The winning team in the case competition at the University of Houston-Victoria Fall Master of Business Administration Conference consisted of, from left, Richard Lee and Keseva Chakka of Katy; and Mukhtadar Khan of Sugar Land. Akisha Lakes, also of Katy, is not pictured.	Taking top prize in the simulation competition at the UHV Fall MBA Conference were, from left, Arturo Solis-Godinez of Sugar Land, Paul Wenz of Richmond, Tram Dang of Stafford, Gabriel Yemidale of Houston and Alan Laurence of Richmond.

 

SUGAR LAND – Nine University of Houston-Victoria students brought home awards from the recent Fall Master of Business Administration Conference at the University of Houston System at Sugar Land.

 

Ninety-five UHV School of Business Administration students participated in the conference, which is the culmination of the Strategic MBA program. Students enrolled in “Seminar in Strategic Management,” the program’s capstone course, attended the event.

 

A central part of the MBA Conference is the student competitions. The MBA Conference features two tracks: the case competition, in which student teams apply what they learned in the program to real-world business situations; and the simulation competition, where student teams turn struggling companies into successful, profitable businesses.

 

Teams are evaluated on organization, subject knowledge, quality and use of visual aids, audience interaction, public speaking and teamwork. After beginning in 2003, the conference has become a tradition each semester in the business school, and it includes a luncheon for the newly minted MBAs.

 

“The feedback from both students and panelist judges for the event is overwhelmingly positive,” said Farhang Niroomand, dean of the UHV School of Business Administration. “It’s one part of why our business programs have been recognized by GetEducated.com, Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.”

 

Teams participating in this year’s case competition prepared analyses on the Walt Disney Co.

 

Winning top honors was the team of Kesava Chakka, Richard Lee and Akisha Lakes, all of Katy; and Mukhtadar Khan of Sugar Land.

 

Chakka said the conference was just one of the rewarding experiences of the university's MBA program.

 

“Case study gives an opportunity to take what we learned from previous years and put it to practical use,” he said. “Finances, accounting, marketing, strategy, planning and human resources are all areas we revisited. This case study is a fitting way to end one’s MBA program.”

 

The winning team for the simulation competition was Tram Dang of Stafford; Alan Laurence and Paul Wenz of Richmond; Arturo Solis-Godinez of Sugar Land; and Gabriel Yemidale of Houston.

 

Winning team members will receive certificates, and their names will appear on a plaque in the School of Business Administration main office in Victoria. They also will be recognized by Niroomand at a reception celebrating their achievements. Members of all winning teams will be invited to participate as panelists at future case competitions, evaluating other MBA students.

 

Participants say the value of the conference comes from the presentation and preparation, and the opportunity to interact with faculty and fellow students. Many UHV School of Business Administration faculty and alumni serve as panelists for the case competition. Since a large portion of UHV’s MBA program is online, students often work in virtual teams, and, for some, the conference is the first opportunity to meet classmates.