Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business will host the Rotterdam-Carleton International Case Competition (ROCA) in October 2023, working in close collaboration with Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
An exciting competition between undergraduate student teams from 16 top-ranked business schools from various different continents. Cases will cover a broad range of interdisciplinary business problems with a strong focus on sustainability, leadership and other shifts in the present-day economy. Teams will present their business recommendations to a panel of expert judges from leading companies. The competition will be held in-person in Ottawa between 22 and 27 October 2023.
Unique format
ROCA is an event like no other, on par with the best undergraduate business case competitions in the world. It’s the first transatlantic international undergraduate business case competition in the world and has a unique format:
- Unlike many other case competitions, the format of ROCA guarantees all teams a minimum of 3 matches, with the six finalists tackling a total of 4 different cases.
- All cases in ROCA will be “live and relevant”. Not only because all cases will be written in close cooperation with companies and institutions, teams will also get the opportunity to talk with the managers during the preparation time at the competition.
- ROCA Teams will consist of four students who will present their recommendations to a panel of expert judges from leading companies and institutions across Ottawa or Rotterdam. Cases will be relevant and challenging, and cover a broad range of interdisciplinary business problems with a strong focus on the “Economy and Society of the Future”.
- All ROCA cases will be accompanied by a digital database with relevant sources. The database will be made available to the teams several weeks before the start of the case competition week. This will provide a level-playing field for all teams and also results in better solutions for the company’s challenges.
- After each round the judging panels will provide feedback to the teams, to enhance the students’ learning curve during the competition.
- The event will also include several (social) activities aimed at community building between students, companies and faculty advisors.
Detailed information regarding student eligibility, competition format, and procedures for the Qualifying and Championship Rounds can be found in the official rules.
ROCA Mission
- Challenging participants with complex problems that demand integrative, cross-disciplinary thinking and reasoned application of knowledge and theoretical concepts;
- Helping companies in the local area by asking participants to come up with creative and feasible solutions for their “wicked problems”, and to develop an effective action plan;
- Reflecting the reality of modern international and interdisciplinary business by using cases with a strong focus on newer technologies and completely new business models;
- Reflecting the reality of modern international communication by using an online platform where all presentations, social activities and all other meetings take place, thus connecting different countries, continents and time zones in an effective way, and providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and perspectives from a diversity of cultures;
- Facilitating meaningful networking among students from participating universities and those from the hosting Business School;
- Connecting participants, when feasible, with potential employers that share our Business Schools’ commitment to internationalisation, with the aim of creating and enhancing student career opportunities;
- Promoting Ottawa and Rotterdam through the cases and the event.