Rulebook

BBU ICC RULEBOOK

BBU ICC strives to create a learning-focused environment for all participants. To ensure the success of the case competition, teams and their advisors must comply with the established rules and regulations. Fair play is a fundamental principle of the competition, and all participants are expected to treat one another with respect while adhering to the competition guidelines. If any rules are unclear, please contact bbuicc@econ.ubbcluj.ro for clarification.

1. GENERAL RULES AND ELIGIBILITY OF THE TEAMS

1. To be eligible, students must not have completed their bachelor’s degree requirements and must not have started any master’s or postgraduate program before BBU-ICC 2025 is held.
2. Teams should consist of four undergraduate students and be supported by an advisor, who will not participate in case solving or presentations and may only communicate with the team after the presentation is complete.
3. No substitutions or alternate team members are permitted once the case is released.
4. If a team member must withdraw due to unforeseen circumstances or illness, the team may continue with fewer than four members.
5. Delegates are expected to be punctual and attend all events.
6. Any questions regarding the rules must be submitted in writing, please contact bbuicc@econ.ubbcluj.ro for any clarification.
7. Late case submissions are strictly prohibited.
8. From the moment the case is released until the final round of presentations is completed, delegates and faculty advisors are not allowed to communicate with the judges.
9. All delegates and faculty advisors may attend the final presentations.
10. By participating in the competition, delegates and faculty advisors consent to the following:
    • The disclosure of room numbers to the BBU-ICC Organizing Committee.
    • The capture of photos and videos during the event.
11. All materials created during the competition, including cases, recordings and presentation slides, will become the property of BBU-ICC and may be shared with the case company afterwards.

2. DIVISIONS AND COMPETITION FORMAT

The competition includes 12 teams, each consisting of 4 undergraduate students. Teams will be divided into 3 divisions, with 4 teams in each, running concurrently. A draw during the Opening Ceremony will determine both the team allocations for each division and the order in which teams receive their cases.

BBU-ICC 2025 will challenge participants with 2 cases:

1. One short 6-hour case (will count for 40% of the total score).
2. One long 24-hour case (will count for 60% of the total score).

1. The 6-hour case will be solved on Tuesday, the 16^th of September, using a staggered time system as follows:

Division and presentation order will be drawn at the Opening Ceremony on Sunday, the 14^th of September.

The schedule for the 6-hour presentation period will be as follows:

After the case-solving period concludes, each team’s designated ambassador will escort them to the presentation rooms.

2. The 24-hour case will be solved on Thursday and Friday, the 18^th – 19^th of September, using a staggered time system as follows:

The schedule for the 24-hour presentation period will be as follows:

Teams will present in descending order, with Team 4 starting in the earliest time slot.

Teams must arrive at least 15 minutes before their assigned presentation time.

Advancement to the finals:

The team with the highest points in each division after the 24-hour case will advance to the finals. Only one team per division will qualify, and final presentations will begin at 3:00 PM on Friday, September 19th.

3. TECHNICAL ASPECTS

The cases will be uploaded to a designated Google Drive folder and will also be provided in printed version. Teams are required to upload their solutions to the corresponding Google Drive folder for both cases. Judges’ feedback will be sent to teams via email following each case. Before the case analysis, all teams – excluding the advisor – will receive a link to the Google Drive folder, where each team will have a dedicated space for case materials and submissions.

4. CASE ANALYSIS

1. Teams conduct their case analysis in designated rooms at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FSEGA) for the 6-hour case and at the Wyndham by Ramada Hotel for the 24-hour case.
2. At the designated time, the case will be provided via a specified Google Drive folder and in printed version.
3. The case must not be discussed with or shown to anyone outside the team.
4. Each team will have 6 hours to complete the short case and 24 hours to complete the long case.
5. To ensure all teams have the same preparation time, the start time for case analysis will be staggered. The exact time when each team receives their cases, which also determines the order of presentation, will be announced during the Opening Ceremony.
6. If a team encounters any issues during the case analysis, they can contact their team ambassador who will communicate the questions to the respective organizer.
7. Teams are required to analyse each case, prepare their recommendations and create a presentation to support their solution.
8. Once completed, each team will present their recommendations in a 15-minute session to a panel of judges for evaluation.
9. After the presentation, there will be a 10-minute Q&A session.
10. After all of the 2 cases are completed, each divisional winner will present their 24-hour case in the finals.
11. Weighting will be applied to prevent tied results, but if a tie occurs, the judges will deliberate until a winner is determined.
12. Judging feedback and related documents will be sent via email after the announcement of each day’s results.
13. Prior to the competition, all participants, excluding the advisor, will receive access to the Google Drive folder where cases and submission instructions will be provided, and each team has a dedicated folder for uploads.
14. The following sub-folders will be available in each team’s Google Drive folder:
    • A folder containing the cases.
    • Sub-folders for uploading presentation slides (both as a PowerPoint file and a PDF).
15. Sub-folders for judge feedback, which will be sent via email after the winner is announced.
16. Before the case analysis period ends, teams must upload their presentation files (both as a PowerPoint file and a PDF) to the relevant sub-folder in their Google Drive.
17. During the first and last 5 minutes of the case analysis time, a volunteer will check in with each team to ensure everything is running smoothly.
18. Teams are not allowed to modify their presentation slides after uploading them at the designated time.
19. Any late submission by a team will be noted, and the judges will be informed, which will negatively impact the team’s ranking for that case.
20. BBU-ICC volunteers will assist teams with laptop-related issues as best they can. However, should technical problems arise, teams will not be given additional time for case solving.

5. USE OF MATERIALS

1. Each team is allowed to use:

• The case, which will be provided via Google Drive and in printed version.
• Google Drive to share files among team members.
• Scrap paper, writing utensils (pencils, pens, highlighters, markers, chalk).
• Up to 4 laptops; internet access is allowed with certain restrictions (see below).
• Textbooks, reference materials and personal notes, including compendiums and collections of articles.
• Bookmarked web pages for quick reference.
• Snacks, drinks and any required personal medication or medical devices.
• Calculators.
• Pre-prepared slide deck templates.

2. Any materials or devices not listed above are strictly prohibited during the case solving. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Mobile phones or any other communication devices.

3. Teams must not access the following websites or communication platforms during the case analysis:

• Social media platforms such as Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.Messaging apps including iMessage, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat or similar external communication services.Any databases requiring a login are not allowed during case analysis.Research must be conducted using publicly available and free resources.Paid sources such as Harvard Business Review articles are not permitted.If a team is uncertain about the validity of a source, they should seek clarification from the organizers.

4. All participants must log out of any restricted accounts before starting the case solving.

6. COMMUNICATION WITH EXTERNAL PARTIES

Teams must not discuss or share the case with anyone outside their team, and advisors may only discuss the case with their team after their presentation has ended. To ensure fairness and maintain the integrity of the competition, any form of communication with non-team members, including advisors, is strictly prohibited during case preparation. Seeking external input or engaging in plagiarism will result in maximum penalties. We strongly believe that every team selected for the competition possesses the intelligence, skills, and academic excellence needed to develop their own ideas and solutions without relying on external input or assistance. Therefore, we expect all participants to respect and follow these rules to uphold the values of the competition.

7. PRESENTATION

1. Presentations will take place at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FSEGA) in Cluj-Napoca.
2. Each team will be evaluated by a panel of 4 judges.
3. Teams must use PowerPoint for their presentations.
4. Teams may include their university name and logo in their presentation if they choose to do so.
5. Each team will have 15 minutes to present their recommendations.
6. A 10-minute Q&A session will follow the presentation.
7. Teams will be cut off once their 15-minute presentation time is up.
8. Any unused presentation time cannot be added to the Q&A session.
9. A short tech buffer will be provided before each presentation to resolve any technical issues.
10. During the presentation, a BBU-ICC volunteer will provide time warnings at 10, 5, and 1 minute(s) remaining.
11. Teams may not watch the presentations of other teams within their own division. But once their presentation is over, teams are allowed to watch presentations in other divisions.
12. Advisors may watch presentations within their team’s division and all final-round presentations.
13. Advisors may not communicate with their teams until after their team’s presentation is complete.
14. Each team will be ranked within their division from first to fourth place for each case.
15. The 6-hour case will contribute 40% to the final score.
16. The 24-hour case will contribute 60% to the final score.
17. Judges will provide teams with written feedback, which will be sent via email.
18. A winner will be announced after each case.

8. FINALS

1. The 3 finalist teams will be announced after the winner announcement of the 24-hour case.
2. The finalists need to present their 24-h solution once again in the finals.
3. Finalist teams cannot make any changes to their presentation slides.
4. Non-finalist teams and all advisors are welcome to attend and watch the finals.
5. Finalist teams may only watch the presentation of the team(s) presenting after them.
6. Once a team advances to the finals, their advisor will not be allowed to communicate with them until after their final presentation is over.
7. Scores from the previous two rounds will not carry over to the finals. The final rankings will be based only on the final presentations, as determined by the judges.

9. PENALTIES & NON-COMPLIANCE

The organizers have the authority to disqualify any team that violates the competition rules or acts in a manner that undermines the professional and collaborative spirit of the event. If a team is found to have communicated with external parties or involved outsiders (including virtual participants) during case solving or before their presentation, they will be immediately disqualified from that case and receive 0 points.

The organizers reserve the right to modify the rulebook until the start of the competition.