"From light pink to baby blue to lavender to soft yellow to pale green, buildings in Hong Kong are as unapologetically vibrant as they are tall. This place has personality."

​

I was fortunate enough to compete in the world's largest case competition, representing the Shidler College of Business as well as Hawai'i (by extension and circumstance, the USA). The HSBC & HKU Case Competition has been one of the greatest accomplishments and experiences I have had in my college career. I have made so many new friends (with whom I surprisingly have several mutual FB connections--what a small world!) and learned so much  about myself, my teammates, and cultures around the globe. It was a blast to have explored such a unique and eccentric place. It has definitely left me wanting to discover more.

​

The case competition is, for the most part, like any other. A team of business students are tasked with creating actionable and well-founded solutions to a real-life business problem documented in a case study (unpublished, mind you). Cases can range from 10-20 pages of single-spaced text followed by more pages of appendices (market research, income statements, etc.). The HSBC & HKU Competition is special in that it adds a little more of a challenge with a few constraints:

​

(1) Time Limit: 2.5 hours (not the usual 24 hours or more) to read, strategize, and prepare a presentation 

(2) Technology Limit: absolutely no access to the internet (i.e. no laptops and phones) or other materials besides what is in between your ears and those of your teammates

​

Case competition presentations require visuals--how does the technology limit affect competitors? We use something from the bygone era of the early 2000s. Transparencies. Yes, those plastic sheets we so loved in elementary/middle school just as much as we did "apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur."  Now in college, we hate them because they are so hellishly smudge-prone that when we present in our suits we look rather silly with multi-colored hands. Nevertheless, we press on despite looking like we dug our hands in a Doctor Seuss book before presenting on FinTech innovations in the wealth management industry.

​

We won our first round, making it into the the top 16. Unfortunately, we did not advance afterward; however, it was comforting to know we had supporters of our strategies and that our fellow competitors moving forward were our friends--we still wanted to support them! We were undoubtedly very proud of the intensive three weeks we had gone through to get to the level at which we performed. Studying frameworks and past strategies as well as memorizing countless statistics on market trends and segments had paid off. To my teammates (Mia P, Z, and Mia H), it was a wild and fun ride; I am so glad to have worked with all of you. I hope we can all reunite to watch "bird hour" (XD) again. To my newfound friends, I hope to visit you in the future!

​

Apart from the competition, we did have a bit of time for ourselves. With Shidler's extensive international network, we had lunch with two successful professionals well versed in Hong Kong's business scene. They offered great advice that will definitely help shape us now in our formative years. A wild scanenger hunt throughout the busy streets was also fun--still, the humidity did make it difficult. Side note: who puts haircut or learn Wing Chun in a scavenger hunt? WILD. After the competition, we had the time to take part in the craziness that is Lan Kwai Fung (Wow, the amount of people in the streets reminds me of NYC's time square hordes). On our last day, we enjoyed HK for its gorgeous architecure, boat rides, and bargain shopping--I am definitely going back to these places and more!

​

​