Eight student teams competed at the third annual UCR Women In Business (WIB) Case Competition on Feb. 22 organized by the student-run WIB within the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM).
“The case study competition is a valuable learning opportunity for participants,” says Pooja Bhatia ’25 MBA, president of WIB, who helped organize the event.
In mid-January, all competitors began preparation for the challenge during two seminars. “The seminars help students navigate case competitions and to step into the role of consultant—learning to be interview ready and industry competent,” adds Bhatia.
For the competition, the participants received a Harvard real-world business case study 24 hours before the 9 a.m. call time, when all teams were required to end their preparation and assemble in person at the UCR School of Business Building. That morning, the teams showcased their strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and teamwork as they pitched a panel of judges: David Ayrapetyan ’22 MBA, influence marketing associate at Esri; UCR School of Business Professor of Practice Sean Jasso, the WIB club’s faculty adviser; Alliant International University Professor Erick Jensen; and Viresha Perera ’22 MBA, employment-based visas manager at the Immigration Law Offices of Hadley Bajramovic.
The first-place $300 prize was awarded to Kinshuk Agarwal, Charchika Bansal, Ayush Holania, and Surbhi Kwatra. The second-place $150 prize was awarded to Shrujal Agarwal, Shubham Lai, and Vaibhav Soni. The third-place $100 prize was awarded to Sahair Akber, Justin Berkmor, Anshuman Chiplunkar, and Pary Townson.
WIB Faculty Adviser Jasso commends the WIB leaders—including Bhatia, Shivani Bharadwaj ’25 PMBA, and Devyani Mishra ’25 PMBA—who organized the competition and created this hands- on experience for other students.
“The competition was limited to AGSM teams with no entry fee during its first three years,” says Bhatia. “Looking ahead, the vision is to expand it into an inter-college competition for our fourth year.”