Ateneo team 1st-runner up in business case competition hosted by Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

A team of students from Ateneo’s John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) took home 1 of 3 podiums in the RSM-STAR Case Competition hosted by the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (“RSM Erasmus”), winning 1st runner-up in the 12-hour case final.

The team was composed of Katherine Grace O Go (4 BS MGT), Nathanielle Trina B Hombre (4 BS MGT), Paolo Nicolo R Opeña (3 BS MGT-H), and Sofia Marianne S So (3 BS COMTECH). Enrique Jaime S Soriano (BS MGT-H 2012), Natalia Milagros L Fandiño (BS MGT 2019) and Gabe Sin (BS ME 2018 & BS MA 2019) served as the team’s mentors and coaches.

It was Ateneo’s first time being invited to the competition, joining other high-profile universities from Canada, Europe, and Asia.

Joining the team on the 12-hour podium were Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and HEC Montreal, who won overall champion and 2nd runner-up, respectively. The team from National University of Singapore also made the final.

The 12-hour case involved leveraging technology, expertise, and community collaboration to forge a partnership between Tata Steel Netherlands and Microsoft to forward more sustainable steel manufacturing practices. 

The 24-hour case was about the clean energy transition for a community affiliated with Greenport West-Holland, an organization composed of entrepreneurs, government, and other institutions working together to ensure a sustainable future for the horticultural cluster in the region. Ateneo placed 3rd in their division, beaten out by 2 eventual finalists in Maastricht University and the home team, RSM Erasmus.

In the overall championship, Ateneo placed 6th, the highest-placed institution participating for the first time, beating out the teams fielded by universities such as the University of British Columbia, Ivey Business School, Korea University, Hong Kong University, and RSM Erasmus University.

The RSM STAR Case Competition is held annually in the Netherlands and is organized by RSM Erasmus. Each April, it welcomes 16 international student consulting teams to compete by solving real-life business cases. It is a unique opportunity for students from top business schools worldwide to compete with each other by presenting their solutions to these cases, as well as to enrich their professional network and discover Rotterdam, a multinational industrial centre of the Netherlands.