Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” In order to help improve Bilkent University and nurture a sense of social responsibility among students, the Bilkent Operational Research Club holds a case study competition called CaseBilkent every year.
CaseBilkent is unique because the topic of the final case always concerns an issue at the university. The event’s organizing committee conducts a survey open to everyone at the school. A topic is then selected on the basis of the survey results, and the case formulated with the help of university administrators and faculty members.
Next, teams selected from among those who apply to participate are given a week to solve the case before presenting their solutions to the competition jury. The teams selected as the first-, second- and third-place winners receive prizes. In addition, the first-place team’s solution is presented to the university administration for implementation.
This year, CaseBilkent’s topic was “Advertising Bilkent University.” Jacques Couvas, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration, mentored the organizing committee in writing the case.
The competition final took place April 17, with five teams participating. The jury selected the “Inforce Consultancy” team (Melisa Ek, Gözde Şen and Batu Ülküas) as the winner. Besides having the opportunity to see their solution implemented by the university, team members will receive full MBA scholarships at Bilkent as well as a spring break vacation.