The College of Business and Economics’ signature business case competition, “The Associate,” returns for its 11th edition beginning on Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. with candidate introductions in Stephens Hall 216.
Members of the Towson University community are invited to follow along as eight graduating CBE students compete in weekly real-world challenges for the chance to win a job offer from the sponsoring company, 1st Mariner Bank.
The students work in teams to develop and present solutions to those challenges and are evaluated weekly with the potential for dismissal by a panel of judges.
This year’s schedule:
Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. | Candidate Introductions
Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. | Case I Presentations
Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. | Case II Presentations
March 3 at 5 p.m. | Case III Presentations
March 10 at 5 p.m. | Case IV Presentations
March 25 at 5 p.m. | Finalists Announced
March 31 at 5 p.m. | Final Presentations and Winner Announced
All events take place in Stephens Hall, room 216, except the final presentation which will occur in Stephens Hall, room 310.
The competition has featured over 70 students and resulted in 10 winners and 19 job offers. In the past, challenges have included creating a new product for custom wall decal company WallMonkeys.com, marketing mobile deposit features for PNC, and attracting new customers for PNC by partnering with area lacrosse teams.
Check out the last three years’ worth of cases here.
Begun in 2004 by then-Director of Professional Experience and Outreach Laleh Malek, the contest mimics the popular reality tv show “The Apprentice.” At TU, the competition welcomes a “Donald” from the local business community; in past years executives from BGE and McCormick have played “Donald” and Target and Bank of America, among other top companies, have issued weekly challenges to the participants for their real business dilemmas.