- Students across the Middle East, Africa, and India can participate in the “Ace the Case” student case competition

- The winning team will demonstrate its skills at the Grand Finals in Dubai with other teams from across the world in the coming months

IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) today announced the call for submissions for its 11th annual Student Case Competition which will give university students across the Africa, Middle East, and India an opportunity to respond to a global business case study. IMA’s “Ace the Case” is a global case competition that allows students to put their business acumen to the test and present an analysis in front of distinguished global professionals. This year’s case will once again provide participants an opportunity to be selected for the Grand Finals, where the top four winning teams will have the opportunity to compete with peers from Europe, Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

This year’s case on, “The role of digital transformation in making customer engagement and operational process improvements” will give university students from around the world to put their heads together to solve a real-world enterprise problem. The university team that comes up with the best solutions will get the chance to be shortlisted for the Grand Finals in Dubai where it will have the opportunity to compete with peers from other regions - Europe, India, and Southeast Asia.

Emphasising the long-standing success of this annual competition, Hanadi Khalife, Senior Director of MEA & India operations, IMA said, “This year’s competition is unique as it comes on the heels of the world healing from the COVID-19 pandemic and will give students the opportunity to really think out of the box when developing their case proposals through interaction and guidance from experts. In the post-COVID era, the global business landscape is even more challenging given supply chain challenges and increased regulatory and stakeholder scrutiny. Technology offers an incredible opportunity to enterprises large and small to navigate this complex labyrinth without compromising on growth. I wish the student community from the Middle East the very best for this year’s competition.

IMA will select the top four teams from the Middle East, India and Africa who will then compete with peers from other countries. Eligibility to enter the competition includes the following criteria:

• Students must be enrolled in universities in the Middle East, India or Africa.

• Team members can be from different academic programs, but must all be from the same institution.

• Team sizes must be between 3-5.

• Each team must have a faculty advisor from the same institution.

• Each team must appoint a team leader.

Team members securing first, second, and third positions will be awarded prizes which includes a gift voucher. Winning teams will also get the opportunity to engage in a face-to-face or virtual conversation with Jeff Thomson, CMA, CSCA, CAE, IMA President and CEO. The winning teams will get to participate in the Team Mentorship Program with IMA local chapters. All winning teams will also receive an IMA CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) scholarship.