Engineering team through to semi-finals of IBM Universities Business Challenge

A team of students from the School of Mechanical Engineering have made it through to the semi-finals of the IBM Universities Business Challenge.

The team, known as 'The Engineers', were one of only three University teams that the University Careers Centre sponsored to take part in the national competition.

Over 300 teams from universities throughout the UK competed in Round 1 of the competition and only the top 25% of teams made it through to the semi-finals. Whilst making it through to the semi-finals is an achievement in itself, The Engineers did exceptionally well in that they were ranked 6th overall in terms of cumulative profit after the 5 trading periods in Round 1.

The Engineers are all 2nd year students studying on the Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering MEng courses. They have previous experience of working well together as a team; they worked together on their first year project to design a glider, which after competitive testing was ranked second in their year. In addition to their technical skills they have a shared interest in business and business strategy which we hope will take them through the semi-finals which take place in February 2013.

Universities Business Challenge (UBC) is an annual competition in which teams from universities throughout the UK compete against each other for a cash prize and he honour of becoming overall winner. In addition to this, UBC helps participants improve their knowledge of the business world, put theory into practice and develop team-working, leadership and employability skills. The challenge – and it’s called a ‘challenge’ for good reason – gives participants the chance to work as a board of directors in a series of realistic, simulated companies, making all the critical business decisions that affect the company’s performance.

The Engineers
Saad Ali (Team Leader) – MEng Mechanical Engineering
Matthew Clarke – MEng Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering
David Penny – MEng Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering
Alistair Rodgers – MEng Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering
Robert Tuton – MEng Mechanical Engineering

Further information:
IBM Universities Business Challenge - This year's semi-finalists