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Universities Business Challenge (UBC)

Southampton Business School are excited to announce that we are entering 3 teams of Postgraduate MSc Students (5 students per team) into the Universities Business Challenge to compete against other leading universities such as the University of Liverpool, UCL and Manchester!

Commencing in January each year and run over two rounds during the same year, the UBC Global Masters offers postgraduates a unique opportunity to develop the skills that they will need when they move on from campus to corporate/public sector life.

Whether progressing to work for a large multinational corporate, taking on a public-sector role, returning to run a family-owned business or setting up a new enterprise, postgraduates need to improve their skills in making the strategic and operational decisions that create value for their organisation.

The UBC Postgraduate Global Masters provides an opportunity for personal and professional development that is intellectually challenging and practically relevant, equipping participants with essential skills.Ā  Working in competitive teams enables peer-to-peer learning and interaction.

The UBC Global Masters format and content are designed to help develop the business skills required in the following situations:

  • Return to a family business: postgraduate students, especially international students, very often plan to work in a family business and the UBC Global Masters can help them add value to the business
  • Business start-up:Ā where they plan to set up their own business when they finish their studies the UBC Global Masters develops an entrepreneurial mindset
  • Research IP: where postgraduates are wanting to turn research IP into a sustainable enterprise which requires the kind of business skills developed by the UBC
  • Corporate / Public-sector role:Ā where postgraduates are moving into a corporate or a public-sector role and need the employability skills developed by the UBC which will help them secure a suitable role
  • Team-working:Ā being a postgraduate student can be isolating and putting postgrads together in a team / group can be seen as beneficial in itself
  • Networking / building relationships:Ā the UBC Global Masters provides the opportunity to network, share experience and learning as well as building relationships with other postgrads from across the university and, in the latter stages of the competition, from other universities
  • Sustainable value creation:Ā The UBC Global Masters provides the opportunity to engage with our corporate partners to learn about strategies for sustainable value creation

Last year, our Postgraduate team were awarded first place and won theĀ trophy, meaning we will be hosting the final at University of Southampton in April 2024!

ā€œI am glad that the school gave me the opportunity to participate in this UBC. I met many students from the college, and we worked together and achieved good results.Ā I will always remember the meeting of minds when making decisions and the joy I felt when the simulation results came out.ā€Ā 

Zhiyuan Zhang, MSc Project ManagementĀ Ā 

UBC Global Masters Winners 2023 Southampton with trophy

Timetable

Applications open: 2nd January 2024

Applications close: 15th January 2024Ā 

Competition starts: 24th January 2024

Final trading period ends:Ā 12th March 2024

Grand Final event: 26th April 2024

(If successful, you will be invited to participate in an ALL DAY FINAL event at Boldrewood campus on Friday 26th April 2024)

*Express your interest now! Only 15 spaces available*

Applications close Monday 15 January 2024, 17:00. No late entries will be accepted due to the popularity of this competition.Ā 

You can enter individually, or with others (please indicate this on the form).

Each team will be allocated a mentor with business experience to offer support and guidance. You will mostly meet as organised by your team, but there will be occasional meetings organised by SBS where all teams get together.Ā 

Before entering, please read full details about the UBC and ensure you can commit the timeĀ please click here

After the application closing date (15th January) we will review applications and form the teams. You will then swiftly be informed whether you have been successful and introduced to your teammates and mentor.Ā 

Good luck!

If you have any queries, please email SBSEmployability@soton.ac.uk