SIEML Case Competition Highlights

The Case Competition is one of the highlights of the SIEML experience. The case study, which can be a real or fictional business problem, changes each year dependent on the sponsor. Students are divided into teams. They leverage their previous experiences, as well as capitalize on workshops provided during SIEML to prepare their response or solution to the case. On the final day of programming, they present their recommendations to a panel of judges comprised of industry leaders. The three teams with the highest scores receive cash prize awards.

2025 Case Competition

Women’s soccer has witnessed a remarkable surge in global popularity, with record-breaking viewership, attendance, and cultural impact. At the heart of this growth lies the opportunity to cultivate inclusive, passionate supporter communities that turn spectators into loyal advocates. Supporter groups create a sense of belonging, identity, and purpose that transforms the fan experience into a movement. The 2025 case study had scholars explore how the San Diego Wave Fútbol Club can harness the power of these groups to lead the way in women’s sports engagement. 

Pictured is the first place team (left to right): Champion Ojo, an economics major from Morgan State; Jasmyn Love, a finance major from Howard University; Giselle Gomez, a business major at California State University, Fresno; Jaden Weatherspoon, a management information systems major from Delaware State; Robert "Khalil" Kelly, a business administration in finance major at Howard University; Kayleigh Dunn, a finance major from Alabama State; Kenia Zuniga, a business administration in finance major from University of Houston, and Jannett Ciranda, a business administration, marketing major from University of California, Irvine. 

2024 Case Competition

 

The Mondavi Center is a state-of-the art, world-class performance facility that provides a high quality experience for both artists and audiences in the Sacramento Region. The 2024 case competition gave students an opportunity to leverage their personal insights and lived experiences. The goal was to provide ideas for UC Davis to create an inclusive community space in the Mondavi Center leveraging a sense of belonging for students, faculty and staff across the UC Davis community.

Pictured is the first place team (left to right): Adan Rosales, a business administration in marketing analytics major at the University of Texas at El Paso; Sarah Noel, a marketing/economics student at Howard; Ana Calvillo, a business administration: information systems, marketing and organization & management major from UC Irvine, and Emmanuel Durojaiye, an industrial engineering major from Morgan State. Not photographed is Erin Robinson, who is double majoring in Accounting and Finance at Xavier University of Louisiana.  

2023 Case Competition

This year's case competition focused on Disneyland, one of the largest employers in Orange County. The teams combined their backgrounds and experiences, along with all the knowledge they learned from the 11-day programming (and a trip to Disneyland), to deliver insightful ideas for the Disney-themed case competition. There were two rounds in the case competition - all students participated in the first round, and then 4 teams were chosen to move to the final rounds to present to SEGA. The finalist teams only had two hours to work on a completely new and different case question - they were asked to make recommendations to Bob Iger regarding what generative AI tools mean for the future of the media industry and Disney specifically. With the rise of ChatGPT in our lives, and the current writer's strike in Hollywood partially regarding this topic, it was a very timely question to be asked of the teams. The four finalist teams gave presentations on leveraging generative AI into the Disney experience. The teams came up with a number of great ideas, including taking advantage of generative AI to move the entertainment industry forward as well as using these AI tools to prioritize exceptional cast and guest experiences in the parks and on the Disney+ app.

The first-place team (five people in the middle of the photo in this order): Sherese Eaglin, a Comparative Women's Studies major and Management and Organization minor from Spelman College; Morise Duffin, III, a Business Administration & Management major from Xavier University of Louisiana; Sienna Williamson, an Accounting and Finance major from Howard University; Natalia Cruz, a Business Administration & Management major from MiraCosta College; and Diego Cruz, a Business Administration & Management major from Whittier College.