Awarded by: Marshall MBA Global Consulting Challenge
The topic was gas stations and associated convenience stores and four of the five participating HKUST MBA students had never visited a large-scale Western one before. But that didn't stop them from winning the Marshall MBA Global Consulting Challenge held in Los Angeles in January, against student teams from top American and British universities.
This was the first time HKUST, or any Asian university, had won the challenge. Students were asked to analyze British Petroleum's gas station convenience stores and develop strategies to increase short- and long-term profitability.
The HKUST team proposed an LCD interactive display at the gas pump that calls customers by name when they wave their cards at it and entertains them while they fill their tanks with a selection of advertising, movie trailers, news, and weather and traffic reports tailored to their interests. The display also invites them inside the store to take advantage of discounts and services.
The team had to present their proposal to three panels of judges and underwent rigorous questioning and examination. More importantly, they needed to learn to work together very quickly. The students came from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Canada and from different industries. They had not worked together until they were selected for the team through an internal competition at HKUST.
The judges were highly impressed by their quality, according to Professor Stephen Nason, advisor to the team.