Dear Ychallengers,
Greetings from us again! We have been holding up our breadth (with much difficulty, perhaps, as we are too excited as well) not to reveal to you all the exciting “titbits” we have in store for you! Now is a few more days till the registration deadline and we think that it is high time we revealed … bit … by … bit (isn’t that makes the journey more … provocative?) what awaits you in the first round of challenges……
In the first wave, we will present to you one situation that faces the management of a business in Vietnam in their daily operations and challenge you to tackle not only the issue on the surface itself but also, with some creativity, how to solve the problem in a sustainable manner i.e. preventing it from emerging again. You will not have much space to present your idea so be concise and make your points within two pages. And then, the one or two-page appendix is the place for you to includeanything that supports your answer so be creative here 
You and your team will have roughly one week to crack the case.
For teams in Singapore, particularly those still in school, we know that the beginning of November is a hectic period for you in terms of project deadlines and examinations. Therefore, we have designed the case in such a way that it will not require much additional research from you but rather challenge you to think critically and creatively within the context provided. Of course, further research will help sharpen your proposal and bring it closer to life.
For teams with majority as Singaporean/international members, we recommend that you start reading on business culture and practices in Vietnam so that you can tailor your answers to suit the reality here. Often times, these soft components do matter.
For teams in Vietnam, perhaps you can start preparing by refreshing your knowledge in some basic concepts in marketing, finance, supply chain, logistics etc… in English, which will come in handy.
Now, you may wonder how your teams can compete without having members with prior exposure to business concepts. Don’t worry. We always say that this competition welcomes energetic youths from all walks of life and we mean it. We assure that only basic understanding of those concepts is required. So if you start reading up on them now or a bit later before the challenge starts, we are sure you can catch up in no time! In fact, the diversity of your team backgrounds will be an asset should you proceed to the next round as the main cases developed with our partners will challenge you beyond business savvy.
Hope that we have not revealed too much and destroy the fun. We’d like to conclude this note with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, which goes “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.” Have fun sharpening your axes and you’ll see your tree soon enough! ^.^
Cheerios,
NG.