Master's students take on business challenge as module marks tenth year

Teamwork was the name of the game this summer as Master's students at Warwick Business School battled it out for the annual Business in Practice Awards – now in their tenth year. 

Tasked to be directors at a top automotive firm trying to transition to electric vehicles, the student teams soon found that collaboration and a shared determination were the keys to success.  

“As ‘a board of directors’ we took the time to explain to each other why certain changes needed to be made. That constant communication kept us co-ordinated,” said Tulsi Shetty, a MSc Marketing & Strategy student who was appointed the HR Director of the team calling themselves Visionaries.   

“We became one of the best teams by sharing ideas, building trust, and growing stronger together.” 

Vincent Chan (MSc Business & Finance), of the team called Strategists, said: “Aside from the benefit of gaining empirical experience in real-time business decision making, the Business in Practice module placed particular emphasis on team dynamics, which enabled me to develop soft skills such as leadership and communication. 

“There was no better way to wrap up our MSc journey at WBS. It is a memory that we will cherish forever.”  

Fellow team member, Serene Lu (MSc Marketing & Strategy), said: “This wasn’t just a business simulation; it felt like the real deal. It pushed us as a team to think strategically, work together under pressure, and adapt fast.”  

Strategists won the Best Overall Performance award after achieving the highest value-added score over the course of the Business in Practice (BiP) module, which provides an opportunity for students across seven Master's courses to put their learning into practice. Visionaries took second place, while Autobots came in third.  

Offered as an alternative to the traditional dissertation route, the module was one of the main reasons why Visionaries team member Archita Motadoo chose WBS for her postgraduate course.  

“I knew I wouldn’t enjoy writing a traditional dissertation and hence when I saw that the MSc Management of Information Systems & Digital Innovation had an option for the business simulation instead of a dissertation, I knew this was the place I wanted to be,” said Archita.  

“I am somebody who learns by doing so getting the opportunity to put my learning into practice and gain a hands-on experience in running a company was simply amazing!”  

Trump’s tariffs 

Nearly 5,000 Master’s students have taken part in the BiP module over the past decade. This year, around 600 students – split into 89 groups of six to seven – took part once again in the three-week intensive module.  

“The whole emphasis of the BiP module is that it is a real-world business simulation,” said joint module leader Natasha Mwila, Associate Professor of Organisation and Work.  

“So the challenges students had to strategise around mirrored some recent contemporary events such as President Trump’s tariffs on EVs and other imports into the US, and economic downturns around the world. 

“I think the students really appreciated the relevance of these aspects.” 

Joint module leader Juan Lopez-Cotarelo added that this year’s BiP had been notable for the high scores of its top three teams.  

“Considered against multiple metrics, these are historically the highest scores we have had on the simulation to date,” the Associate Professor of Organisation and Work said.  

Innovation in the EV market 

Winner of the Innovation Prize were team Velonova. For team member Avyakt Khandelwal (MSc Business with Marketing), the module was an experience that pushed his team to think “beyond conventional frameworks”.  

“What stood out most was the way our team embraced uncertainty - we weren’t afraid to experiment, pivot when needed, and challenge each other’s thinking,” he said. 

Fellow team member Karmanshu Arora agreed.

“The module gave us the freedom to experiment, iterate and bring our boldest ideas to life - ultimately proving that hands on collaboration really drives breakthrough results,” the MSc Marketing & Strategy student said.  

Fellow MSc Marketing & Strategy student and Marketing Director with the Velonova team, Avirajj Rastogi said: “This experience gave us the opportunity to combine our critical thinking skills as a team and relate the dynamics of a business simulation with real-world scenarios. It was a combination of strategic thinking and practical execution.” 

Marketing skills 

Winners of the Marketing Prize, meanwhile, were the team WattsUp.

“As a team, we could only implement our strategies effectively by working closely together,” said team member Huai-De Fu  (MSc Business & Finance).  

“Our shared determination and collaboration played a key role in our success. 

“As the designated Finance Director, I applied my financial expertise to secure reliable funding, adjust our weighted average cost of capital, and guide our strategy based on financial reports. I’ve learned so much from this module, not just academically, but also about how businesses operate in practice.” 

Provided with state-of-the art computer modelling, students could look at issues such as market trends, regulation, operations and finance during the module.  

The Finance Prize went to Pacific Rim which had managed to combine high returns on its net assets with low financing costs, while the Operations Prize was awarded to Teams. The team named Muji picked up the HR Prize. 

After completing the module, students were asked to write up their individual reflections on their team’s dynamics and provide a business analysis of their company’s performance in the simulation. 

There were plenty of lessons learnt. With a background in mid-to-senior-level recruitment, Strategists team member Mina Li (MSc Marketing & Strategy) came to realise that “while recruiting talented and capable individuals is important, what matters even more is finding the right people – those who are truly a good fit”. 

For fellow Strategists team member, Justin Ma (MSc Marketing & Strategy), one of the “most valuable lessons” of the module was that “success isn’t solely about focusing on long-term objectives”. 

“It’s also about maximising every small step along the way to achieve the final goal. Each incremental achievement plays a crucial role in our overall journey.”  

Discover more about Warwick Business School’s Master’s Courses.