From December 2 to 3, the 3rd International Business Simulation Competition was held at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE). The competition was organized by the International Education Association Shanghai and hosted by SUFE's International Cultural Exchange School in collaboration with Cesim Business Simulation Games.
On the morning of December 2, the opening ceremony of the finals was held at the SUFE Entrepreneurship Center. Vice President Yao Lingzhen of SUFE, President Jiang Haishan of the International Education Association Shanghai, Party Secretary Yang Hong, and Dean Dong Jing of the International Cultural Exchange School of SUFE, CESIM Global CEO and Practical Teaching Advisor to the Finnish Ministry of Education Veijo Kyösti, CESIM China General Manager Wu Wen, finalist teams, faculty advisors, observers, competition organizing committee members, and event volunteers jointly attended the opening ceremony.
Yao Lingzhen first extended a warm welcome on behalf of SUFE to the participating teams and faculty members from institutions across the nation. She noted that as one of China's earliest established business universities, SUFE has consistently upheld its motto of “Integrity and Learning, Economics for the Times,” carrying forward its business education tradition and contributing wisdom and strength to the development of China's finance and economics education.
While remaining steadfast in the educational mission, SUFE proactively embraces the transformations of the digital and intelligent era. It actively implements the “Digital Intelligence-empowered Finance and Economics” strategy, launching a series of cutting-edge achievements, including the Kuangshi Finance Education Large Model 2.0 and the Financial Reasoning R1 Large Model. These initiatives drive innovation in talent cultivation through interdisciplinary approaches and scenario-driven education. She specifically highlighted that the introduction of the “AI Coach” in this competition represents an innovative exploration by SUFE to deepen the integration of artificial intelligence with practical competition experiences within its digital and intelligent transformation process.
President Jiang Haishan expressed sincere gratitude on behalf of the organizers for the strong support from universities nationwide and the enthusiastic participation of international students from various universities in China. He emphasized that the association's hosting of the International Business Decision-Making Simulation Competition for International Students in China holds significant importance, providing a vital platform for college students to enhance their decision-making abilities, communication and collaboration skills, and broaden their global perspectives. He emphasized that this year's competition not only focuses on cultivating business competitiveness and management skills but also actively integrates the concepts of sustainable development and social responsibility. He hopes all finalist teams will cherish this opportunity, embrace an open and collaborative mindset, maintain a passion for knowledge to explore uncharted territories, and gain valuable experience and growth.
Veijo Kyösti expressed gratitude to the organizers and SUFE for their strong support. He noted that despite rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, those who truly master its application remain few and far between. The key resides in “asking questions”—not demanding standard answers from AI, but leveraging it to stimulate deeper thinking. Throughout this process, participants must simultaneously activate metacognition and guard against “automention bias.” He hopes competitors can skillfully harness AI’s capabilities in this competition, liberate its true potential, and gain valuable insights.
The simulation competition was held on December 2. Participants collaborated throughout the event, continuously exploring and flexibly applying their knowledge to make decisions, fully showcasing their creativity and business acumen. Seongwon Lee (South Korea), a student majoring in Chinese Language and Business at East China Normal University, remarked, “Understanding the competition schedule is crucial. The most indispensable factor for case success is collaboration and communication within the team. The team should share unified values to achieve the ultimate goal. This competition also allowed me to understand other participants' thinking and styles.”
Team introductions and strategy presentations took place on December 3rd. Invited judges Veijo Kyösti, Professor Cao Shengrong from Shanghai National Accounting Institute, and Ms. Yuan Lu, Head of Finance Business Partnership at AbbVie China, provided insightful feedback on the contestants' outstanding performances.
The competition was first opened to international students in China in 2023. This year's competition continues its cross-school, cross-disciplinary team format.
Building upon its emphasis on international perspectives and experiential learning, it places greater focus on integrating digital intelligence applications and corporate social responsibility into the competition design. By incorporating sustainability scenarios and responsibility-driven decision-making segments, it guides students to contemplate the social value and environmental impact of business actions within simulated real-world scenarios. This approach promotes the deep integration of talent development with industry demands, technological innovation, and social responsibility.
Leveraging a digital simulation platform, the competition innovatively introduced an “AI Coach” that provides real-time guidance cues and multidimensional analysis throughout the business simulation decision-making process, effectively deepening participants' ability to integrate business theory with practical application. Through highly realistic international business decision-making cases, the competition strives to elevate participants' cognitive understanding from theory to practice, comprehensively enhancing international students' metacognitive and global analytical capabilities in business decision-making. Li Kexin (Thailand), pursuing an English-taught Master of International Business at SUFE, remarked, “As artificial intelligence technology continues to evolve, we utilized the ‘AI Coach’ introduced in this competition. Its suggestions proved invaluable during market research and advertising budget allocation. Building on this foundation, we continuously refined our strategies and perfected our proposals based on our team's specific needs.” This competition offered a rare opportunity to truly apply and absorb what we've learned, while also building valuable experience for our future studies and career development. After the competition, we'll review our performance, learn from our experiences, and continue participating in similar events." Bassem Hamed (Egypt), also pursuing the English-taught International Business Master's program at SUFE, added.
The competition attracted 140 teams and 450 participants from 25 universities nationwide, representing 74 countries. Among them, 33 teams from 22 universities advanced to the finals after excelling in the preliminary rounds. Ultimately, “ABSOLUTE FOUR” from Shenzhen University claimed the national championship title.
（From：International Cultural Exchange School）
