Many teams came out to participate in the 2006 Academic Cup, the annual CUHK business case competition held on 30 September for Year 2 or above BA undergraduates, but only one team's members went home with the top prize. This year's Champion group was the auspiciously and aptly named Team Excel, made up of Chan Yeung Yun (Year 3, IBBA), Hui Lap Yin (Year 3, IBBA), Hung Tik Yuen (Year 3, QFN) and Lam Koon Hung (Year 3 QFN), who not only got their names engraved on the Cup, but also each received an award, certificate and for the entire team, a cash prize of HK$2,000.
Coming in the first and second runner-up positions were Team Kit-VAR and Zenith, who also won awards and certificates, and a team cash prize of HK$1,500 and HK$1,000, respectively. A special prize was also given for the Best Presenter, which went to Lam Koon Hung of Team Excel.
As in past Academic Cups, each team of students was given exactly 24 hours to analyze and work on the same business case, at the end of which they submitted an executive summary and prepared to give a 12-minute presentation in front of a panel of alumni judges, who are experienced professionals in the commercial sector. In this year's case, students had to consider the development of a local Chinese company's cola brand in the marketplace, and solve the challenges of this relatively newcomer faced in competing with two pre-existing multinational cola giants.
At 2pm on 30 September, the teams gathered together with their final proposals to begin their preliminary rounds of the competition. A total of five teams — Team Corner Solution, Excel, Kit-VAR, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Zenith — one out of each division, advanced to the final rounds, which began soon after. In front of 11 judges and an audience made up of their peers in the Lecture Theatre, William M.W. Mong Engineering Building (ERB), CUHK, each of the five teams gave their final presentation, followed up by an 8-minute Q&A session hosted by the judges. After a period of deliberation and remarks, Professor Raymond So - Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Business Administration, presided over an award ceremony to announce and award the winners.
Many considered this year's Academic Cup was a success, and felt that it helped them to strengthen their analytical and presentation skills in a simulated international case-competition setting. Sponsored by the faculty, the Annual Business Case Competition has been going strong since it began in 1999.
Below is a list of the final-round judges who attended the 2006 Academic Cup:
• Mr Oliver Chan (CUHK, '02 EMBA), An experienced professional in the engineering industry
• Mr Peter Cheng, CPA, Peter Cheng & Company
• Mr Kenneth Cheuk ('94 BBA), Director of the marketing consultancy Avalade Group
• Mr Larry Chu ('03 PAC), Product Control, Credit Suisse
• Miss Ada Ho (Harvard, '06 Master in Public Policy, and Georgetown, BSc in Foreign Service), Columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal
• Mr Albert Li (CUHK, '97 EMBA), An experienced professional in sales and marketing and strategic planning in petroleum industry
• Mr Rocky Lok (CUHK, '03 EMBA), CPA and Chartered Secretary with over 20 years of experience in operational accounting, legal compliance; currently Finance Director, Greater China at Campbell Soup
• Mr Ivan Pong (CUHK, '99 EMBA), An experienced professional in property investment
• Mr Alex Wong ('02 BBA), Working in the Principal Investment Area of Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.
• Mr Dennis Yau ('94 BBA), Business Manager of The Prudential Assurance Co Ltd
• Mr Danny Yung ('03 PAC), Working at McKinsey & Co's Corporate Finance Practice
