2009 Hong Kong Case Competition Part 4

The 4 finalists presented today at Shangri-La Hotel in Kowloon. The top three teams were all impressive, so the judges had a difficult time deliberating. After the presentations and a cocktail reception, the winners were pronounced dinner the closing ceremony: third place went to NUS, second to USC, and Melbourne came in first. After the announcement, teams took part in a costume presentation. Since we did not have costumes, we taught the audience the Cal cheer and the importance of beer pong in American football culture. Finally students relaxed, mingled, and enjoyed being part of this wonderful event.

Posted by Dinko Lakic for Paul Lee

2009 Hong Kong Case Competition Part 3

The finalists were announced during dinner, and, unfortunately, we were not among them. The team was disappointed, but we knew the competition would be tough. NUS advanced from our group, and the other finalists were USC, Korea University, and the University of Melbourne.

Posted by Dinko Lakic for Paul Lee

2009 Hong Kong Case Competition Part 2

After 26 hours of intense work, the Cal team donned their presidential red ties and emerged to present their case. If they were tired, you couldn’t tell. They were calm and composed throughout the presentation and used the full 20 minutes. The judges asked pertinent questions during the Q & A session, which the team did a good job in answering. All in all, they did a marvelous job.

As the first team to present, there is a 3 hour break/nap before we return to hear the judges’ debriefing. At the debriefing, only teams not advancing to the finals will be debriefed on their performance, and the finalists will be announced at dinner tonight. Stay tuned!

Posted by Dinko Lakic for Paul Lee

Top Dog in the Courtyard

I spent most of Halloween weekend studying for my accounting midterm, which I managed to squeak by on Monday. Note to self: do NOT wait until the last minute to start cramming 3 weeks worth of information. Also, do not forget your calculator next time.

After finally getting through the exam, I was glad to see the Top Dog stand in the BoA courtyard. Even though I had gotten out a little before noon, there was a already a HUGE line stretching across the courtyard, filled with hungry students waiting for a free Top Dog. Fortunately, the Top Dog guys were quick and efficient and I only had to wait for 5 minutes or so. Sitting down with my Top Dog and bag of chips, I felt like this was my reward for making it through my midterm. Students were mingling in the courtyard, talking with each other as well as various members of the Haas faculty and staff who showed up as well. Unfortunately, I had to hurry to my Organizational Behavior lecture, so I wasn't able to stay very long. But judging from the number of people happily socializing in the sunny courtyard, I'd say that the other students were enjoying this reprieve from classes as much as I had.

2009 Hong Kong Case Competition Part 1

On a breezy Tuesday morning in HKUST (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), the teams came together to find out their groupings. There is a record 21 schools competing this year, which led to a slight disparity in that one of the 4 divisions would have an extra team:Division A with 6 teams and Divisions B, C and D with 5 teams. After a short presentation of rules, the raffle began in alphabetic order and very quickly Division A became even more formidable as NUS and Simon Fraser, the other 2 teams that placed last year, found themselves in Division A. When our name was called, all but the first slot of Division A was taken. Brian Campbell calmly sauntered up to the podium, reached for a ticket, and, of course, picked the final slot for Division A.

So luck of the draw has all 3 teams that placed last year in Division A. We will be the first team to present tomorrow at 1pm. Undaunted, the team is excited to get started and are already working away in their room; they have 26 hours to prepare.

Posted by Dinko Lakic for Paul Lee

Went to Financial Accounting (UGBA 102A) this morning, only to be reminded that midterm number 2 is coming up next Monday, right after Halloween weekend. Looks like I'll have to cram in studying in between handing out candy to children on Saturday. Thankfully my Microeconomics (UGBA 101A) second midterm is on November 10, and my other classes don't have another midterm. Studying for accounting means reading the textbook and going over the homework problems, so hopefully it won't be too taxing.

Tip for incoming/prospective students: Keep track of test and project dates so you don't find yourself being blindsided by due dates.

New Blogger

Hello, as a new blogger for the Haas UG Students blog, I should probably do a little introduction. I'm a junior currently pursuing a simultaneous degree in both Business Administration at Haas and Japanese in the College of Letters and Sciences. I'm currently enrolled in UGBA 101A, 195P, 102A, and 105 at Haas. I'll mostly be blogging about my experiences and daily life at Haas, so feel free to drop me a line if there's a particular aspect of undergraduate life as Haas you guys want to hear about.