Depth, Discipline, and Strategic Thinking: Corvinus Graduate Students at the University of Münster Case Competition
Four graduate students from Corvinus University of Budapest represented the university at the University of Münster Case Competition 2025, an intensive, in-person international case competition held in Münster, Germany, between October 14 and 17.
Graduate students Alexandra Pongrácz, Petra Jenei, Luca Németh, and Lilla Novák represented Corvinus University of Budapest at the University of Münster Case Competition 2025, an offline international competition hosted in Münster, Germany. The team was selected based on their outstanding performance in the Strategic International Management (SIM) course and represented the university in a field featuring students from bachelor’s, master’s, and MBA programs. The SIM course is the last step of the Case Track journey at Corvinus, that starts in the undergraduate level and finishes with SIM during graduate studies. The team was prepared by Zoltán György Stokinger, master lecturer at the Institute of Strategic Management.
The competition took place over four days and challenged teams with two 3-hour cases and one 12-hour case, each followed by a 15-minute presentation and a 10-minute interactive Q&A session. Sponsor companies included LVM, Inverto, TSR, and Eight Advisory, though the exact case topics were not disclosed in advance.
The Corvinus team found out relatively late that they would be attending the competition, leaving limited time for preparation. Despite this, they focused on building a clear internal structure, transparent problem-solving logic, and strong financial and strategic foundations. Their preparation included two targeted workshops.
Task division within the team was clearly defined and adapted to the time constraints of each case. For the 3-hour cases, Lilla Novák was responsible for the core analysis, Alexandra Pongrácz and Luca Németh focused on strategy development, while Petra Jenei handled financials and risk assessment. During the 12-hour case, the team worked jointly on analysis and strategy, with Petra again leading the financial modelling.
Reflecting on the learning process, Lilla Novák highlighted the importance of adapting to local expectations and maintaining momentum under pressure:
“Every country and region has a different attitude towards strategy, and in Germany they are interested in very deep analysis and cautious, restrained ideas. If you get a difficult math problem, don’t be scared. Sooner or later you’ll have to present something, and you shouldn’t get stuck on data that you can’t move on from. In that case, focus on what you know: do the analysis and think about the strategy.”
The first 3-hour case, sponsored by Eight Advisory, was a highly technical valuation challenge. Teams were required to project profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flows, valuation, and full financing structures up to 2048 for a renewable energy company in the onshore wind sector planning an acquisition. The case was heavily calculation-driven rather than strategic, making it one of the most challenging formats the team had encountered.
The second 3-hour case, provided by Inverto, focused on procurement and supply chain transformation for a German fashion company, with a strong emphasis on nearshoring strategies. This topic aligned more closely with the team’s strategic strengths, allowing them to deliver a coherent and well-structured solution.
The 12-hour flagship case, sponsored by LVM, proved to be the team’s strongest performance. The task was to design a cybersecurity insurance product for German SMEs, a segment often excluded from existing offerings due to strict insurability requirements. The Corvinus team went beyond the core task by addressing this “zero step” of insurability and proposing a broader ecosystem-based solution.
As Luca Németh explained:
“I think overall we always received positive feedback, especially for the insurance case. They really liked our professionalism, how we handled the slide map, how logical the flow of the presentation was, and that we thought about things the other teams didn’t. For the LVM case, we built a complete ecosystem and expanded the scope by focusing on the insurability condition that excludes most SMEs. Our solution proposed partnering with MYRA, a German cybersecurity company, so SMEs could improve their cybersecurity level without massive upfront investments.”
Beyond the competition itself, the event offered valuable opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and networking among students from different academic backgrounds and countries. The atmosphere of Münster, combined with the intensity of the competition, created a memorable and enriching experience.
As Petra Jenei reflected:
“It was a great experience where bachelor’s, master’s, and even MBA students could come together and share the same journey. We worked on out-of-the-box exercises that challenged us beyond our usual routines, and Münster’s autumn atmosphere made the experience even more enjoyable.”
Congratulations to Alexandra Pongrácz, Petra Jenei, Luca Németh, and Lilla Novák for their professional performance at the University of Münster Case Competition 2025. Their structured thinking, analytical rigor, and teamwork reflect the high standards of Corvinus University’s case-solving community.
We would also like to thank Case Track advisors and lecturers who supported their preparation, and everyone who contributed to their development throughout the process.