

Format & Rules
To understand the competition, we have outlined the format and rules of the event on this page. Rules are applicable to the upcoming IT Case Competition and we encourage you as a potential participant to get familiar with their content. If you find any of the descriptions vague or unclear, please contact the ITCC committee as soon as possible for clarification in order for us to update if necessary.
The format and rules was last updated on the 19th of October, 2016.
- §1 The Competition
- §2 Eligibility
- §3 Case Format
- §4 Competition Format
- §5 Case Preparation
- §6 Case Presentation
- §7 Judges
- §8 Scoring
- §9 Disqualification
§1.1
IT Case Competition is organized by students from various universities in Scandinavia. The one thing we have in common is our shared interest in IT and technology. IT Case Competition is made for students, by students. IT Case Competition strives to provide students with valuable skills as well as a large business network for their coming job-seeking. IT Case Competition is supported by industry partners such as Microsoft, Deloitte, Nordea, TDC Group, PA Consulting and Danske Bank. IT Case Competition is also supported by some of the larger academic institutions such as Copenhagen Business School (CBS), The Technical University of Denmark (DTU), The IT University of Denmark (ITU) and Copenhagen University (KU).
IT Case Competition was founded in 2013 at Copenhagen Business School.
§1.2
The competition is held annually during term time. As of 2017, the competition is held in the month of October.
§2.1
IT Case Competition is eligible to any student studying a university bachelor or master degree with at least one IT-related subject. We expect that our applicants have a keen interest in IT, but also that you have a notion of how IT potentially affects business.
§2.2
As an applicant you will be evaluated on the following parameters:
- Your CV
- Motivational letter
- Grade transcript.
Our selection process criteria is measured against your grade point average and the traits listed in §2.1. Personal interest and motivation is judged based on your CV and motivational letter; this means that an interesting motivational letter can make up for a limited CV and vice versa. This also means that missing any of the above documents in your application will exclude you from the application pool.
§3.1
We intend to prepare the case of the competition to a high standard and as novel as possible. It will be acutely relevant to the business IT area and include relatively open-ended information as to encourage competition teams to find their solutions independently from other teams.
The case is created by the case company, which is kept secret until the day of the competition, with the support of the IT Case Competition writers team. Revisions may be made by ITCC’s partners prior to the release of the case.
The case is usually between 10-30 pages long depending on the subject.
§4.1
The competition constitutes 12 teams allocated in groups of four. If a participant chooses to abandon his or her seat on a team no later than a week prior to the competition, the seat will be offered to another eligible applicant from the application pool.
The teams are created through selected applicants’ CV and motivational letter, as well as any team requests. As it is possible to apply as a duo, the duo is evaluated as a unit first and then as individuals. The teams are put together with the goal of balancing skills and backgrounds equally. These groups cannot be revised after the announcement of the teams and will be the subject of the preliminary rounds.
It is possible for a team to forfeit the competition at any time during the competition. In the event of one team member leaving, due to unexpected reasons, it is still possible for the rest of the teams to continue and excel in the competition.
§4.2
Participants coming from outside Copenhagen are offered the possibility of accommodation on behalf of the ITCC organisation. ITCC also offers to cover expenses related to transportation for participants who have to travel from outside Copenhagen, up to 1.500 DKK. To be eligible, participants must make a request as soon as possible after being notified about their impending participation, and no later than five days after. Contributions towards transport are paid retrospectively. Participants have to fill out a form and enclose receipts of the purchase of their journey. Reimbursements are settled within three weeks of the competition.
§5.1
We expect participants to exert professional behavior and overall sportsmanship both.
§5.2
The teams have a total of 24 hours after the case is revealed to complete and submit one case solution. The presentation of the case solution can in any format the team sees fit, however the submission at the end of the 24 hours has to include an executive summary.
§5.3
The team is required to bring their own computer to the competition. It is the teams’ own responsibility to keep their belongings safe during the competition; the work rooms provided are all lockable, and all teams are provided with keys.
§5.4
Each team will be given a USB at the start of the 24 hour solution period. The teams have to hand in the case solution and the executive summary on this USB. Each team will also be given a link to a submission website where their case solution has to be uploaded no later than 24 hours before the case revealing. No altering of the case solution will be possible after the time of hand-in. The submission should consist of one file which holds the executive summary and the presentation (see §6.2 and §6.3).
§5.5
The teams are allowed to bring an unlimited number of textbooks, reference materials and electronic devices. Reference material includes articles, notes, compendiums and the like. Teams are also allowed to contact any relevant source during the competition, provided that the information gathered can be secured within the 24 hour solution period.
§5.6
All minor necessities which may support brainstorming and solution development will be made available for the teams. Minor necessities include paper, pens, whiteboard markers, post-its and the like.
§5.7
Knowledge sharing between teams is allowed, but is ultimately at the individual team’s own discretion. Copying of any kind is considered cheating, and is not permitted.
§5.8
The teams will be provided a preparation room to work in, which holds office supplies, white board, power plugs and care packages. The respective team will be handed a key when the room is assigned, and has the responsibility of keeping the key safe until the end of the competition. Each team should expect visits from the ITCC committee as well as mentors in the duration of the competition.
§5.9
All case materials and notes must remain within the room, at all time, during the competition.
§5.10
It is not allowed to seek professional help during the case solving round. Unlike the option listed in §5.5, teams are not allowed to enlist the help of any team or individual in preparing the solution.
Mentors from ITCC partners will arrive on location at some point past mid-day, and all teams are offered 10 min with each partner to ask for advice or review ideas. The mentoring is done as a walkabout where teams are approach in the order of the preparation rooms.
§6.1
The presentation must be articulated in English and be made available in pdf form. All written or image material must be compatible with Microsoft Windows, which includes slideshows and digital models. Physical models should be photo documented. Video should be made available upon demand. During the presentation the use of notes and cue cards is permitted.
§6.2
Each team have to submit a one-page executive summary of their solution. The summary is expected, as a minimum, to state the details of the solution, technical specifications where relevant, and its business value.
§6.3
Each team will have a maximum of 50 pages available for a slideshow presentation. It is at the team’s own discretion how the 50 pages available are allocated between main presentation and appendix. It is not a requirement to submit all of the 50 pages.
Additional formats of communicating the solution beyond the presentation may be prepared at the team’s discretion in anticipation of questions from the panel of judges. These exhibits, however, will not be part of the overall evaluation of the team’s performance.
§6.4
Each team competes against three other teams in the preliminary group stage. These groups are created by random draw and revealed shortly after all the solution have been submitted.
§6.5
On the morning of the presentation, each team will have a minimum of one hour to prepare for their presentation after hand-in. Due to the nature of the group stage, the amount of preparation time varies, but the teams will not know if they will be first or last in their group until after submission. For this reason, all teams are advised to expect preparation time of one hour.
§6.6
Each group of four teams present their case solutions to one of three panel of judges. After the group stage, the three judging panels nominate the best solution in their group to proceed to the final. The final is then between three teams.
§6.7
Each team have 10 minutes presentation time and 10 minutes Q&A in the preliminary group stage. In the final, the three finalist have 15 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes Q&A with the judges.
§6.8
All team members must be present at the presentation. None other than the presenting team, the panel of judges and a representative from the ITCC Committee is allowed in the auditorium during the preliminary group stage. In the final, non-competing teams are allowed to sit in, as well as the public. Communication is only between the presenting team and the panel of judges. Communicating with the audience is not permitted.
§6.9
All materials produced during IT Case Competition is the rightful property of the organizers. The organizers may record any presentations for the purpose of promoting the competition.
§7.1
To ensure the integrity of the competition and ultimately the quality of the winning case solution, the panel of judges is composed of both business professionals and university scholars. The panels are constituted at the discretion of the organizers and will include four individuals, one of whom will be designated Lead Judge. The Lead Judge will lead the Q&A on behalf of the panel and can cast the decisive vote in the event of a split panel.
Business professionals in the panel of judges will mainly represent ITCC partners. A representative from the case company will be present in each panel.
§8.1
The panels of judges evaluate each case solution on five parameters; Feasibility, Ingenuity/Novelty, Economical Benefit, Presentation and Usability. These are the overall areas that the presentations should seek to cover.
§8.2
In the preliminary group stage, the three panels of four judges have 10 minutes to question the team on their solution and five minutes after the team has left to debate the presentation before the next team arrives. In the five minutes between teams, the Lead Judge is responsible for noting down the panels comments. After the group stage, each panel has 20 minutes to deliberate on which solution they wish to nominate for the final.
§8.3
In the final, the 12 judges become one panel and will not have the opportunity to deliberate on the solutions in between presentations and Q&A; each judge is responsible for noting down their own impressions and the role of Lead Judge is suspended. After the final presentation, the teams and the audience vacate the auditorium, and the panel can deliberate on which of the three finalist will be the winner. The ITCC steering committee will also be present to oversee the deliberation.
§8.4
The winner is determined by vote. Every judge has one vote and the vote is cast by show of hands. The case company representatives do not have any additional vote, but are encouraged to inform the rest of the panel if they note distinctive benefits or drawbacks. The winner will be announced at the Gala ceremony.
§8.5
The winner of the side prize for best presenter is also determined by the final panel. The winner should be selected among the finalists. Each judge nominates a presenter for the prize while the ITCC Steering Committee totals the nominations. Minimum nominations for a win is six; if no one candidate obtains six nominations, all nominees with two or more nominations get a second vote. The winner will be announced at the Gala ceremony.
§9.1
Failing to comply with any of the rules above will result in immediate disqualification. Disqualification will be decided by the organizers. Decisions is final and cannot be revised.