Management School team wins UBC Worldwide Undergraduate challenge
A team of Management School students recently won the 2021 UBC Worldwide Undergraduate Challenge.
The UBC is the UK’s longest established simulation-based competition designed to help develop students’ employability and enterprise skills. Supported by the University of Liverpool Management School and other leading UK universities and graduate employers, over 30,000 students have benefitted from taking part in the UBC since it was founded in 1998.
This year 182 teams from 26 universities took part in the challenge with this being the first time that a Management School team has won.
The winning team consisted of five BA Business Management students; Nikita Bethell (final year), Paige Faulconbridge (final year), Holly Jones (second year), Ellie Dixon (second year) and Bethany MacDonald (second year). They commented: “We had an amazing time with the whole experience and we were able to gain so many transferable skills, however, the main takeaway was being able to develop our teamwork and through this have gained new friendships as we juggled working remotely.”
Nick Drape, Academic Lead UBC, said: "It is always a real pleasure mentoring the ULMS teams taking part in the UBC each year and this year turned out to be a very special year!
"The competition gives students a fantastic opportunity to build many important skills and provides them with a wide variety of things they can discuss when applying for jobs and/or postgraduate courses. This year presented some new challenges for the teams with the entire competition taking place online and some team members had never actually had the chance to meet in person! However, if anything, this galvanised the teams and the level of commitment shown was fantastic throughout.
"An ULMS teams has never won the UBC before this year, so a HUGE well done to Nikita, Paige, Bethany, Holly and Ellie. It was a thoroughly deserved victory and they should extremely proud of themselves winning such a prestigious competition! To finish first out of 182 teams is a fantastic achievement. I am reliably informed that they (quite rightly!) celebrated for a good few hours on Zoom and have also kept some of the prize money aside for when they can celebrate in person. It’ll be great to see the trophy on display in the Management School when we can return to campus."
Through its online simulation and live semi-finals and Grand Final, the challenge presents participants with a unique opportunity to develop employability and enterprise skills. It also provides a significant addition to students’ CVs and allows them to connect with graduate employers.