How to participate in the Challenge?

In order to participate, you need to form a team. You can start forming your team by registering!

Your team will have to meet the following participation criteria:

• The team consists of four full-time students
• The students are from the same educational institution
• The students are in their final or pre-final year of studies (bachelor level and higher, incl. MBA)
• The students graduate after November 1st 2016
• Students agree to join The Talent Connection, which is the talent program of the Global Student Challenge

The timeline for the 2016-2017 edition:

Teacher endorsement

Teacher endorsement is optional during the Qualification Phase, but mandatory in order to be eligible for the Global Final. Any teacher from the same educational institution as the students can endorse a team. The endorsing teacher will be appointed a watch role which will allow him/her to monitor the team’s performance and guide the students in making the best decisions. There are two easy ways for a teacher to endorse a team:

• If the teacher is not yet registered, the students can invite the teacher on their team page.
• If the teacher is already registered, the students can select their teacher in their team page.

Please consult our How to guide to find out more details on how to register and prepare your team for the Qualification Rounds.

Qualification Rounds

After registering you will have to form a team. A team is complete when:

• 4 students are part of the same team.
• The team chooses a Qualification Period
• The team selects their endorsing teacher (optional during Qualification Phase, but mandatory to be eligible for the Global Final)

The Registration and Qualification Phase lasts from May 8th until October 20th and is divided in 6 Qualification Periods:

Once a team is complete, each member of the team (including the teacher, in case the team selected him/her as endorsing teacher) will receive login details for the Qualification Period in which they wish to participate. You can find more about your team’s status and when you can expect the logins in your team page.

Within each period, the team members can choose when to play the rounds and do the assignments. You are expected to need at least around 1 to 1,5 hours per round, so keep that in mind when making your planning.

Please note:

• You can find more about your team status and when you can expect the logins in your team page.
• The login details will be valid for the chosen Qualification Period only.

Qualification criteria for the National Rounds:

When teams have received their logins for a specific Qualification Period, they can start playing the 4 Qualification Rounds. Within the chosen Qualification period:

• The team must have played all 4 Qualification Rounds
• Each student will have to complete certain individual assignments, for which they will receive more detailed information when receiving the logins.
• Teams with a positive ROI in the 3rd or 4th Round – which have increased complexity – will be qualified for the National Rounds!
  • In case you have completed your 4 rounds, but your team has not obtained a positive ROI in Round 3 or 4, you are eligible for a retry. Your team will be able to select a new Qualification Period in the team page (unless you are playing in the last Qualification Period) and you will automatically receive new login details for this period.
  • If your team has not completed the 4 rounds, the team will not be eligible for a retry in a later Qualification Period.

National Rounds

The qualified teams will participate in 3 National Rounds starting October 31st until December 11th. The time period of each round is fixed.

National Round 1: October 31st             – November 13th

National Round 2: November 14th         – November 27th

National Round 3: November 28th         – December 11th

Regional Final

Some universities organise a Regional Final, inviting the best teams from other universities from their own country or even neighbouring countries to compete for a place in the Global Final. An experienced trainer will be on site to guide the teams. Regional Finals have a guaranteed spot in the Global Final for the winning team! Interested in organising a Regional Final in your university? Please contact us.

Grand Finale

The 20 top teams of the world will be invited for a full week of Supply Chain Finance experience in The Netherlands. See our gallery for an impression of past editions.

Why take up the Challenge?

There are four good reasons why to take up this Challenge and strive for the best results!

1. Participating students will get a unique profile in The Talent Connection, a new recruitment platform aiming to finding the perfect match for our talented students and our international partners, like Heineken, Philips and Unilever.
2. The simulation is used to train professional staff of international businesses. This Challenge is a unique opportunity for students to take a look at this professional tool and learn how to manage their own supply chain.
3. In addition to this invaluable experience, the participating teams can win a trip to The Netherlands.
4. The teams compete for a total of EUR 20,000 in cash prizes!

Official Link: https://www.globalstudentchallenge.org/about/competition/