The Grand Finals of the inaugural Christine Ennew Business Challenge Trophy 2016, sponsored by Ken-Rich Corporation, was held on 29 February 2016 at the Great Hall of The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).
The competition was organised in conjunction with the 15th Anniversary of UNMC with the aim of offering students a professional experience and an opportunity to participate in a real-life business projects. Contestants were required to develop a business plan on the theme 'Male Toiletries for Daily Personal Care', to be pitched to Ken-Rich Corporation, an established manufacturer of household, industrial and personal care products.
This is a competition opened to all students at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. The aim of the competition is to offer UNMC students a pedagogical and professional experience. There were two rounds - a preliminary round and the final. Teams made up of three students each, were judged on their presentations based on the analysis, innovative strategies, presentation and communication.
“I would like to congratulate the organising committee, the teams, the judges and sponsor as well as everyone else who contributed to making the inaugural Christine Ennew Business Challenge Trophy 2016 (sponsored by Ken-Rich Corporation) a grand success. It was a fantastic learning experience and looking forward to the competition again next year,” said Dr Dilip S. Mutum, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Nottingham University Business School (NUBS).
The Panel of Judges for the Grand Finals were Dato' Hooi Lai Lin, CEO/Director of Ken-Rich Corporation, who was also the Chief Judge; Professor Christine Ennew, CEO and Provost of UNMC; Professor Claire O'Malley, Dean of the Faculty of Science, UNMC; and Professor Ong Fon Sim, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, UNMC and Dr Nishanth Chemmangattuvalappil, Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering at UNMC.
At the Grand Finals, five teams, were selected out of 12 teams in the preliminary rounds presented their business plans and promotional campaign for their products, to the panel of judges. Each team was also tested on their knowledge of the product, the communications and promotions, as well as business strategy and analysis.
The champion was Team EDGE, from undergraduates of Nottingham University Business School, namely Fabiolla Netto, Evonne Chen May Yie and John Wong Yoong Wern. The winning prize is an all-expenses paid trip for the team members to The University of Nottingham, UK.
The second prize was Team J&J which comprise of Liau Haw Yuan and Tang Yingjie from the Business School and Natalie Liew Jia Yi who is an undergraduate in Chemical and Environmental Engineering UG student.The team won a cash prize of RM3,000 sponsored by Ken-Rich Corporation.
"Business challenge competitions present students with a great opportunity for experiential learning; such events are an opportunity to work collaboratively, to think innovatively and to develop creative solutions to business problems," said Professor Christine Ennew, at the speech. Professor Ennew is also Professor of Marketing at Nottingham University Business School Malaysia.
In her closing remarks, the Chief Judge, Dato' Hooi, commended the quality of the performance of all the finalist teams and their innovative product ideas, remarking that in the practice of marketing and communications, it is important to note that "attitude drives altitude".
"UNMC would like to express its deep gratitude to Dato’ Hooi Lai Lin and Ken-Rich Corporation for sponsoring this competition and providing our students with a great opportunity to learn about some of the real challenges that business face." said Professor Ennew.
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More information is available from Chan Wen Li, Director of Information and Communications of Nottingham University Business School at wenli.chan@nottingham.edu.my; Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on +603 8924 8746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 17th May 2016