All teams are composed of 4 undergraduate students and 1 coach. For each round of the competition, participants will be given a business case developed by the ACRC. Teams are separated into preparation rooms and are given three hours to come up with a solution to the case and prepare a presentation of the said solution. The solution will be presented to a panel of three to four senior business executives from the international business community. Each presentation lasts 20 minutes, followed by a 15-minute question and answer session. Each participant is expected to present at least once during each presentation.

The use of PowerPoint in the Competition is banned and students have to use an overhead projector or visualizer for their presentations. By limiting the participants’ ability to click through slide after slide of bullet points, presentations become more engaging, critical thinking is encouraged and both the presenters and the judges have time to focus on the argument.

Last, unlike many other competitions the students are supposed to solve the case and come up with their solutions and implementation plan solely based on the information provided in the case and their own knowledge. As such, the use of electronic devices and reference material is strictly prohibited during the preparation phase.

All 24 teams will draw lots at the Welcome Dinner to be held on 31 May 2019 to determine the grouping for Round 1.

Round 1 to Round 3

Criterium 1

Seven points are awarded to the team winning a round in a group, three, one and zero points are awarded to the other teams respectively.

Winner - 7 points
2nd place - 3 points
3rd place - 1 point
4th place - 0 points

The four teams with the highest score at the end of round three qualify to compete in the finals in the HSBC Main Building.

Criterium 2

In case the 4th ranked team has a similar number of points as the teams ranked 5th or lower, the finalist spot will be awarded to the team that won when the teams faced off in the same group.

The following simulation will be used to illustrate the scoring system:

The table above shows the following:

- total rounds – 3
- total points per round 66
- each round ends with 6 teams gaining 7 points, 6 teams gaining 3 points, 6 teams gaining 1 point and 6 teams with 0 points.

The table also shows that team M won with team N in round 2 thus team N is out and we have to further look whether team M or team E is stronger. Teams M and N did not face each other because they won the first two rounds and were second in the third round. To see which team is stronger Criterium 3 has to be applied.

Criterium 3

Both teams won 3 times with various teams. The sum of the points of the teams that lost to team E and team N respectively needs to be calculated. The team that won with the teams whose total score is higher goes to the finals

Following the example, the table below shows the wins of team E:

The table shows that team E won with teams K, G, Q, U, P ,F (green fields). The total accumulated points of these teams is 37.

The next table, shows the wins of team M:

The table shows that team M won with teams N, G, S, D, T ,W, L, R (light brown fields). The total accumulated points of these teams is 38.

Conclusion: The total of accumulated points of the teams that lost to team E is 37. The total of accumulated points of the teams that lost to team M is 38. Team M goes to the finals. In case there is a draw, Criterium 4 will be applied.

Criterium 4

In case of a draw under Criterium 3, criterium 1 and 3 will be applied to round 3 only and in that order. (Please note, the above simulation does not show the variant of Criterium 4 and 5)

Criterium 5

In case of a draw under Criterium 4, criterium 1 and 3 will be applied to round 2 only and in that order. (Please note, the above simulation does not show the variant of Criterium 4 and 5)

Criterium 6

In case of a draw under Criterium 5, the winner will be selected by the random draw.