CoMErs Won Honors in the 3rd National Market Research and Business Planning Competition for College Students

On June 16th, the final of the 3rd CMAU National Market Research and Business Planning Competition for College Students was successfully concluded in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A total of 2,902 teams and 32,418 people from over 500 universities across the country have signed up for this competition. The "Red Fire" team of Tianjin University (hereafter called TJU), composed of MBA students Zhou Yan (captain), Zhang Peng, Zhao Jingjing, Yan Jianhu, and Tian Hengrui, stood out from 113 final teams after fierce competition and won the first prize nationwide, creating the best performance in the history of TJU in this competition. The "Ravenclaw" team composed of Wang Yuexin (captain), Liu Chuanpeng, and Chen Jiachun, an undergraduate team from TJU, won the second prize nationwide. Professor Li Lei, Associate Professor Ma Xiangyang, and Associate Professor Luo Cheng from the CoME were awarded the Outstanding Instructor Award, and Tianjin University was awarded the Best Organization Award.

The competition is divided into four stages: professional knowledge certification exam, school level selection competition, divisional competition, and national finals. The competition adopts the form of enterprise proposition, aiming to solve the "real problems" of enterprises through in-depth research, starting from industry pain points. Through research questionnaire design and distribution, big data research and Python programming, statistical modeling and analysis, market planning and business plan construction, financial indicator analysis and feasibility evaluation, etc., project reports and on-site defense are rated to cultivate and exercise students' practical abilities in market research and business planning, emphasize the practicality and commercial value of the plan, and innovative solutions to practical problems.

In May 2024, the preliminary round of the school-level competition was officially launched at TJU, attracting widespread attention and enthusiastic registration from MBA and undergraduate students. A total of 18 teams participated in the competition. In the preparation stage, the MBA program attached great importance to the careful organization and preparation, with participating team members closely cooperating and instructors to provide careful guidance, effectively combining theory with practice, and exploring market research and business planning in depth.

The "Red Fire Team" of TJU efficiently collected over 500 questionnaires from ten provinces and cities in China, including Guangdong, Shandong, and Jiangsu, during a short 2-month preparation period. They conducted over 100 offline interviews, extracted over 4000 pieces of data for code programming, constructed multiple statistical analysis models, and applied interdisciplinary knowledge systems covering key courses of MBA projects such as marketing, strategic management, financial management, and operations research to collect and analyze data. They proposed breakthrough and creative business implementation plans, and completed a high-quality project report with more than 55000 words in a short period of time. Not only did they achieve the established planning goals of the enterprise, but they also demonstrated commercial and social value. The quality of the proposed execution plan has been highly recognized by the school-level competition and divisional competition judges continuously.

This competition received guidance and strong support from the graduate school, the CoME, and MBA program of TJU. The MBA program aims to cultivate students' market research and future business planning application abilities as important educational objectives, actively building a talent training system that promotes and integrates professional education and innovation and entrepreneurship education.

Competition Introduction

The National Market Research and Business Planning Competition for College Students (CMAU) is jointly organized by the China Association for Market Studies in Higher Education Institutions and Credamo Platform. The aim is to enhance the market research and business planning abilities of college students and provide a platform for educational practice and skill training for teachers and students. The China Association for Market Studies in Higher Education Institutions is a non-profit academic organization approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China, voluntarily composed of experts, scholars, and enterprises and institutions engaged in marketing teaching and research in higher education institutions across the country. It is a first level academic institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.

The competition has received support from media such as China MBA Education Network and China Central Radio and Television Network. Through direct communication with the market research industry, the competition aims to gain a deeper understanding of the current development status and actual needs of the market research industry through methods such as enterprise proposition, industry guidance, and industry expert evaluation; Through competitions, students are trained to develop their professional skills and practical abilities in participating in enterprise market research and business planning, laying a solid foundation for their future employment and career development.