WASCZ | Inspiring Young Leaders: ASIA Business Simulation

Last weekend, the ASIA Business Simulation Competition was successfully held in WAS Changzhou, with more than 100 participating students, including outstanding teams from WAS Hangzhou and WAS Nanjing. Our students did exceptionally, making great progress in the event and winning the only 'Gold' award, the highest recognition of their business acumen and strategic thinking in the competition.

Review highlights of  competition✨

This year's simulation challenge was even more creative than previous years, as each company had to start their own clothing product company with the theme of 'Cosplay'  and wear cosplay costumes that matched their products in mock sessions. After a series of these intense scenarios covering operations, roadshows, auctions and a 'business battle', the company that won more net worth became the champion.

After receiving their tasks, several teams worked through the night to prepare for the competition, with one of our international scholars saying: "We had to make a presentation about a subject that we weren't familiar with. And especially because we didn't have much time to prepare, we had to work under a time limit, which was quite stressful." The students were helped by detailed guidance from their instructor, Ms Wang, which proved invaluable in preparing for the competition. 

After the opening ceremony and the first round of testing, the competition started with a fierce auction. Each team had to purchase production equipment and materials such as wood, bricks and steel to build their office building through an online app. Students had to acquire these important resources through bidding, simulating the transaction process in a real business environment and experiencing the urgency of acquiring resources and the complexity of strategy development.

All teams actively raised their cards to bid in the auction session and started a wonderful game. The atmosphere was intense, with team members needing to make quick judgements, weighing costs and benefits to avoid early bankruptcy. Through effective communication and strategic cooperation, Company 5, Company 14 and Company 3 ranked among the top three in the auction round, successfully acquiring key resources and laying a solid foundation for subsequent operation sessions.

With a CEO and CFO in each team, as well as other senior leadership positions, students were required to work together under tight time constraints to design logos, products, and posters for their respective businesses, as well as dividing up the workload and taking responsibility for appropriate financial calculations, promotional planning, and other appropriate tasks based on their expertise. Members of the companies split into two groups and headed to the operation and roadshow classrooms for each round to prepare, fighting separately but united in their trust for each other in this competition.

"We get a first-hand experience of how business operates and how we as leaders should make decisions in it", said WAS student E. Xu, taking the role of a company CEO. Prior to the competition, Xu had raised more than RMB 140,000 for 27 students in Gansu by organising charity performances and was now participating in the business competition to gain new inspiration for her charity business.

After four rounds of complex operations and roadshows, the situation in the competition changed constantly. As the Business Simulation challenge reached its climax, the increasingly close scores between teams brought the competition to a tense stalemate.

After several days of meticulous preparation, each team adjusted their business strategies, presented their results to the judges, and responded to the judges' comments and questions. This session was a test of the participants' presentation skills and a challenge to their business thinking.

In the final round, teams had to seize this last chance to win or turn the tide, quickly adjusting their strategies and devising the best possible responses. In this crucial round, which accounted for 50% of the total score, Company 1 'Nirvana' ended the competition with a whopping 124,326,126 profit and a total score of 1,189.5 points, successfully taking home the Gold Award!

"In the fourth round of the competition, we saw that Company 2 was keeping up with our score. So, we decided to change our strategy and adjusted a figure, after which our sales rose rapidly." A member of the winner, Company 1, recalled the tense competition process, "This strategy worked, and we ended up winning the first place." They finally breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated the glory they had achieved by pouring their efforts into each other.

At the closing ceremony, the chair of this competation, Ms Marcia, announced the outstanding achievements of our students, "This is my second time coming to the school. Since the first time, there's been a huge improvement, especially with the children's willingness to learn." This is also the second time she has come to WAS Changzhou to make a fair and impartial selection of students' performance. The medals that symbolise the honour of participating are a reward for the effort contributed and a salute to the spirit of business. 

Congratulations to our students! In this collision of dreams, reality, talent, and hard work, 50 students received the ASDAN UK Enterprise Award, seven teams qualified for the 2025 ALL STAR Semi League, and five teams qualified for the 2025 ALL STAR National Final! We look forward to seeing these rising stars of business shine even brighter on the national stage!