Westford Business Challenge

The Westford Business Challenge has been initiated to provide a unique chance for young and ambitious future leaders – the present-day students – to showcase their most creative business concepts. The goal is to spread these ideas worldwide through a platform established by Westford University College, which is a part of the Westford Education Group, and in collaboration with Demont Institute of Management.

The Business Challenge provides an opportunity for young students to explore the business world. In this competition, students must analyse and develop practical business solutions, investigate important business issues, and present their findings to the academic and judging panel.

Through the Westford Business Challenge, high school students can collaborate as a team, competing against each other to utilise their critical-thinking, problem-solving abilities, and business knowledge. The 2023 Westford Business Challenge theme is centered around Digital Entrepreneurship and its relevance in the business landscape.

Registration Link

Case Studies

CASE STUDY 1

Release Date for Case Study 01

April 26th; 5:00 P.M. GST

CASE STUDY 2

Release Date for Case Study 02

May 3rd 12:00 P.M.

Release Date for Final Case Study & Elevator Pitch:

May 10th; 5:00 P.M. GST

CASE STUDY 3

Theme: Digital Entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurship ecosystem plays a dynamic role in our society and is a national asset, with entrepreneurs becoming the drivers who cultivate, motivate, and remunerate the maximum potential of this asset. With the COVID-19 pandemic triggering a collective push into digital transformation, especially for surviving businesses, “COVID-preneurs” have propelled to become their own bosses at a record pace.
Digital entrepreneurs operate via digital platforms, relying on Information Technology (IT) and digital media tools to identify potential consumers. Digital businesses could include e-commerce, industry consulting, online courses, social media and content marketing, drop-shipping, online retailing, virtual assistants, and other digital spaces that offer products and services.
The UAE ranks fourth globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2020. The “Fifty Economic Plan”, the largest national strategy of its kind aims to stimulate entrepreneurship, spread the culture of entrepreneurship among future generations and establish the position of the UAE as a global hub and destination for entrepreneurship.
Bearing these in mind, the Westford Business Challenge provokes critical brainstorming and rational problem solving, creative reasoning and thinking throughout the length of the competition.

Timeline

Registration

Now Open - closes on April 25th

Onsite Workshop

April 26th

Release of Case Study 01

April 26th

Submit Case Study 01 and Release of Case Study 02

May 3rd

Release of results for Case Study 01

May 7th

Submit Case Study 02 and Release of Case Study 03

May 10th

Release of results for Case Study 02 and declaration of Top 10 on the Leadership Board

May 14th

Elevator Pitch - In-Campus

May 17th

Finale - In-Campus

May 18th

The Competition’s Modus Operandi

The Westford Business Challenge is open to all schools in the UAE
There is no entry fee to participate in the Challenge.
Each school can register multiple teams from grade/year 11 and above, with a minimum of four (4) to a maximum of six (6) members per team.
A maximum of one mentor is allowed to accompany and support the students per team.
In the case where a school registers more than 3 teams, the number of mentors permitted will be capped at 3. In that case, one mentor can guide 2 or more teams

A Team Head should be assigned per team only to ensure singular communication and must undertake the responsibility to register themselves and EACH team member through the form available on the Westford website and include their school, team, and Mentor's names.
Once all team heads have registered their respective teams, Mentors/teachers must email registrations@westfordforbusiness.com confirming the total list of students and teams from their school for them to be eligible to participate
Registrations close at 3:00PM on 25th April 2023.
Participation certificates shall be issued only to the teams and members who continue till the elevator pitch / grand finale. Teams that choose to quit before this stage will not be awarded certificates

FAQs

How many case studies are there?

High school students have 2 case studies to work on, along with an Elevator Pitch and the final case. The scores at the end of case study 01 and 02 will be accumulated to declare the top 10 teams that will be given direct entry into the finale. Other teams that do not qualify to the Top 10, will have to present Elevator Pitch.

How can we access the case studies?

The case studies will be uploaded on our official webpage. The case study links shall be emailed to the registered participants and mentors on the day of the release. Please ensure to register on mywestford.com under our competition tab and also ensure that our email address doesn’t land into your spam folder.

What would be the format of submission for the case studies?

Your team will be required to submit the first 2 case studies online, and the final case study will be presented on the day of the event.

Can we get help from our teachers?

Yes, each team can have a mentor that can guide the students.

What will be the format of submission for the first two case studies?

It can be submitted as a 2000-worded word document file inclusive of charts, graphs and illustrations, duly converted to as a pdf file.

How should the case studies be submitted?

The case studies may be submitted on the Mywestford.com under our competition tab and should also be emailed to registrations@westfordforbusiness.com.

What is an elevator pitch ?

Approximately 45 secs is how long it takes to ride an elevator with a potential investor you’ve been dying to meet! An elevator pitch is a 45 seconds (Yes, you read that right!) way of introducing yourself, conveying across a key point or two, and building a connection with someone.

Is it mandatory for every team member to speak during the Grand Finale presentation?

Yes, every team member will be expected to speak within the 10 minutes slot allocated to each team. Presentation Skills is also a criteria of judgement in the final round!