The results of the World Asian Case Competition were announced recently in which Team India represented by the four-member team from Delhi University, comprising of Madhav Chadha and Manpreet Malik from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies was placed 2nd globally, thereby lifting the Silver Cup, under the mentorship of College Principal, Dr. Poonam Verma, and Faculty teacher, Mrs. Madhu Totla, thus becoming the first Indian undergraduate college team to not only qualify for the International finals but also finish at the podium. One of the proud winners, Madhav Chaddha shared his entire experience from being an inquisitive first year, charmed by the case competitions at Harvard and other colleges to winning one himself. As he said that this journey has been nothing but that of practice and the desire to get better and improvised everytime through self evaluation and guidance from seniors.

Just one month into the first semester he realized that these case competitions don’t just cover the spectacles of Ivy leagues but are also very popular in the DU circuit and around. The idea of the kind of hands-on learning that he could potentially derive out of these motivated him to give them a try since they would also help him with his academics and would add to his resume in case he did well.

But as he said, it was not an easy ride because the preparation demands commitment and consistency. Beginnings can be uncertain, covered in layers of confusion, but again, one needs to give some time and you eventually fall in love with the process which at least he did. He had to miss 90% of the weekend outings his friends planned because of a case competition or a debate but he labels it as a tangible cost which comes attached. 

Sharing his learnings he said that it’s all about problem solving, as he believes he learned a lot, and still continues to learn that skill, whether it is about skimming through the financials or analyzing which business decision went wrong. 

Summing-up his entire experience he said it was fruitful and rewarding. Back in March, AnanyaGupta and Jahnvi Vig had asked him and Manpreet Malik to team up with them for this “Seoul based Case Comp”. The timeline of the event was well spread. They worked hard and became the first UG team from India to qualify for the finals which previously saw participation from the likes of Wharton, Imperial College of London, NUS, IIMs, etc. On 8th August, they were awarded the silver cup after 10 presentations and a tricky Q&A. This activity gave a lot to him. Not just the push to learn more and be consistent, but also the best of friends and a niche group of people with similar goals in life.Utilizing the above rewards, in an attempt to make things simpler for others he and his friends came up with the Case Connect Club, a platform for learning and networking, which aims to eliminate information asymmetry.With Chief Mentors carrying remarkable case victories and well-positioned Industry Professionals, it aims to foster mutual-growth catalyzed by continually engaging with this activity through well-planned learning mechanisms. Readers can check it at caseconnectclub.com. 

In the words of Madhav Chadha “Learning case solving and being reasonably good at it is a long journey, but it’s totally worth the time spent, as you’re rewarded proportionately.” 

Happy learning!