Student team second in global competition

The second-placed undergraduate team, Ethan Gillespie, Georgia Moody, Kate Sims, Dr Sharon Lucock, Grace Moscrip and Fergus Lee.

Team organiser Dr Sharon Lucock, said Lincoln delivered a stunning performance in the competition.

"The undergraduate team, in particular, finished second place in the world. This is a tremendous achievement for our students, considering this was the very first time that Lincoln University had entered this competition."

The event was held as part of the 33rd International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) Annual Conference from 17 to 21 June. Universities from around the world sent teams to compete.

The case competition and the symposium section of the conference, where researchers presented their papers, were hosted on-campus by Lincoln University over the weekend, with the competition going to Christchurch for the final.

The competition started on Saturday, with the final on the Monday. The Lincoln postgraduate side of Haga Ginting, Tram TramVy, Jerome Bilongilot, Radya Mahardika and Jabus Kok put up a strong challenge but didn’t make it through to their final.

The undergraduate side had been asked to help the multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Bayer, to find a practical pathway in sustaining partnerships with NGOs and work with small holder maize farmers in Honduras in the final, presenting their recommendations to a panel of judges.

The students' journey to the event started in March in a "Dragon's Den" style selection competition organised by Dr Lucock and her Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce colleague, Dan Smith, where they had to present before Lincoln experts to display their skills and knowledge.

Ten students were selected to form the undergraduate and postgraduate teams, and they trained once a week after the mid-semester break to prepare.

The teams’ conference registration was sponsored by the Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, while their other conference expenses were sponsored by ANZCO Foods.

The postgraduate and undergraduate teams.