Universiteit Maastricht

Competition Rules

ICC@M aims to provide a learning environment for its participants. In order for the case competition to be successful, a set of rules and regulations must be adhered to by all teams. Fair play is an essential criterion in the case competition. All participants are expected to treat each other with respect and to adhere to the competition rules. If the rules are unclear, then please consult the Academic Director of ICC@M. At the start of the Case competition an Appeals Committee will also be installed which will consist of representatives from the teams’ advisors and which will support the ICC@M Academic Director when necessary. Any doubts or disputes that may arise will ultimately be decided by the ICC@M Director and if necessary by this ICC@M Appeals Committee. The Academic Director has supreme authority regarding all regulatory issues in the competition. Every Appeals Committee member will be backed up by another advisor for the case that the committee member’s team is involved.


General

  1. The competition is open to students currently studying business at undergraduate level. Participants cannot have started nor completed a Master’s degree in any field.
  2. The competition consists of 16 teams which are divided into four divisions. Divisions run in parallel to each other. Teams will be allocated by a draw process at the opening ceremony. The competition consists of two short cases and one long case. Teams have 3 hours to prepare the short case and 24 hours to prepare the long case. The cases will be all-round business cases although every case will have its functional emphasis.
  3. Each short case counts for 20% of the preliminary round score, the long case counts for 60% of the preliminary round score. All results will be published after each case
  4. The team with the highest score from each division will be asked to present their long case in the final. Weighting will be done so that tied results will not be possible. However, in the eventual case this happens, judges will deliberate till a winner is selected.

Case Preparation

  1. In order for all teams to have exactly the same amount of time to prepare the cases, the start time for case preparation will be staggered. The time that teams receive cases (and hence the order of presentation), will be announced the day before. This selection will be made on a random basis.
  2. For each case, an executive summary must be written. Slides must also be used in the presentation. All executive summaries and slides must be handed into the jury 30 minutes before the start of the presentation session. Every team will have presentation rehearsal time before addressing the judging panel.
  3. Each team is allowed to bring an unlimited number of textbooks and reference material items, and computers. Reference material items are defined as any form of notes, compendiums/readers, collections of articles and the like.
  4. The presentation is not to be discussed with or shown to any non-team member. This includes faculty, advisors, staff, ambassadors, and fellow students.
  5. In addition to the presentation slides, each team is required to hand in a list of sources of all materials used in preparing the long case. Please be aware that all external IP-based communication is being monitored. All mobile phones/smartphones must be handed in to competition representatives during case preparations.
  6. The cases are to be solved in designated hotel rooms. During the preparation all case material must remain in the preparation room. In case team members leave for other destinations they will be accompanied by an ICC@M representative.

Presentation

  1. All presentations must be made in English. Teams must use PowerPoint 2007 for their presentations. PowerPoint files will be loaded on to a computer in the presentation room.
  2. Each team will receive copies (one per team member) of their presentation once it has been handed in to the competition officials.
  3. Before the competition starts, each team will be given access to the presentation rooms to check the facilities.
  4. For all case presentations, teams have 20 minutes to present their case, and 10 minutes to answer questions. Signs for 10, five minutes and one minute remaining will be shown to the presenting team.
  5. Teams must not reveal their university name during their presentation but instead must use a fictitious name.
  6. Teams that are not presenting will wait their turn in the waiting room. Teams are not allowed to see the presentations of the other teams. This is also the case for the four finalists.
  7. The four finalists will present once again their long case (no slide modification).
  8. The scores obtained in the short case rounds will not count in the scoring in the final. The jury in the finals will only evaluate the presentations of the final round. They will be asked to pick finalist numbers 1 through 4. The judges will be academics in business and business executives.
  9. Faculty Advisors are allowed to attend the presentation of all teams in the preliminary rounds, and all the presentations in the final round. However, once a faculty advisor enters the presentation room he/she cannot leave until after the final presentation. Faculty advisors are also forbidden to communicate with their team on Saturday until after the final round (should the group qualify). This would be strictly monitored by ICC@M staff.
  10. All materials produced during the International Case Competition @ Maastricht are the rightful property of ICC@M. This includes recordings, slides etc. These will be distributed at a later stage to Faculty Advisors and/or a wider public. Therefore, no cameras of any sort will be allowed during the presentations.
  11. Any violation of the rules above will result in immediate termination and disqualification of the team. Any decision of termination and disqualification is final. The decision to disqualify teams is the responsibility of the ICC@M Academic Director.

Practicalities

  1. Each team will be provided with one PC with internet access (for the duration of the preperation), Windows and Microsoft Office 2007 in their preparation room. This PC is property of Maastricht University and liabilities apply.
  2. Teams are allowed to make use of internet resources. The use of any password protected sites is forbidden and this will be monitored by ICC@M staff. Only access to public information is allowed (no logins).
  3. Teams may not install any additional software on the computers provided.
  4. ICC@M officials will assist teams with computer related issues for the desktop. However, should technical problems arise; teams will not be given more time to prepare the case.
  5. Printing facilities will be provided at the hotel at a general point of intake. Printouts will be retrieved for teams by ICC@M representatives.