We have a strong culture for case competitions here at RSM, and the International Relations Office is the first point of contact for businesses or universities interested in finding out how to be a part of it – either as a competing team or as an organisation that wants to benefit from the fresh and smart thinking from some of the world’s best young business and management minds.
We work closely with the RSM STAR Case Club so that student teams can take part in international case competitions, and help STAR to organise its annual RSM STAR Case Competition – one of the top 10 case competitions worldwide according to faculty advisors from top universities. Student teams that win one of these top tier competitions can qualify for the annual Champions Trophy Competition (which RSM won in 2023).
Our own home competition in Rotterdam is the RSM STAR Case Competition. It’s a one-week competition with 16 teams from top international business schools (including RSM) solving two real business cases; a12-hour case and a 24-hour case, plus company visits and networking. Teams of four bachelor students produce and present their solutions to a judging panel of consultants, industry experts and CEO-level professionals.
The Case Club is a unique way for students to create a professional network and develop their skills as they prepare to launch their careers. During the STAR Case Club Competition they spend time working with the companies that provide the 12- and 24-hour competition cases – companies like Aon, Coca Cola European partners, IKEA, Nike, Heineken, Port of Rotterdam, Microsoft, Tata Steel, Boskalis, Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, Greenport West-Holland, and Royal Philips.
The week of the RSM STAR Case Competition has a packed schedule – there are social activities and events that encourage cross-cultural interaction between the competitors and others involved in the event. Companies taking part have recruited young stars as a result of seeing them compete in the annual competition.
Among the international student teams we have welcomed since we began our annual competition in 2014 are: NUS from Singapore; St. Gallen University in Switzerland; Corvinus University in Hungary; HEC Montreal in Canada; American University of Beirut in Lebanon; Ivey Business School in Canada; UTS in Australia; University of Florida in the USA; HKUST in Hong Kong; KUBS in South Korea; Ohio State University in the USA; Thammasat University in Thailand; University of Berkeley in the USA; and Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
RSM bachelor students who are ambitious and looking for another way to challenge themselves, learn, and compete against other talented students from all over the world can apply for membership of the STAR Case Club. The club is a flagship of STAR, the student study association at RSM with the goal of providing training in consultancy to RSM bachelor students – and to win international case competitions! Students interested in joining the RSM STAR Case Club should see https://rsmstar.nl/caseclub/ .
The RSM STAR Case Club trains its members and prepares them for international case competitions with regular training sessions, workshops and case-days throughout the academic year. Members practice by solving real-life business cases that are written by company professionals. The aim is to focus on a problem in an organisation and develop the best solution within an allocated time. Topics range from finance to corporate social responsibility, marketing, and digital innovation. Cases are typically solved by teams of four students, and they usually have anything from 3 to 48 hours to do it. The teams then present their solutions to a panel of academic staff, consultants and industry professionals.
There are international case competitions throughout the year, and members of RSM STAR Case Club have competed at CIBCC at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; SICC at Ivey Business School in Canada; MICC at the University of Southern California, USA; JMUCC at Concordia University in Canada; HICC at the University of Florida, USA; CECC at Corvinus University in Hungary; GBCC at the University of Washington, USA; UNICC at the University of Navarra in Spain; and ICC@M at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
The student teams are always accompanied by a RSM faculty advisor.
The Case Club has become an increasing source of impact for RSM – a way for RSM students to demonstrate their fresh and impactful knowledge to benefit all kinds of companies, as well as creating channels for companies to connect with RSM and its highly gifted and motivated students. Their recent successes also clearly demonstrate the quality of RSM education.
2024 3rd place at CECC, Corvinus University, Hungary
2024 3rd place at University Panamericana, Mexico
2023 Winner Champions Trophy Case Competition, Auckland Business School, New Zealand
2023 Winner CIBCC, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
2022 Winner CCC, Copenhagen Business School