Building synergies and life-long connections: Corvinus at TUBC 2025
Four undergraduate students: Andrei Krajuhin, Desislava Dostinova, Gergely Ganyecz, and Kseniia Pyzhova, who came together in Corvinus’ Case Track program, competed at the prestigious TUBC case competition in Bangkok. They represented Corvinus among the best universities of the world and achieved a divisional third place overall.
Between October 6th and 11th, the 28th edition of the Thammasat Undergraduate Business Challenge, one of the biggest case competitions in the world, was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Four undergraduate students: Andrei Krajuhin, Desislava Dostinova, Gergely Ganyecz, and Kseniia Pyzhova represented Corvinus on this esteemed event, accompanied by their advisor, Dr. Habil. Miklós György Stocker, the head of the Institute of Leadership and Management Sciences.
The team’s long journey already began with preparation in June. During the 4 months leading up to the competition, they focused on practicing case-solving, strengthening team dynamics, and learning more about Thailand. The preparation was no easy feat, as this was the first competition for every member except Desislava. The team had its ups and downs, but came out strong and confident for the final challenge in Bangkok. As said by Desislava Dostinova:
„When it comes to the preparation we started with the standard method. We solved cases, had workshops between each other, but sooner rather than later we started to feel like something was missing. We were doing all the right things but yet something wasn’t right. That’s when we decided to take a step back and reflect on the situation. What we missed is the connection between us, we didn’t spend the time to truly get to know each other. Among all the work we missed the essence of getting close together. So that’s exactly why we did. We all sat down together and listened to our experiences, expectations and hopes from this competition, which made us feel much closer to one another. I would consider that as the turning point of our preparation. After this moment we weren’t just four students in a room trying to solve a case, but rather four friends sharing knowledge and having fun, while having a common goal.”
In Bangkok, the competitors were presented with two interesting business challenges. The 5-hour case was provided by Lazada, a large e-commerce company in the Southeast Asia region. Lazada’s aim was to target and engage premium customers in Thailand through its LazMall service. Corvinus’ team delivered a powerful solution, introducing gamification with pay2win schemes and an innovative, fully virtual shopping experience. The judges lauded the team’s efforts and skills in creating such a creative and detailed presentation.
„Right after our presentation, as we were leaving the room, one of the judges told us that he couldn’t believe we did all this in 5 hours. Afterwards, they gave more detailed feedback, telling us that our presentation was the most clear, best-structured, and best presented. This gave us confidence for the next round.” explained Gergely Ganyecz.
The second case was done in a 24-hour format with a special rule where teams could submit questions to the subject company, which would be answered by the 12th hour. The sponsor for this was Stecon, one of Thailand’s largest engineering and construction conglomerates. This large holding was on a mission to diversify its portfolio and asked the students’ help to find synergies between its business divisions: traditional construction, clean energy, logistics, and data centres. The team created a comprehensive solution combining operational efficiency and multiple new value propositions that Stecon could explore for expansion. In this round, the team achieved a divisional third place, beating other strong opponents, allowing them to end with an overall divisional third-place finish.
Developing team dynamics was a key part of the journey of the team. As all members had experience in all parts of case solving, it was difficult to find the best role for every member. In the end, what was decided was the personalities of each student. Pairs were created that supported and complemented each other’s styles. By the end of the competition, the team got truly close and found not just camaraderie but also friendship.
„The flight to Bangkok felt like an extra team-building session, so I think our team dynamics reached their peak by the time the competition began. I believe we were a great fit together, as we could understand each other from just half a sentence. Outside of the cases, we also found the same wavelength and could always share a laugh, which made our time together both fun and memorable. We all contributed to shaping the strategic direction – after agreeing on an idea, Desislava and I were responsible for developing it further in detail, while Gergely and Kseniia focused on preparing the financials and analysis to support our solution.” said Andrei Krajuhin about the team dynamics.
For the Corvinus team, TUBC was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn and develop professionally and personally. During the preparation, they sharpened their case-solving knowledge, improved efficiency, and shared valuable life experiences. They pushed themselves to the absolute limit for the competition.
„During the competition, I significantly improved my presentation skills — I became faster and more confident in reacting to questions from the judges. I also developed my empathy, which was essential for effective teamwork. I learned to sense my teammates’ moods both during preparation and during the presentation, to support and motivate them when needed.” (Kseniia)
All the members agree that the main thing that they will take away from Thailand for the rest of their life is the unforgettable experiences they shared together. They could experience all the beauty Thailand had to offer, meet some of the future business leaders of the world, as fellow competitors, and most importantly, create special memories. The competitors highlighted the role of the TUBC organisers in all of this, who prepared excellent programs, for example, Muay Thai and a cooking class. Andrei summarised his overall takeaway from the competition as such:
„My message to those just starting their journey: give your maximum and put in all the work – it will pay off. The reward is an unmatched experience filled with valuable knowledge, great connections and lifelong memories.” (Andrei)
From CCTC, we would like to congratulate the team and their advisors on overcoming such an enormous challenge. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to all the other Case Track teachers, mentors, and CCTC alumni who helped prepare the members for Thailand. We are excited to see where our members will represent Corvinus next!