNC students and community members.

Simmons has taught at several universities and currently teaches drumming at Duke University, where he is director of the popular Djembe Ensemble.

Call (919) 962-9001 for more information or to register for the class.

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Contact: News Services, (919) 962-2091