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International Business Challenge '26

Organization: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Subject: Business City: Amsterdam

Summary

Are you interested in growing your business abroad? In this challenge, a team of students from the MSc. BA International Management will assess potential foreign markets to expand your business and prepare a market-entry strategy.

Description

✅ Key features of the challenge

Students per team: 5-6 students

Teams per challenge: up to 3 teams (you can ask each team to focus on a different element and/or geographical area)

Course: International Management

Programme: Master Business Administration - International Management

No. of hours spent per team: 150 hours

Deliverables: to the point advisory report and a presentation.

Company time investment: Your time involvement is 8-12 hours in total (e.g., (bi-)weekly (short) meetings, interviews, final presentation, etc.).

Matching fee: €850,- (Only charged when matched to one or more teams)

📑 Main Deliverables and Challenge Examples

The main deliverables are a presentation and an advisory report containing recommendations for your challenge. Students will...

assess different markets for their potential

analyze the organization's fit with the foreign markets

develop an entry strategy

conduct primary research to understand customers' attitudes to your products and services

devise a marketing plan

identity potential partners in the foreign country

develop financial projections for the operations in the foreign market

🏢 Requirement for participating companies

Any small or large organization from any industry.

Be available during the kick-off and the final presentation (see planning).

Adequate involvement during the course by being available for interim (brief) updates and to answer team questions.

💰 Costs

Master Challenge will charge a matching fee of €850,- (ex tax).

❗️You will only be charged when matched to one or more teams (in other words, it's a flat fee).

📨 How to apply

You can submit the challenge directly through the website. Provide a title that summarises the challenge. Subsequently, briefly elaborate on your challenge. See link for a template you could use: https://link.masterchallenge.me/challenge-template or use the challenge generator: https://masterchallenge.me/challenge-generator

🗓 Planning

December 19: Deadline for submitting your challenge

December 19 (or sooner): Receiving message if your challenge is approved by the Course Coordinator

January 5-6: Matching phase

January 7: Kick-off meeting with your team (your team will contact you to set up the meeting)

January 29: Final presentations

Questions? Want to discuss your challenge before submitting one? Feel free to schedule a call 👉 here.

Information for students

We're happy to have you on board 👋

This will happen next 👇

Once your team is registered, get together (offline or online) with your team asap, to discuss which challenges you want to work on and why, and submit this selection. Deadline is January 5.

Subsequently, the participating organizations will rank the teams that want to work on their challenge on January 5.

Finally, our platform will generate and share the team-challenge matches on January 6.

Once you're matched to a challenge, schedule a kick-off meeting with the company representative on January 7 (or sooner if you're feeling ambitious). (☝️Use this template). Make sure to prepare for this meeting (e.g. read about the company and the contact person, draft and share an agenda, formulate questions, etc.).

TIP: Create a 'Social Contract' for your team (click here to learn why this makes sense). And check this article for clear instructions on creating a social contract.

Good luck!

Bram Kuijken

Key details

Open on Master Challenge