Rules and Regulation
Eligibility
All full-time and part-time students engaged in a Graduate program during the academic year 2008-2009 are eligible to participate in the competition.
Team
Each team must comprise of three or four members (minimum of three and maximum of four members). Team members can come together from different faculties at graduate level, however all team members must belong to the same university. There is no limit on the number of entries per university. A participant cannot be a member of more than one team.
Registration
Teams should register on the Cerebration website by clicking here by 1800 hours (Singapore Time), 17th November, 2008 to participate in this competition.
Teams need to indicate their preference among the three cases. For a brief overview of the case, click here.
Case Allocation
Case Allocation will be conducted in two phases based on the date of registration. The first round of case allocation will be completed on 7th November 2008. All teams having registered prior to 7th November 2008 1800 hours (Singapore Time) will receive the cases. The final allocation of cases will be completed by November 19th, 2008. Exact time and date for final release of the cases will be announced five days prior to close of registration.
Case allocation will be done in a manner that ensures proportionate representation of our case sponsors but within that broad parameter, the organizing team will try its best to adhere to the preference of the participants. However, NUS reserves the final rights for allocation of cases.
Teams will be notified about their allocated cases through E-mail (The Email address mentioned during Registration).
Round 1 - Executive Summary Submission
Teams must submit an executive summary of their business plan by 1800 hours (Singapore Time), 5th December 2008. Late submissions will NOT be accepted.
The executive summary should not exceed 4 pages (3 page summary + 1 page Appendix).
Each executive summary should have a cover page that indicates:
- Name of the school/university
- Names of all team members
- E-mail addresses and telephone numbers of all team members
- Chosen company and the country for which the executive summary has been prepared
The above details should not appear in any other part of the submission (i.e., as a header or footer).
The executive summary should be written in 12 point Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing and a margin of 1" on all sides.
The judging panel will comprise of NUS Business School faculty members.
The top 54 teams will be announced at 23:59 hours (Singapore Time), 22nd December, 2008.
Round 2 (Business Plan Submission)
The top 54 teams from Round One will advance to Round Two.
Teams must submit a detailed business plan not exceeding 30 pages (including appendices). Please adhere strictly to this guideline.
Each business plan should have a cover page mentioning:
- Name of the school/university
- Names of all team members
- E-mail addresses and telephone numbers of all team members
- Chosen company and the country for which the executive summary has been prepared
The above details should not appear in any other part of the submission (i.e., as a header or footer. Business plans should be submitted by 23:59 hours (Pacific Standard Time), 17th January, 2009.
The judging panel will comprise:
- NUS Business School faculty
- Individual Case sponsors
Top 27 teams will be announced by 31st January, 2009 (23:59 hours PST). These teams will receive written feedback from the judges. This feedback should be incorporated into the business plans.
Round 3 (Revision of Business Plans)
The Top 27 teams are required to submit the revised Business Plan after incorporating the feedback provided by 23:59 hours (PST), 14th February, 2009.
Along with the business plan, all teams are required to submit a summary of all changes made to plan in a 2 page summary document. The length of the revised business plan cannot be more than 35 pages (including appendices) The same judging panel as in Round two will judge the revised business plan.
Of the original 27, 6 teams will qualify to proceed to the Semi-final Round. Successful teams will be announced by 23:59 hours (Pacific Standard time), 27th February, 2009.
Finals (Round I)
NUS will fly down the final six teams to Singapore to compete in the Final Rounds. The finals event comprises two rounds (I and II) which are held across two consecutive days. The judging panels in both these round will be different.
All teams competing in Round (I) will be required to submit a copy of their presentation on a CD one hour before the start of the Round. No changes to the presentation will be allowed after the CD has been submitted.
Teams will be provided with all necessary infrastructures like laptops, CDs etc.
Teams will present their business plan in front of the judging panel on March 27, 2009. Each team will be given twenty five minutes to complete their presentation and twenty minutes for Q&A.
The final three teams will be announced by 1700 hours (Singapore time), 27th March, 2009. These teams will advance to the Finals Round (II). The final teams will be given a challenge in the form of a "twister" to incorporate into their strategies and they will need to answer that in the Final.
Finals (Round II) - Grand Final
The final 4 teams will receive written feedback (on 27th March, 2009) from the judging panel which should be incorporated into their final business plans.
Teams that qualify for the Final Round (II) are required to submit a copy of their revised presentation on a CD one hour before the start of the Final Round. No changes to the presentation slides will be allowed after CDs have been submitted.
Each team will be given no more than twenty five minutes to complete their presentation and twenty minutes for Q&A.
The top three winning teams will be announced by 1830 hours (Singapore Time), 28th March, 2009.
