Competitions

In 2022,  the SWIFT Institute Student Challenge, with the support of the Global Business School Network, comes to Latin America!  Hosting the competition in Colombia, and Mexico where the challenges have been defined by and have the support of the Colombian (ASOBancaria) and Mexican (ABM) banking associations. These challenges are open to all students attending higher level education institutions not in full time employment.

There is a cash prize of for the winning team and the opportunity of a lifetime to be exposed to the leaders of the financial industry at Sibos 2022. The top three teams from each challenge will be invited to give a 10-minute presentation, in English, as part of a virtual Sibos 2022 during the week of 10-13 October 2022.

The winning entry will be selected by a panel of expert judges and Sibos audience.

Previous Winners of the Student Challenge

It is no secret that the world has been facing issues due to humanity’s unsustainable tendencies. Accordingly Hack 22 main target is UN SDG 13; “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” i.e.; sustainability, solutions for the climate change crisis, and recycling/upcycling. We aim at encouraging participating teams to develop a sense of awareness and understanding of the crisis and all of the interconnected aspects that surround them in their daily lives. Teams will create solutions that would advocate for a resilient and more sustainable future for the world.

Subsequently, climate change affects every sector and industry. Hack 22 encourages participating teams to develop ideas targeting specific corporate areas and sustainability problems in order to ensure an effective learning environment. Our aim is to produce solutions that would increase regularly sustainable behavior in order to help minimize the impact of climate change. The solutions could fall under a variety of categories, which include but are not limited to:

1. Plastic waste, reduction and recycling ie banners, sim cards …..etc.
2. Climate changes and actions 
3. Hospital air pollution 
4. Overexploitation of natural resources
5. Energy efficiency
6. Green sustainable fintech
7. Others 
   

Gather your team, sign up, and get ready for a mind-blowing experience! Monetary prizes and other exciting valuable prizes

• Deadline for submission: June 9, 2022
• Hack dates: June 24-29, 2022

The deadline for applications Thursday, June 9th @ 12:00 AM (Cairo local time) GMT+2

Algo Challenge Association (ACA) in Hong Kong is organizing Algo Crypto Trading Challenge 2022 (Global) this July. ACA would like to invite students from any business school in the world to join this competition. This online crypto contest will last from July 2022 to Jan 2023. There will be 3 stages: ideate, test, and compete. Participants will brainstorm an algo strategy, code the trading logic, test them on our back-testing platform, and then run a 2-month live paper trading to compete for best return, best Sharpe, and best strategy design awards. From the contest, they can learn more about professional industry knowledge and practical skills to qualify as a next-generation algorithmic trader.

About the Challenge

Ideate your trading algorithms, test on a robust back-testing platform, and compete to make a name for yourself! Gain professional industry knowledge and practical skills to prepare yourself as the next-gen algo-trading professional.

This Challenge is open to public. Create teams of 1~4 members with diverse skills (maths, statistics, finance, coding, presentation) and register by 17 Jul 2022.

Schedule

Date	Event
17 Jul 2022	Deadline of Registration
21 Aug 2022	Deadline of 1st Round: Idea and Strategy Proposal Submission
31 Aug 2022	Announcement of 1st Round Winners
23 Oct 2022	Deadline 2nd Round: Back-testing Completed and Code Submission
31 Oct 2022	Announcement of 2nd Round Winners
31 Dec 2022	2-month Live Paper Trading Completed
8 Jan 2023	Final Day and Award Ceremony

Awards

There are 3 award categories: (A) Best Return, (B) Best Sharpe, and (C) Best Strategy Design.

The winning teams from each category will be entitled to:

• Cash Prize
• Certificate
• Free Subscription of Back-testing Engine
• Algo NFT
• Internship/Full-time Employment Opportunities
• Join Algo Challenge Association (ACA)

ICC provides students with a unique learning experience to understand the business and entrepreneurship landscape in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East, including complex issues around consumer behavior, economic trends, regulatory and policy reforms, technology adoption and the supporting ecosystem. The case-solving competition aims to blend a cross-cultural understanding of working with Egyptian students and entrepreneurs with a good grasp of Egyptian culture in a well-designed process.

Every year ICC focuses on a startup in a specific sector in the Middle East. We recognize the value of such competitions to promote cultural fluency between students and introduce them to the multifaceted challenges that startups face, especially in developing countries. Startup Case Competitions are a great practical learning tool that engage students in the real world of entrepreneurship.

The competition aims at empowering international innovative students and university networks to raise their awareness of steps taken in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and engage in developing solutions to enhance the business operations of emerging startups facing the current challenges provided by the outbreak and post of COVID – 19.

Application Deadline: Feb 26, 2022 (Cairo Time)

Background

In April 2019, 6 International and 3 national universities participated in the competition, with a total of 34 students, 8 mentors and 14 Judges to help find solutions to challenges facing SWVL; a revolutionary idea that was born from passion, loyalty, and persistence to face all challenges on the table, Swvl is not just a means to facilitate commuting, but a hunger to strive for solutions, encourage the contribution of youth in innovation and inspire change. SWVL is an Egyptian Startup, the first Middle East $USD 1.5 billion ‘unicorn’ to list on Nasdaq US and the largest African unicorn debut on any U.S.-listed exchange

However, providing the outbreak of COVID – 19, and in April 2020, the case competition was held online with 11 AUC student teams competing via Zoom on identifying challenges confronting a full-service digital agency, Robusta Studio; is a tech agency working with a diverse client base across different sectors and industries on implementing digital transformation programs.

ICC’s third run in March 2021 had a flavor from each of the last two case competitions; it was held virtually and targeted international students who wish to learn and find solutions to challenges facing rising startups in Egypt especially beyond the pandemic. ICC 21 had a total of 55 team submissions, comprising a number of 202 participants from 20 nationalities. The case of Schaduf was selected and developed in an academic framework to crack their approach and best practices to deal with the current challenges. Schaduf; one of the pioneers of sustainability in the Middle East since 2011. Schaduf believes in social responsibility towards emerging issues such as food security, food sovereignty, and the expansion of urban spaces at the expense of green spaces. They create more sustainable and eco-friendly urban cities. They specialize in diverse sections of services to make sure that they deliver the goal of sustainable urban cities, such as landscape design, urban farming, green walls, green roofs.

Despite the different structures of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 case competitions, all proved to be highly impactful and memorable to the students and the startups, mentors, judges, and the entire team. And same as ICC 21, ICC 22 will be virtual, aiming to include more international teams.

Objectives

• Help students from different majors organize their thinking around an integrative planning framework while sprinting out innovative and constructive solutions.
• Provide incentives for students to apply their best learning practices to a real business case in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially after the pandemic.
• Help rising entrepreneurial ventures solve their challenges unconventionally; while supporting their journeys.
• Promote cultural exchange between the different teams and help to improve communication skills between the students.
• Assist students with building an effective network with employers, moving their school–based knowledge to the labor market.

Concept

The competition aims at empowering innovative students and university networks through engaging them in developing solutions to enhance the business operations of emerging startups facing the current challenges mainly provided by the outbreak of COVID – 19. A scale-up case is selected and developed in an academic framework to crack their approach and best practices to deal with the current challenges.

Social Media Exposure

An intensive social media campaign will be run, using Business Association, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center, as well as, School of Business official media channels, which cultivate following of over 30,000 national and international students, faculty and staff, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt and globally.

Disclaimer

All ICC sessions will be recorded for fair use purposes. CEI may use your photos, videos, or quotes for promotional purposes, and these may be circulated in the CEI printings, website, and social media accounts. This right may be used by the CEI partners and sponsors, including but not limited to, KCC, BA, and the AUC School of Business. Judges will have access to these recordings for evaluation purposes. We rely heavily on these recordings to promote further ICC versions among the interested individuals, and your mandatory acceptance to release them will be highly appreciated.

By participating in ICC, you acknowledge and agree that CEI and its partners and sponsors have the irreversible unconditional right to use these recordings under the fair use rules.

Generally speaking, this right is NOT negotiable. However, if you have concerns about the use of the mentioned recordings, please contact cei@aucegypt.edu before applying to the competition. Such cases will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.

Competition Timeline

Application Open

Feb 2, 2022, at 12:00 Mid-night (Cairo Local Time)

Application Closed

Feb 26, 2022, at 12 Mid-night (Cairo Local Time)

Acceptance Email

Feb 28, 2022: Check your email regularly on this day

Opening Ceremony

March 2, 2022: Orientation session and students on-boarded

Case Crack

March 4, 2022: Case is announced, competition started, and teams are working for 24 hours

Competition Day

March 5, 2022: Students present presentations

Second Round

5-top-winner presentations and winner is announced.