Sophomores Tasked with Marketing City of Austin Smart City Initiatives in Case Competition

Each year, all BHP sophomores compete in the BA151 Sophomore Lyceum Case Competition. The competition, held this past Friday, is the first case competition many of these students have competed in, and offers a great chance for them to practice the skills they are learning in their business classes. This year’s case, presented by Accenture, revolved around identifying ways to engage all Austin citizens in upcoming infrastructure improvements to the City of Austin. The case focused on the plans, which were recently approved by Travis County voters, to improve the Riverside Corridor. Judges from the City of Austin were also on hand for the final rounds to hear the solutions students came up with.

Out of 30 teams, five advanced to the final round. Each team took a very different approach to solving the problem, and the judges were impressed with the level of thought that went into the cases. In the end, first place went to Megan Tran-Olmsted, Jeffrey Gold, Dallas Killeen and Amaan Virani. Second place went to Seth Krasne, Henry Boehm, Reed Giesinger and Mary Heck. Third place went to Elizabeth Bell, Meredith Lutzak, Ron Jones and Enzo Modesto.

The winning team’s solution focused on local community outreach and city branding. “Our team wanted to focus on the people affected by the Riverside Corridor Project. Thus, we believe that connecting with residents of East Austin through community outreach events and local leaders will be the most effective method for change,” said Megan Tran-Olmsted. “In addition, we believe the City of Austin should work to be a leader in transportation infrastructure for other cities to emulate, so we believe that creating a distinct brand for this Smart City project will most effectively convey Austin’s message.”

Accenture is currently working with the city on this project, and will be packaging recommendations from all of the cases to present to the City of Austin. The names of the winning team members will be etched onto a plaque, which lives on permanent display in the BHP office. Congratulations to all of these students and special thanks to Accenture for providing us with such a great case, and to BHP alumnus Jacob Spangler for coordinating the case on behalf of Accenture.

First Place Team: Dallas Killeen, Jeffrey Gold, Megan Tran-Olmsted, Amaan Virani

Second Place: Seth Krasne, Mary Heck, Reed Giesinger, Henry Boehm