Grand Global Challenges Competition

Earn a chance to compete in the Loyola Marymount (LMU) International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition (IBESCC) in Los Angeles, CA.

In collaboration with the Center for Social Value Creation, the Center for Global Business presents the Grand Global Challenges Competition, a new internal competition open to all students, undergraduates, and/or graduates, at the University of Maryland interested in how ethical and sustainable solutions can be applied to the Sustainable Development Goals and global business challenges.

The winning team will earn a spot in the be provided the opportunity to go to LMU in Los Angeles, CA and compete on behalf of the University of Maryland in the IBESCC. Stay tuned to learn more.

The Grand Global Challenges Competition will provide a similar structure to that of the IBESCC as a means to help prepare the team that will compete in the IBESCC. The GGCC will test a team’s ability to apply ethical reasoning to practical global issues and recommend solutions to sustainable development in an international setting.

Competition Details

• Each team that registers to compete must confirm their intent to compete (if selected) in the IBESCC at LMU in LA, CA from April 9-12, 2025.
• Each team chooses its business-related topic to present. The topic should have an ethical component and be related to one of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Please refer to this list of examples as context when choosing your topic.
• The presentation consists of a 15-minute live, virtual presentation, and will be followed by a 5-minute Q&A and feedback session.

Teams should explain the legal, financial, and ethical dimensions of the business problem and then recommend a solution that would be viable on all counts. These might include:

• Identify the financial impact of the problem and the financial implications of the solution. A detailed financial analysis is not necessary if there is an explanation of how (and to what extent) the problem raises or lowers the company's costs or profits; the costs of your solution; whether the company can afford your solution; etc.
• Identify laws, regulations, or court cases that effectively restrict or regulate what the company may do. Significant fines or settlements may affect the financial analysis.
• Teams will be expected to utilize a secular, philosophical framework that discusses ethics in terms of the tangible good and/or harm experienced by those affected (human or otherwise). Because this is a business competition, DO NOT use technical, philosophical terminology or cite philosophers. The ethical analysis is geared towards business and should refer to the organization's mission statement, code of values/conduct, etc. as well as the SDGs impacted by these issues.

Team Makeup

Teams can be made up of 3 to 5 students each. Teams can be made up of any mixture of graduate and/or undergraduate students from any program at the University of Maryland. Teams are encouraged to create multi-disciplinary teams.

One student will register for the entire team. Each team registration should include details (contact, resume, etc.) for each student on the team.