Corning Case Competition

There is no registration fee for participants. Travel compensation provided for finalists upon request.

Round 1 notification
Team registration applications will be reviewed after the close of registration. The case will be distributed via email.

Case distribution
Teams have seven days to work on the case. Teams cannot contact the company in the case, or anyone directly affiliated with the case. Submission details will be provided in the email.

Submission deadline
The deadline is September 9, 2026 (11:59 p.m. EST).
Late submissions will not be considered.

1st place: $6,000
2nd place: $3,000
3rd place: $1,000

Note: The award is subject to tax withholdings as required by IRS regulations.

1. Team participants must be from MBA and other master level OR undergraduate programs.
2. Each team must have a faculty advisor who will serve as the primary point of contact for the Committee. The faculty advisor’s name and contact information must be provided in the application. Teams are also allowed to have an advisor and the faculty advisor may also serve that purpose. Ensure you include both the faculty advisor and separate advisor, if relevant, name and position in your case submission.

Notes about team make up:

• We highly recommend at least one graduate level student per team.
• We recommend at least one MBA student.
• Teams with multiple MBA students should include at least one first-year student or from a one-year MBA/Executive MBA program
• Teams cannot change or add members once registered. In the event of an emergency, please contact the Case Competition Committee (contactemc2@cornell.edu). Exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Round 1: Each school may be represented by a maximum of three teams, each consisting of 4-5 students. Students can register for only one team.

Note: If more than three teams are registered for a given school, the main point of contact for that school will be contacted and is responsible for selecting the three teams for the competition. If the school takes no action in selecting the three teams, then the Case Competition Committee will use the application essay to select the final three teams.

Round 1 – Proposal

• Each team’s submission will be reviewed by judges and evaluated using a rubric.
• Five final teams will be announced in early October.
• Presentation slides must be formatted using Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Each team is allowed a maximum of 12 presentation slides.
  • The first slide must be the Title slide.
  • The second slide must be the Executive Summary slide.
  • Appendices are limited to 5 slides.
• This presentation will also be used in Round 2 – no edits will be allowed.
• You must record an audio presentation using Zoom to accompany your slides. Your recording must be six minutes or less and will only be used for Round 1 evaluation.
  • Instructions for Recording: If you do not have Zoom, please create a free account and download the free software. Ensure your cameras are disabled and your microphone is enabled. Please share your screen, so the slides are displayed. Press the record button and begin presenting your slides. At the end, please stop recording and submit the recorded file with your submission. If you need further instructions, please reference this video.
• Teams must include their team’s name on the title slide.
• Teams may not mention their respective university or program in their presentations.
• If your team received assistance from an advisor, include his/her name and position in the title slide.
• Any avenue of primary and secondary research is allowed so long as it does not violate copyrights. Key details within this case must be kept confidential and not be shared with external parties.
• Additional media such as music and third-party animation are prohibited.
• File size cannot exceed 15 MB.

Round 2 – Final presentation

• Finalists will present their case analysis and recommendations from Round 1 to a panel of judges on November 5, 2026.

• Teams will be given 12 minutes for the final presentation and approximately five minutes for Q&A
  • Note: The audio component that you provided in Round 1 will not be used for Round 2.
• To ensure all teams have the same amount of time to present and answer questions, teams that exceed the 12-minute time will be cut off. Some Q&A may also be cut off.
• At least two team members must attend the final presentation in-person. If any team members are unable to attend the final presentation, please notify the Case Committee.
• No university logos or colors should be worn during the presentation.
• Winners will be announced during the final, and they will present during the Annual Conference in New York City on November 6, 2026.

Rubric

Finalist teams will be selected to present their case analysis and recommendations to a panel of judges at the Annual Conference in November 2026.
The finalists will be chosen by a panel of Round 1 judges who will score the preliminary submissions based on the following criteria:

Content (80%)

• Quality of analysis
  Teams will be assessed on the scope, thoroughness, and depth of their analysis. Teams should showcase that they have conducted deep research, addressed all key components of the problem, conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis, and addressed major threats/opportunities.
• Quality of recommendation
  Teams will be assessed on the realism and practicality of their recommendations, which should be strategic. Teams will also be assessed on the justification of their recommendations. Teams should ensure recommendations logically tie-in to the analysis and therefore be backed by data. Teams should consider the anticipated impact of their recommendations on the organization and its stakeholders.
• Implementation/Plan of action
  Teams will be assessed on the thoroughness and achievability of their implementation plan. Teams should propose an implementation timeline, address short term and long run considerations, conduct an analysis of unforeseen problems/risk and identify realistic ways to mitigate risks.
• Creativity of ideas
  Leaders of the 21st century should think outside the box. This is greatly encouraged in the case competition. Teams will be assessed on their ability to employ out-of-the-box thinking to maximize the value of their recommendation to stakeholders. Teams should move beyond simply processing information and push themselves to come up with unique and innovative recommendations.

Form (20%)

• Handling of questions
  Teams should demonstrate forethought and preparation for questions. Teams should be able to defend their position, be persuasive and precise, and be balanced across the team.
• Presentation style
  Teams should display great communication skills and professionalism. Teams should thoughtfully manage their presentation time. Presentation slides should progress in a logical sequence and be visually aesthetic. When relevant, teams should try to effectively use infographics to communicate findings.

Round 1 judges: Cornell faculty, Center for Emerging Markets Fellow alumni and members of the center’s board.

Round 2/Final presentation judges: a professor/faculty member from each school represented by the finalist teams, Cornell professors, Center for Emerging Markets Fellow alumni, members of the center’s board and possibly former case competition winners.

Winners

1. BITS School of Management, India (Prize of $6,000)
2. IIM Indore, India (Prize of $3,000)
3. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan (Prize of $1,000)

Nearly 1,400 participants took part of this edition, making it more and more challenging. We congratulate the finalists and the winners. The case brought a vaccination company from Africa.
Watch on YouTube.

Chairs and case developers:
Ayodeji Tolulope Ogunyamoju, MBA ’26; Zara Rahman, MBA ’26; and Fiorina Siamir, BS ILR ’28.

Judges:
Ricardo Buitrago, Maria Amparo Camarero, Juan Alberto Casas, Diego Finchelstein, Jhon Fonseca, Juana Garcia, Andrea Goldstein, Michel Hermans, Boris Kulakhmetov, and Andrei Zhuk.

Winners

1. Vinception, VinUniversity,Vietnam (Prize of $6,000)
2. OnsenTamaGO, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan (Prize of $3,000)
3. Team RedBricks Solutions, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, United States (Prize of $1,000)

The 2024 Corning Case Competition had 705 students from 48 different business schools from 15 countries participate. Held on October 31, 2024 during the EMI Conference. The case featured a Vietnam EV company.

Watch on YouTube

Chairs:
Iris Arguedas, MBA ’25 and Niyonika Chhabra, MBA ’25.

Case developers:
Kenza Bouarroudj, MBA ’25; Yash Jhavar, MBA ’25 and Nisrina Nur, MBA ’25.

Judges:
Mehmet Akgunay, Shivani Komma, Diego Finchelstein, Jhon Fonseca, Alejandro Galindo, Juana Garcia, Xueyuan Liu, Howard Tai and Andrei Zhuk.

Winners

1. Team SIMulation, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary (Prize of $6,000)
2. Team Fletcher Frontiers, Tufts University, United States (Prize of $3,000)
3. Team Blazing Stars, Indian Institute of Management, Indore, India (Prize of $1,000)

The 2023 Corning Case Competition was the biggest competition since its launch with 585 students from 49 different business schools from 11 countries participating. Held on November 3, 2023 during the EMI Conference. The case approached a Brazilian semiconductor company and its challenges on becoming more relevant in a such unique industry.

Watch on YouTube

Chairs:
Julian Galarza, MBA ’24; Shivani Mulji, MBA ’24; Kara Styers, MBA ’24; and Feifei Hung ’25.

Judges:
Momina Aijazuddin, Arnab Basu, Chris Borroni, Ricardo Buitrago, Rustom Desai, Tricia Haskell, Sofia Kalantzi, Marcelo Kawabata and John Newman.

Winners

1. Team DeGroote Warriors – McMaster University, Canada (Prize of $5,000)
2. Team Hoosier Hypothesis – Indiana University, United States (Prize of $3,000)
3. Team Emerging5 – Cornell University, United States (Prize of $1,000)

The 2022 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Corning Annual Case Competition was the biggest EMI’s competition by then, holding 376 students from 25 different business schools from 9 countries. Held on November 4th, 2022 during the EMI Conference. The last few years have been unexpected for all. The case was related to an Indonesian telecom sector experiences by continuing growth, due to increased population, widespread phone adoption, and the rise of 5G. Watch the finals on EMI’s YouTube channel.

Chairs:
Clarisse Alpaert; William Montgomery, MBA ’23; and Julian Galarza, MBA ’24.

Judges:
Ricardo Buitrago, Gabriel Ferrareso, Sofia Kalantzi, Gleb Margolin, Lorena Palacios-Chacón, Moacir de Miranda Oliveira, Mario Saravia, Christina Valauri, Amanda Ward and David (Wei) Wu.

Winners

1. Fletcher ESG Team – A – Tufts University (Prize of $5000)
2. Team Rocket – Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India (Prize of $3000)
3. Maize Consulting – Indiana University (Prize of $1000)

The Annual Case Competition was held on November 5, 2021, during the EMI Conference. Keeping this evolving state in mind, this case competition addressed the challenges that emerging markets companies, which increasingly rely on a globally interconnected supply chain, were facing, specifically on African ecommerce companies. Watch the finals on EMI’s YouTube Channel.

Chairs:
Amanda Ward, MBA ’21 and Gleb Margolin, MBA ’22

Winners

1. Team Famous Five – Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India (Prize of $5000)
2. Team Titan – Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India (Prize of $3000)
3. Team VUCA – Universidad de los Andes, Colombia (Prize of $1000)

The 2020 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Annual Case Competition was held on November 7, 2020. The year was unexpected for all of us. Hit by a global pandemic, economies and lives around the world have been impacted,. The case competition addressed the challenges that the emerging markets companies, which increasingly rely on a globally interconnected supply chain, are facing due to Covid-19, specifically in the Indian pharmaceuticals industry. Watch the finals on EMI’s YouTube Channel.

Chairs:
Amanda Ward, MBA ’21 and Swapnil Gupta.

Winners

1. Universidad de los Andes, Colombia (Prize of $5000)
2. Cornell University, USA (Prize of $3000)
3. Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, China (Prize of $1000)

Held during the 2019 EMI Annual Conference on November 8th at Cornell Tech. The competition had 83 participants from 9 countries. The case challenges a Chinese consulting company going global.

Chairs:
Gabriel Ferrareso, AMBA ’20; Amarildo Gjondrekaj, Cornell Tech MBA ’19; and Maria Luisa Garduño, Cornell Tech MBA ’19.

Winner

University of Maryland, United States (Prize of $5000)

The 2018 Annual Case Competition was held during the EMI Annual Conference at Cornell Tech. The case challenged the Mexican automobile industry.

Chair:
Christian Laftchiev, MBA ’19.

Winner

1. Georgetown University (Prize of $5000)

The inaugural Annual Case Competition was held during the 2017 EMI Annual Conference, in November, at Cornell Tech. The competition’s theme was Corning investing in emerging markets.

Chair:
Audi Wiratama Prabowo, MBA ’18