HKUST Business School celebrated victories in student competitions at home and abroad. Our undergraduate team has been named champion at an international case competition, while a PhD student claimed first place in a thesis competition. In addition, a faculty member has gained recognition in Mainland China for the excellence of his co-authored research paper.
Student Team Won in Rotterdam Case Competition
Our undergraduate team clinched the championship of RSM STAR Case Competition 2025 hosted by Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Sixteen top business school teams, each with four students, participated this year to tackle pressing industry problems.
Right photo: The HKUST winning team – (from left) Adrian LAU, Natalie LEUNG, James ZHU, and Ian CHANG.
The HKUST team of four Year-2 students tackled complex business challenges with creativity and precision. Over an intense week, they critically analyzed two real-world cases, presented innovative solutions, and impressed the judges with their analytical rigor and compelling pitches. Their success, under the guidance of Faculty Advisor Prof. Kristiaan HELSEN, is another testament to the creativity of our business students.
Sixteen elite teams rose to the challenge at this year’s RSM STAR Case Competition.
Victory in Minutes
At home, the 2025 HKUST Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition was held on campus. Our PhD student Alessandro BUFFOLI, also a graduate of our MSc in International Management Program, clinched the championship with his presentation entitled “From Ugly to Loved: The Compassionate Consumer's Journey Towards Embracing Unattractive Produce”. He will represent the University to compete in the 2025 Asia-Pacific 3MT® Competition in October.
The Three Minute Thesis is an academic research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland, Australia. Participants are required to present their thesis within three minutes, challengingly using only a single PowerPoint slide.
Participants of the HKUST Three-Minute Thesis Competition this year.
Research on Discrimination in Financial Advice Wins Acclaim
A co-authored paper by Prof. Utpal BHATTACHARYA from the Department of Finance, “Do Women Receive Worse Financial Advice?”, was awarded the Camphor Economics Outstanding Paper Award (香樟經濟學優秀論文獎) at this year’s Annual Camphor Economics Conference. The researchers have uncovered patterns of statistical discrimination shaped by advisors’ incentives with undercover men and women posed as potential clients of local financial advisory firms.
This recognition comes from one of the most vibrant academic communities for Economics and Finance scholars in Mainland China, which selects only two outstanding published papers each year from over a hundred presented at its seminars and conferences.
