Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2025 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Corning Case Competition

Finalists announced! This year, nearly 1,400 participants took part, making it very challenging to select the finalists. Thank you for your participation, your hard work, and for making this case competition a success. We hope this was a good learning experience and will help you in future endeavors. We look forward to seeing you at the conference in November!

Finalists:

Ambassadors of Quan, BITS School of Management, India
Carpe Diem, IIM Indore, India
CIYUGA, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia
Conmen, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, University of Delhi, India
Hidden Gems, IIM Ahmedabad, India
Onsen2Tamago, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan
Sage Solutions, Cornell University, United States
Team RockBlack, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, India

Cornell Emerging Market Institute Conference is the United States’ leading annual forum for discussing the ongoing trends and phenomena in our world’s rapidly growing emerging markets. This year’s Conference is centered around the theme of New Rules, New Opportunities: Leveraging Uncertainty for Growth. The Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition is a key event at the Conference.
The goal of the case competition is to identify and answer questions that real businesses and managers are posing today in relation to Emerging Markets. The growing role of Emerging Multinationals in the Business world continues to evolve, and this case competition seeks to challenge us to come up with the win-win solutions for the company.

Aug 18

Registrations Start

Sep 8

Registrations End

Sep 10

Case Distribution

Sep 17

Deadline to Submit Solutions

Oct 7

Finalists announcement (new date)

Nov 6

Final presentations

Nov 7

Winner's presentation

Guidelines

Competition Registration:

There is no registration fee for participants.

Registration Deadline: September 8

Compensation travel for finalist upon request.

Round 1 Notification, Case Distribution, and Submission Deadlines:

Team registration applications will be reviewed after the final day of registration. The case will be distributed to you on September 10, via email.

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. Please see below for formatting requirements.

The deadline to submit the case is no later than September 17. If the submission is late, your team will not be considered for finals.

Teams:

Participants in the case competition come from MBA and other master level or undergraduate programs in the United States and from across the globe (we highly recommend including at least one graduate level participant).

In Round 1 of the case competition, schools may be represented by a maximum of three teams, each consisting of 4-5 students. Students can register for only one team.

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 providing the final three teams for registration. If needed, we recommend schools independently host a preliminary competition to select the three teams. Schools are welcome to use previous years’ cases for their school competition. This must be completed prior to the registration deadline. If the school takes no action in selecting a maximum of three teams, then the EMI Case Competition Committee will use the Case Competition application essay to select the final three teams that will participate in the competition.

While students on the team(s) can belong to any graduate program, we recommend that at least one student is an MBA student. If the team has two or more MBA students, we encourage that at least one student is a first-year MBA student or from a one-year MBA/Executive MBA program. Undergraduate students may also compete as part of a team.

Each team must have a faculty advisor who will serve as the primary point of contact for questions from the Committee. The faculty advisor’s name and contact information must be provided in the application. Teams are also allowed to have an advisor. If you prefer, the faculty advisor may also serve as the advisor. Please notify the EMI Case Competition Committee (contactemi@cornell.edu) that your team has an advisor and include his/her name/position in your case submission.

Teams cannot change or add members once registered. In the event of an emergency, please contact the EMI Case Competition Committee (contactemi@cornell.edu). Exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Round 1 – Proposal

Each team’s submission will be reviewed by judges and evaluated using the rubric below.
Five final teams will be announced early in October
Presentation slides must be formatted using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Each team is allowed a maximum of 12 presentation slides (the first two slides must be a Title slide followed by an Executive Summary slide), and a maximum of 5 slides of appendices.
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 at the 2025 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition final that will take place on November 6, 2025.

Teams will be given 12 minutes for the final presentation and approximately 5 minutes for Q&A from the judges. Note: The audio component that you provided in Round 1 will not be used for Round 2.
Please note that teams that exceed the 12-minute presentation will be cut off. Some questions may also be cut off. This is to ensure all teams have the same amount of time to present and answer questions.

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 contactemi@cornell.edu
No university logos or colors should be worn during the presentation.
Winners will be announced during the final, and they will present during the EMI Conference on November 7, 2025.

Rubric

From the Round 1 submissions, finalist teams will be selected to present their case analysis and recommendations to a panel of judges at the 2025 EMI Conference on November 6, 2025.
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%):

Criteria	Weight
Quality of Analysis	30%
Quality of Recommendation	20%
Implementation/Plan of Action	30%
Creativity of Ideas	20%

Form (20%):

Criteria	Weight
Handling of Questions	60%
Presentation Style	40%

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 will be comprised of Cornell faculty, SC Johnson Cornell EMI Fellow Alumni, and members of the EMI Board.

Round 2/Final presentation judges will be comprised of a professor/faculty member from each school represented by the finalist teams, Cornell professors, SC Johnson Cornell EMI Fellow alumni, members of the EMI Board, and possibly former case competition winners.

2025 Committee

Ayodeji Tolulope Ogunyamoju

Two-Year MBA '26 ato9@cornell.edu

Zara Rahman

Two-Year MBA '26 zr95@cornell.edu

Fiorina Siamir

BS ILR '28 fas78@cornell.edu

Past Editions

Winners

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

The 2024 Case

The 2024 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Corning Annual Case Competition had the participation of 705 students from 48 different business schools from 15 countries. Held on October 31, 2024 during the EMI Conference. Download the case, featuring an EV company from Vietnam.

Watch the finals and the celebration on EMI’s YouTube channel.

Chairs:

Iris Arguedas, MBA ’25
Niyonika Chhabra, Cornell Tech MBA ’25

Case developers:

Kenza Bouarroudj, MBA ’25
Yash Jhavar, MBA ’25
Nisrina Nur, MBA ’25

Judges:

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

Winners

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

The 2023 Case

The 2023 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Corning Annual Case Competition was the biggest EMI’s competition since its launch, holding 585 students from 49 different business schools from 11 countries. 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 the finals on EMI’s YouTube channel.

Chairs:

Julian Galarza, MBA ’24
Shivani Mulji, MBA ’24
Kara Styers, MBA ’24
Feifei Hung, Undergraduate ’25

Judges:

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

Winners

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

The 2022 Case

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
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, David (Wei) Wu.

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

The 2021 Case

2021 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Annual Case Competition was held on November 5th, 2021 during the EMI Conference, based on a global pandemic, COVID-19, economies, lives, and supply chains around the world impacts. 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, AMBA ’21
Gleb Margolin, MBA ’22

Winners

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

The 2020 Case

2020 Cornell Emerging Markets Institute Annual Case Competition was held on November 7th. The year 2020 was unexpected for all of us. Hit by a global pandemic, economies and lives around the world have been impacted, something which none had anticipated. 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, AMBA ’21
Swapnil Gupta

Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

Aug 18

Registrations Start

Sep 8

Registrations End

Sep 10

Case Distribution

Sep 17

Deadline to Submit Solutions

Oct 7

Finalists announcement (new date)

Nov 6

Final presentations

Nov 7

Winner's presentation

Guidelines

Overview

Prizes*

Rules and Format

Process

Evaluation

Judges

2025 Committee

Ayodeji Tolulope Ogunyamoju

Zara Rahman

Fiorina Siamir

Past Editions

2024 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2023 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2022 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2021 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2020 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2019 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2018 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition

2017 Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition