UBC Undergraduate
The UBC offers undergraduates the opportunity to improve their knowledge of the business world, develop their employability skills, meet potential employers, enhance their CV – have a lot of fun and win cash prizes.
UNDERGRADUATE
UBC Undergraduate Challenge
Developing employability. Inspiring enterprise.
Supported by forward-thinking universities, the Universities Business Challenge is the premier simulation-based undergraduate business competition open to all faculties at UK universities. For the past 23 years, UBC has offered undergraduates the opportunity to improve their knowledge of the business world, develop their employability skills, meet potential employers, enhance their CV – have a lot of fun and win cash prizes.
The UK’s leading competition for developing employability & enterprise skills.
With the focus on graduate employability, can your university afford to miss it?
The UBC embeds employability & enterprise skills
Employers are looking for graduates who are equipped with a range of core work skills as well as academic ability. It is competencies such as the following that in the final analysis make students employable:
- analytical skills
- commercial awareness
- interpersonal and influencing skills
- communication skills
- team working, making decisions by consensus and leadership
- customer awareness
- results-driven approach
How UBC Undergraduate Challenge embeds employability
Commencing in November each year and run over three rounds through to March, the UBC offers undergraduates a unique opportunity to improve their knowledge of the business world, put theory into practice and develop their team-working, leadership, employability and enterprise skills by running realistically simulated companies.
World class content and format
Participating in teams of up to 5 members, students adopt the role of board directors in a series of realistic, simulated companies, making all the critical business decisions that affect the company’s performance. The Learning Dynamics simulations used in the UBC are world-class, varied and challenging, ranging from manufacturing to service businesses to ensure a rounded experience.
Student engagement
As well as the business education benefits, the UBC builds student engagement, develops lasting friendships and enables students to work across cultures. Students help each other by sharing knowledge which enhances self-confidence and belief in their own employability.
Graduates prepared for the workplace
The UBC has helped over 35,000 students in the past 23 years from over 76 university faculties throughout the UK. The annual event offers undergraduates the opportunity to take part in a team-based competitive event that helps develop their employability, enterprise and entrepreneurial skills, preparing them for the corporate workplace or to start their own business.
Across faculties
The UBC is not just for business studies students. It attracts participants across a wide range of faculties from UK universities as its role in helping develop employability and enterprise skills is increasingly recognised.
How does it work?
The UBC is a simulation-based event that provides students with the opportunity to take on the role of board directors who have taken control and responsibility for improving the performance of a company. They need to take into account not only the financial performance of the company, but also its responsibilities to its various stakeholders including its suppliers, its customers and its employees and key sustainability goals. Undergraduate teams from universities across the UK compete to achieve maximum profit, acquire new markets and enhance stakeholder ratings.
Start date, results and feedback
The UBC Undergraduate Challenge starts in November (please note UBC Global Masters Challenge has a different timetable) when each team logs in to the UBC /Simulation Space portal and downloads details of the simulated company, its markets and its current financial position. Each team’s decisions are vital to the company’s success and are uploaded via the UBC portal.
Along with the results and feedback for each trading period, teams will receive a scenario outlining events and issues outside and inside the company which are likely to impact on their business. At the end of each financial year, the balance sheets for all companies will be made available to all teams so that they can see how they are measuring up to the competition.
3 Round format
The UBC Undergraduate Challenge starts in November (please note UBC Global Masters Challenge has a different timetable) when each team logs in to the UBC /Simulation Space portal and downloads details of the simulated company, its markets and its current financial position. Each team’s decisions are vital to the company’s success and are uploaded via the UBC portal.
Along with the results and feedback for each trading period, teams will receive a scenario outlining events and issues outside and inside the company which are likely to impact on their business. At the end of each financial year, the balance sheets for all companies will be made available to all teams so that they can see how they are measuring up to the competition.
The UBC will:
- Develop the core skills and leadership competencies that every global manager needs, building new skill sets and enhancing existing expertise.
- Test initiative, stimulate creativity, demand energy, intellect and enthusiasm.
- Build increased confidence and polished communication as individuals work in their teams refining and applying their analytical, negotiation and influencing skills.
- Support entrepreneurial innovators enabling them to formulate, develop, and commercialise their ideas.
Best practice in selecting teams
Mark Wilkinson
Careers and Employability Adviser, University of Lincoln
“The UBC represents an opportunity for our students to develop not just business knowledge but also experience what it is like to grow and develop as part of a team.
As a University, we readily look to create teams that contain students from different year groups, courses and backgrounds. We also try to mix UK and international students in the teams to help develop their global skill set.
UBC guide the teams through the activities and we clear the space around the team so they can focus on the activities.
Students often remark that it’s after the competition finishes that they realise it wasn’t just the business knowledge they developed but also new friendships with the team members.
As one student put it. At the start ‘I just wanna put it on my CV’ and be ‘competitive in the future job market but ‘by the second round I realised solving challenges and team working were the most important factor.’
They summarized their UBC experience by saying ‘I think the most precious thing is the trans-national and trans-cultural friendship and how to enjoy camaraderie and team bonding. You will get a memory worth treasuring for a lifetime.’ “
UBC’s rigorous simulation content, exercises and time-pressured format for decisions create a unique learning and bonding experience for team members.
FAQ’s
Time commitment
In Round 1, two hours a week for the first two weeks while teams are familiarising themselves with the simulation. One hour per week thereafter. Round 1 runs for 6 weeks.
Certificates of Participation
Team members who complete Round 1 of the UBC can download a Certificate of Participation to include in their personal records. Team members who progress through to subsequent rounds are also awarded UBC certificates for each round completed. Students acknowledge that keeping a record of their employability skills is valuable.
Team registration
Team registration is made via this website. Register the number of teams you want to enter. Nominate team leaders as early in the new academic year as possible [See team recruitment best practice]. Team member names are only required upon commencement of the UBC.
Team resources
A device with internet access is required. All resources can be viewed online.
Team mentor
The UBC platform enables the account holder to add a mentor to a team. This can be a university colleague or someone from industry.
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes which result from participation are mapped against the skills employers are looking for in their graduate intake.
83% of participants agree that their employability skills improved through participating in the UBC.
UBC Helpdesk
The UBC Helpdesk team prides itself on the quality of feedback to ensure that university staff and student questions are answered quickly. We want to ensure that all participants have an excellent learning experience. All queries with regard to the simulation are handled by the Helpdesk team promptly and efficiently – there is no need for any university staff involvement in this.