Presented by the University of Missouri-St. Louis International Business Institute
Eligibility
This competition is open to undergraduate students at schools offering business or related programs deemed eligible by the UMSL 2025 International Business Case Competition administration.
Entry
A registration fee of $350 is required for entry into the competition.
Make your registration fee payment online at: UMSL International Business Case Competition
A team will be considered "entered" into the competition only upon receipt of the entrance fee accompanied by an eligible school name and the name of the faculty advisor. Entrants will be accepted on a first come first served basis until the team limit of twelve (12) teams is reached. If there are additional registrations, the limit may be increased.
A maximum of 2 teams may be entered by a single school provided the following conditions are satisfied and at the discretion of the competition administration:
- A second team may be entered on a first-come first-served Prior entry does not guarantee entrance of a second team.
- A separate registration fee must be received for the additional team prior to acceptance into the
A registered team must be withdrawn from the competition before Friday, September 26, 2025, in order to be eligible for a refund of the registration fee. After this deadline, no refunds will be offered.
Deadlines
Applications and entry fee are due by Friday, September 26, 2025. Send application to:
University of Missouri- St. Louis Attn: Renita Miller
219 Express Scripts Hall International Business Institute One University Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63121-4400
Or
Email: millers@umsl.edu Phone: 314-516-7226
The competition begins when teams receive the official competition package on Thursday, October 30, 2025 after the opening ceremonies. Any registered team not present at the issuance of this package will be considered to have forfeited. Fees will not be refunded in the event of a "no show."
Team Regulations
Each University or College will be represented in the competition by four undergraduate students. Each team must have a faculty advisor. The faculty advisor is NOT required to be present at the competition in order for a team to compete.
Team members who compete at the beginning of the competition must participate throughout the competition. Any additional students or faculty present at the Competition will be regarded as spectators.
Teams will be provided ample utility to research the case by the University of Missouri - St. Louis. However, a team is not required to remain on campus during research and may use whatever tools and media needed to research the case.
No faculty advisor, spectator or outside party is allowed to assist any team in the research of the case or preparation of the presentation. Any interference by outside parties will be considered a violation of these rules and will result in disqualification from the competition.
It will be the responsibility of the team to ensure that ALL team members are present at the competition presentations. In the event all team members are not present at the start of any given presentation, the team will be disqualified.
Teams are to remain anonymous during the competition. Do NOT wear any clothing that may identify a team's home city or school. Dress for events and presentations is business professional.
Case Format
This competition features an original case written by the sponsoring organization. It will outline an actual problem faced by the firm related to International Business.
Competition Format
The UMSL IB Case Competition will take place October 30 – November 01, 2025, at the University of Missouri- St. Louis.
Thursday, October 30, the International Business Institute and College of Business Administration will host a welcome dinner and ceremony for all teams, attending faculty advisors, and UMSL competition planning administration.
Friday, October 31, all teams are invited to a virtual company visit. Additional information regarding this visit will be provided during the ceremony and orientation.
At the conclusion of the orientation, teams will be given the official international business case study and assigned a team alias for use during the competition. Teams will remain anonymous during the competition. Alias names will be placed at random into presentation order for the presentations to be held November 01.
Teams will have access to the UMSL Internet system. Each team will be offered a room suitable for preparation and research of the case. Each room will have equal facilities. A team is not required to use the room offered by the competition.
Saturday, November 01, each team must submit their presentation on November 01 by 7:00 AM CST. All teams must submit their presentation slides in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. (Prezi, Keynote, etc. will not be allowed). The teams will receive submission instructions in the competition package.
During round 1, teams will be placed in groups of 4. Each team within a group will present to the assigned panel of judges. Judges will not have knowledge of a team's school.
Each team will be given 20 minutes to present their case followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. A team will be stopped at the end of this time period and information offered outside of these timeframes will not be used to rate a presentation. The criteria for scoring are listed later in this document.
After round one, a time period will be given for the deliberation of the judging panel. The winners of each group in round one will compete in the final round. Teams not entering the final round are encouraged and welcome to observe the final round.
A finalist may consult with a faculty advisor prior to making the final presentation. However, the presentation may not be altered prior to making the final presentation.
After the final presentations, 30 minutes will be given to the judges to deliberate the first, second, and third place team. An award ceremony will follow to announce winners and acknowledge all teams.
Presentations
Once presentations commence, teams may no longer discuss or research the case. Teams will wait in the designated area until brought to the presentation room by competition staff. A team is to wait outside the presentation room until asked to enter.
Teams are not allowed to discuss presentation or case details while waiting to present.
Teams are not allowed to speak with other teams, faculty, or any spectators while waiting to present outside the presentation rooms or in the designated waiting areas of the competition.
UMSL is not responsible for malfunctions or format errors due to the transfer of files or use of software programs.
During each presentation period, a moderator will raise notification signs to the team indicating when five (5) minutes and one (1) minute remain. At the end of the presentation period, the moderator will stop the presentation. No information spoken or written will be considered after the moderator has stopped the presentation.
During the question-and-answer period, the moderator advises the judges and the teams when one (1) minute remains, and when the time has expired. At the end of the question period, the moderator will stop the questions. No information spoken or written will be considered after the moderator has stopped the questions.
Members of the audience may not communicate with the presenting team in any way. Communication with the audience is grounds for disqualification.
Judges
Judges are selected from the local business community and represent professions from relevant fields. The judges are selected by competition organizers and are not, in any way, affiliated with the University of Missouri competition team or any other team registered in the competition. All judges are deemed qualified by the competition staff and given equal information regarding evaluation criteria and case facts. All judges are impartial to the outcome of this competition and have no prior knowledge of the home school presenting team.
Judges are randomly placed into panels. Each judging round panel will consist of no less than two (2) judges.
Each judging panel will assess each of the teams' strengths and weaknesses according to the UMSL Scoring Sheet.
The final panel will consist of at least one judge representing the company which developed the case. All finalists will present to the same panel of judges.
Scoring
A team's standing is determined by the accumulated total score from the scoring sheets. In the case of a tie, the points used for "Quality of Recommendations" from all the judging sheets for the two tied teams will break the tie.
The team with the highest score from each of the three panels will advance to the final round. A total of three teams will advance to the final round.
Evaluation Criteria
Judges will evaluate team presentations using the following criteria:
► Quality of Analysis (30 points):
Depth and Strength of Analysis and use of appropriate frameworks (10)
- The team conducted all the necessary quantitative and qualitative analysis and displayed a strong understanding of the case by tying the analysis to their final recommendations.
Ability to tie-in, and build ideas from, the analysis (5)
- There was a clear, logical, and explicit linkage between the analysis undertaken and the recommendation. Appropriate criteria were chosen to clearly distinguish between the In addition, this linkage was clearly presented visually, or with a strong verbal explanation or creative story.
Consideration of alternative solutions (5)
- Recognized and considered more than one alternative In addition, provided good evidence for the selection of the recommendation(s) with the use of strong, balanced criteria.
Clear Identification of the problem(s) (5)
- Correctly identified the key problem(s)/issue(s) in the case and built their presentation around them. In addition, the issues were reinforced throughout the presentation to strengthen the team's argument.
Clear identification of subsidiary issue(s) (5)
- Clearly identified one or more subsidiary issue(s) or constraints and addressed them in the recommendations. In addition, the team showed a higher, holistic understanding of the subsidiary issues and constraints and how they affected the overall case recommendations.
► Quality of Recommendations (25 points)
Justification and support of final solution and recommendation (12)
- The final solutions and recommendations were justified and supported with relevant In addition, recommendations were practical and realistic.
Strategic Focus (addressing appropriate strategic objectives) (4)
- The recommendations were focused on strategies relevant to the
Financial impact (with cost and control issues) was recognized (3)
- Financial impacts, with cost and control issues, were fully recognized and a significant part of the recommendations. In addition, the issues identified are mitigated if necessary.
Measurable milestones were included in the recommendations (3)
- The recommendations had complete and measurable milestones within a practical time frame, and also identified key players to execute the implementation ("who" and "by when"?).
Potential obstacles recognized and discussed (e.g., resources) (3)
- Potential obstacles were recognized and discussed, with additional contingencies
► Quality of Presentation (25 points)
Use of Technology (5)
- The use of technology enhanced the presentation's
Creativity (5)
- A high level of creativity was evident and the team's presentation had a unique and memorable
Appearance (5)
- General presentation appearance was exceptionally effective with its use of visuals and exhibits.
Overall Presentation Skills: Volume, Eye Contact, Appearance, Knowledge of lnformation (10)
- The general presentation style was confident, authoritative, and credible as exhibited by appropriate volume, eye contact, team appearance, and knowledge of the case In addition, the team effectively engaged the judges.
► Quality of Questions and Answers (20 Points)
Ability to Answer Questions (10)
- The team was able to defend its positions and the responses were always complete and In addition, the team was able to enhance its presentation and further the recommendations by its responses to the judges' questions.
Ability to Connect Questions to the Presentation (10)
- The responses strongly supported the information contained in the presentation.
Team maximum points: 100
Awards
The top three teams will receive awards. These awards will be issued to the parties chosen by the winning schools. In the event no party is designated, a check will be issued to the participating school. The awards for the 2025 competition are:
1st: $1,000 2nd: $750 3rd: $500
These values are based on registration and are subject to adjustments based on participation. The International Business Club does not guarantee amounts, but will issue prizes to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place participants.
Special Clauses
These rules are subject to change by the Competition Administration. Teams participating in the competition will be promptly notified of all changes.