National Secondary Schools Case Competition
The National Secondary Schools Case Competition is back for 2024! Aimed at Years 11-13 students with an interest in business, NSSCC challenges students to develop their own business strategies based on a real-life case study. Semi-finalists will present their strategies online via Zoom, with finalists presenting to industry experts at the University of Auckland.
What is a case competition?
A case competition is centred around providing strategies to solve a business’s problems. First, you read a “case” about a business (e.g. last year’s competitors were given a case about Apple). This case will give you an overview of a business, its products, and challenges it may be facing.
Your task is then to take a critical lens to the case. What are the key issues faced by the company, if any at all? Are there any opportunities that should be taken advantage of? What needs to be addressed for the company to succeed?
That takes us to the pivotal part of the case crack - providing strategies to address the issues you have identified. Should the company start a new product line? Target a new market? Give up now before things get worse? Whatever strategies you decide are up to you - what we want to see is a strategy that is (1) justified, (2) logical, (3) creative, and (4) feasible.
Nail all of these elements, and you’ve cracked the case!
NSSCC Format
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In the tutorial, we’ll give teams an in-depth overview of each stage of the competition. This will include breaking down how to approach a case crack, writing a report, and giving a presentation.
The tutorial will take place online via Zoom at 6pm on Tuesday 30 July. The Zoom link will be emailed out soon.
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Teams write a 4-5 page report based on a business case study. They must identify issues the business faces and propose strategies to tackle them.
The report is maximum 5 pages, including appendices.
Consultation sessions: Teams can sign up for a 15-minute consultation on their draft report with University of Auckland Case Club members. You will be allocated a time slot between 4-8pm on Tuesday 13 August. Registrations for this will open soon.
Deadline: Each team must email their report to specialised1.uoacaseclub@gmail.com by Friday 9 August at 11:59pm.
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Teams selected for the Semi-finals will transform their report into a PowerPoint presentation and present it online via Zoom.
The semi-finals will take place on Tuesday 27 August at 6pm. Teams will be allocated presentation times.
The presentation is 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A with the judges.
Please wear your school’s formal attire or business formal clothing.
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Teams selected for the Finals will come to the University of Auckland to compete. Any teams from outside of Auckland will be provided with flights and accommodation.
Finalist teams will tackle a new business case. Teams will have 5 hours to prepare a 10 minute PowerPoint presentation based on their strategies for that business.
Teams will present to a panel of judges, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A.
Students will then meet industry experts and members of the University of Auckland Case Programme.
Why compete in NSSCC?
Case competitions are an excellent way to kickstart a career in commerce. We know that during secondary school, a lot of students struggle with identifying what kind of career they want to pursue, which degree to study, or even whether to attend university at all. NSSCC is an opportunity for students interested in business to experience the kind of thought processes, analysis, and strategy that a commercial career can involve.
Outside of building commercial understanding, NSSCC is a great way for students to develop their ability to work in a team, adapt to different personal working styles, and utilise different team member’s skillsets to create the best end product.
Also, did we mention the $2,000 prize pool?
Key Dates
Tutorial
Tuesday 30 July at 6pm.
Registrations Close
Friday 2 August at 5pm. The case will be released at 9am on Saturday 3 August.
Zoom Consultation Sessions
Tuesday 13 August at 4-8pm, online via Zoom.
Preliminary Report Due
Friday 16 August at 11:59pm.
Semi-finals
Tuesday 27 August at 6pm, online via Zoom. Semi-finalists will be notified on Tuesday 20 August.
Finals
Friday 6 September at the University of Auckland, all-day.
Meet the Team
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Hannah Jones
TEAM LEAD
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Amanda Lee
MANAGER
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Matthew Lay
MANAGER