Our Global MBA team won second place in mid-April in the Yale Integrated Leadership Case Competition, which included 14 teams from some of the world’s most prestigious universities.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology won first place. A team from the University of California-Berkeley won third place.

The four students on the Yonsei School of Business team were Yuan Hou, Shibo Yu, Huilin Liu, and Sim Wei Zhi Martin. Team leader Yuan Hou said that because “I did not have a lot of practical experience, I had a hard time participating in this competition, which required analyzing practical case studies. However, I was able to attain good results thanks to meeting great teammates.”

Asked about the secret to the team’s success against such formidable competition, he said, “If you clearly understand the theories taught in class, even without practical experience, you can obtain the skills to apply to diverse case studies.” He also said that “having the attitude to listen to the professor’s lecture during regular classes and to the words of classmates during the discussion period was the secret to winning the award. I will never forget the university’s generous support, interest, and consideration that allowed us to participate in the competition.”

All four of the team members are enrolled in the dual degree program between the Yonsei University Global MBA program and Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. Upon completing the curriculums specified by the two universities, the program allows students to receive both the Yonsei University Global MBA degree and Washington University’s master’s degree in finance. To complete the program, a student must take 30 credits at Yonsei University and 24 credits at Washington University within 14 months. An advantage of this curriculum is that it allows students to acquire both experience and a theoretical foundation within a short period.

The Yale Integrated Leadership Case Competition was begun in 2013 by Yale University in cooperation with several businesses and research institutions to promote integrated thinking on the part of business students. This year’s competition focused on the agricultural industry. In the preliminary round, students were presented with finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, and other diverse materials related to the topic, and required to devise a business strategy for the industry’s problems within seven hours. Finalists were then selected based on the teams’ presentation. These teams were then required to devise a concrete solution to the industry’s problems and make a presentation before the judges.