Call for Participation 2021 AEM-GSS Virtual Case Study Competition

The Agribusiness Economics and Management (AEM)-Graduate Student Section (GSS) Case Study Competition allows graduate students to test their communication skills and their ability to apply their knowledge of agricultural economics and agribusiness subjects to practical situations.

Competition Rules and Timeline: Each team must complete the 2021 AEM-GSS Case Study Registration Form by July 9, 2021. Teams can be comprised of up to three graduate students. Students may either compete as a team from the same university or partner with students from other universities. If there is only one student from a university that wants to participate, the student can compete on their own; or they can be matched with other students. In the case of teams that are matched with individuals from different universities, competitors will be notified of their teammates as soon as possible, and no later than the same day the case is announced.

The case will be sent to teams in late-July, and teams will be given approximately two weeks to prepare an oral summary of their solution to the case that will last no more than 15 minutes. The presentation should be recorded and submitted in advance for evaluation. Presentations lasting over 15 minutes will be penalized. The following week, teams will then (virtually) meet with judges for a live Q&A session. The live Q&A session will take place on Friday, August 20, 2021. There will be two rounds to the live section of the competition. In the first round, teams will answer questions from a panel of judges. The judges will then select the top three teams as finalists. The finalists will present their case live to a new panel of judges.

A summary of the competition timeline is presented below. Registration form due:	Friday, July 9 by 5:00 pm EST
Case sent to team:	Friday, July 30 by 5:00 pm EST
Recorded presentation due:	Friday, August 13 by 5:00 pm EST
First round of competition:	Friday, August 20, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm EST
Final round (if necessary):	Friday, August 20, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm EST

 Competition Prizes: The top three teams will receive plaques, cash prizes, and will be recognized on the AAEA website. The cash prizes are as follows:

• First Place: $300

• Second Place: $200

• Third Place: $100

This is an AEM and GSS co-sponsored competition. As early career professionals, students are highly encouraged to be AAEA members as well as GSS and/or the AEM members. Eligible teams must meet the following criteria:

1. At least one team member should have an active AAEA membership for 2021 and be a member of AEM or GSS.

2. Each team must complete the Case Study Registration Form identifying their teammates and the universities they represent. The completed registration form must be emailed to Samantha Bilgrien (sbilgrien@aaea.org) no later than July 9, 2021.

Please direct any questions regarding the 2021 AEM-GSS Virtual Case Study Competition to Dr. Aleksan Shanoyan (shanoyan@ksu.edu) or Aaron Staples (staple71@msu.edu).