Every fall Rotterdam University AS – in close cooperation with the Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) – hosts the Rotterdam-Carleton International Case Competition (ROCA); one year in The Netherlands, the next year in Canada. It’s the first transatlantic international undergraduate business case competition in the world. An inaugural edition took place in 2017, then called RICC.

 ROCA is an event like no other, : All cases are “live and real”, and cover a broad range of transdisciplinary business problems for companies in the local area with a strong focus on sustainability, responsible leadership, and the economy of the future. Undergraduate student teams from 16 top-ranked business schools from various different continents compete.

The competition lasts for 6 days. Each team plays 3 head-to-head matches in a division, the winners and the best numbers 2 advance to the final for one last match.  All ROCA cases are accompanied by a digital database with relevant sources. The database is made available to the teams several weeks before the start of the case competition week. This provides a level-playing field for all teams and also results in better solutions for the company’s challenges. Moreover, all teams get the opportunity to ask the “problem owner” questions during the case solving process.

The teams present their recommendations to a panel of expert judges from leading companies. After each round the judging panels provide feedback to the teams, to enhance the students’ learning curve during the competition.

The event also includes several (social) activities aimed at community building between students, companies and coaches.