Four JCU Students Among Finalists at 2024 Eurogroup Consultants Challenge
A JCU team composed of four International Business students has been selected as one of the four finalist teams of the Eurogroup Consultants 2024 Student Challenge. This year’s edition was titled “Innovating the Future: Challenging Global Uncertainty.” Eurogroup Consultants (EGC) is a leading independent management consulting firm based in Rome. For the competition, EGC consultants, together with professors, identify trends in the global industry and challenges for the environment and society, for which students have the chance to develop competitive solutions and showcase their talents in front of a high-level jury.
Under the guidance of Professor of International Business Maria Jell-Ojobor, students Michael Fallucca, Brooklyn Latimer, Samantha Parker, and Javier Freire competed with other teams from undergraduate and master’s programs from universities all over Italy. They presented their project “Outbreak Insights” at Industrie Fluviali in Rome in front of a jury composed by Enrico Bovi, Customer Engagement Platform Lead at Pfizer, Maria Carla Giugliano, Head of Digital at Medici Senza Frontiere, and Giorgio Cavalleri, Vice President of HR for Region China and International at Chiesi Group.
“While universities and professors have the responsibility to impart technical knowledge in a specific discipline,” explained Professor Jell-Ojobor, “it is just as important to prepare students for the job market, where social intelligence and soft skills are equally important.”
She continued: “By participating in the EGC Student Challenge, students learn how to venture into uncharted waters by analyzing a business trend and finding a solution for it. They learn how to take initiative, reflect on an idea, and develop it in teams. Although it is a competition, it is ultimately about connecting people and ideas.”
The Team on “Outbreak Insights”
Michael explained the process behind the project and what goal they had hoped to achieve. “Our vision was to develop a data platform that collects and analyzes global health data from travel patterns, climate data, and hospital records to predict and monitor disease outbreaks,” said Michael. “This system would provide real-time alerts and inform healthcare systems to mobilize resources based on the outbreaks and the danger levels of those outbreaks.”
He continued: “We came up with the idea for the presentation by sharing our backgrounds with each other, how we ended up here in Italy, and our travel experiences, which led to discussions of our own experience with Covid-19 and how it affected us. Having cross-cultural collaboration with team members from different parts of the world allowed us to gain different perspectives and insights, not only during this process, but also on the impact that this particular issue had on us, which ultimately gave us all a unique approach to solving the problem.”
“When I came to study abroad at JCU, I never imagined I’d end up presenting in front of such a high-level jury. The experience was both challenging and incredibly rewarding,” said Brooklyn, from the University of San Diego. “It pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me the value of teamwork and adaptability in a professional setting. Collaborating with such a talented team of peers to tackle a real-world problem gave me a sense of confidence and accomplishment that I will carry with me beyond this semester.”
She continued: “One of my key takeaways is how important it is to understand cultural differences and how they shape business decisions. Our case study required us to consider diverse stakeholder perspectives and adapt our strategy accordingly, which was a skill I will definitely use in the future. This activity also showed me the power of stepping up to opportunities, even when they seem intimidating, because they can lead to growth in ways you would never expect. Overall, it was a highlight of my study abroad year and a memory I will always cherish.”
“The most exciting part was having our work selected as one of the top four projects and seeing it come to life,” said Samantha, from Texas Tech University. “It was also exciting to get to meet with other students from all over the world and hear all of their amazing ideas. The most challenging part was probably the amount of research that went into the project. Finding that much information on a field that none of us are very familiar with was difficult at times.”
Javier, from Texas Tech University, said: “Overall, this opportunity allowed me to grow not only in my confidence and presentation skills, but in implementing new ideas for the future.”
