GTK students developed a collaboration strategy for a British hotel chain and a Sri Lankan tea distributor in Manchester

Between 3 and 7 September 2026, Manchester Metropolitan University hosted the Keen Minds Case Competition, an international case study competition where four GTK students represented our organization and Babeș–Bolyai University.

During the competition, the participating teams were tasked with developing a business strategy for a mutually profitable partnership between a British hotel chain and a Sri Lankan tea distribution company.

The format of the competition differed in several ways from traditional international case competitions. Our students received the case on 3 September, giving them several days to analyze the problem and develop their initial strategy. However, on the on-site competition day on 7 September, the original case was supplemented with new information and expectations from the partner companies. Based on these developments, the team had only three hours to refine their previous solution, adapt it to the new circumstances and subsequently present and defend their proposal in front of a professional jury.

The team consisted of Gergely Péter, Gombkötő Karola-Beatrix, Nagy Jázmin and Zoványi Tamás-Tibor.

The team was prepared by Dr. Szász Levente, Dr. Rácz Béla-Gergely and Dr. Györfy Lehel-Zoltán, while Dr. Szász Levente accompanied our students to the competition in Manchester.

Although the team did not advance to the final this time, our students received numerous positive professional comments from both the jury and the representatives of the companies involved in the case. The competition also provided them with a valuable opportunity to test their analytical skills, adaptability, teamwork and communication abilities in an international environment and in a setting closely resembling real-life business decision-making situations.

Congratulations to our students on their strong performance and on the valuable international professional experience gained in Manchester!