Competition Structure

Please note that NUS will fly down the Top Six teams for the finals and will bear all airfare and accommodation expenses. Few key aspects of the competition have been outlined below. We recommend that teams thoroughly familiarize themselves with it.

Objective of the Business Plan

The objective of the business plan is to develop an entry/ expansion strategy for a case sponsor in an identified target market. Details of specific functional areas that need to be covered in the plan will be defined in the individual case studies.

Choosing Cases

We have 3 cases on offer in this competition, each of which is based on one of our case sponsors. These cases profile the strategic, operational, people and financial aspects of the company and look to give teams a comprehensive understanding of the organization. Teams are required to choose the cases in order of preference during the registration process. To help you make your choice we have presented a summary of each case study. The detailed cases will be released only after the registration and allocation has been completed.

Case Allocation

Case allocation will happen in two stages.

Registration window closes on 17th November, 2008. Case allocation will take place on 17th November, 2008. Exact Date/Time will be announced five days prior to close of registration.

After close of registration, we will allocate the case studies to each team based on two factors -

1. Team preference and
2. Proportionate representation of our sponsors.

As a result, although we will try to ensure that teams receive their first-choice case, we cannot guarantee the same. It is during this stage that the full case studies will be released to each team.

Choice of target market (country)

You can choose any target market which presents a strong potential for expanding the business of your case sponsor. The selection of the target market should also relevant to the case sponsor considering its own expansion ambitions. We recommend that the following two criteria be included in your market identification process.

1. Preferred geographic regions/countries that have been indicated in the case study.
2. Ability of the team to demonstrate local market knowledge.

In case the allocated case company is already present in the team's chosen target market, then we expect the participants to focus on the following:

Analyse the company's existing business model in that country and present a business plan that demonstrates how the company can significantly expand its market share/revenue/profitability in that country through fresh investment.

Example: In Cerebration 2008, the case study on a ornamental fish company indicated that the company is already present in South-east Asia. However a team could potentially still select South east Asian location as a target market and build a business plan that focuses on significantly expanding the case sponsor's business from its current levels in that market.

Local Market Knowledge

One of the key evaluation criteria in the judging process is local market knowledge. Teams will be expected to have in-depth understanding of the target market they are writing for and demonstrate the same in their business plans.

Example: In Cerebration 2005, a finalist team from International University of Japan selected Japan as its target market. In contrast a finalist team from Chicago GSB comprising primarily Japanese team members also selected Japan as its target market for the same case company.

Teams to Compete With Their Own Track

Each team will compete only with teams that are working on the same case study. Therefore, at each elimination round, the number of teams selected will be equally distributed amongst all the cases. This has been depicted below

Selection of 54 teams to submit Business Plans: 18 Teams x 3 Cases
Selection of 27 teams to submit 'Revised' Business Plans: 9 Teams x 3 Cases
Selection of 6 teams that will fly down to Singapore: 2 Teams x 3 Cases

Grand Finals

The 3 finalists will make their final presentations incorporating the 'twister' in front of a panel of judges. The three best teams will be adjudged as winners of Cerebration 2009. The total cash prize at stake is S$ 20,000.