The ESADE students’ team was declared the winner of the KPMG Innovation & Collaboration Challenge (KICC), held last week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The competition involved developing ideas for digitalising health systems to improve the lives of those suffering from non-contagious diseases in isolated communities.

The team, comprising Alisa Znamenskaya, Álvaro Lizán, Jaime Machimbarrena, and Juan Beltrán (all taking the Bachelor in Business Administration — BBA), presented an innovative idea for a ‘health kiosk’ specially designed for easy access and use for those living in isolated communities. “The jury was impressed by the way the Spanish students had come up with an ‘end-to-end’ solution which, if adopted on a large scale, would help a great many people”, noted KPMG, whose prize for the winners was a programme in the company focussing on LEAN Health.

The value of the solution presented by the ESADE students lay in its focus on non-contagious diseases and its use of technology (whether present or future) to diagnose and treat illnesses as a preventative measure. This is why the jury rated the ESADE students’ proposal above those of other finalists (with teams drawn from Canada, The United Arab Emirates, and the US).

“We are very proud of taking part in another international challenge of the calibre held by KPMG, and of ESADE’s students’ participation in it. It is particularly gratifying that an ESADE team carried off First Prize”, noted Gerard Costa, Associate Dean for the BBA programme.

Educational Value

“Beyond the support offered by ESADE, our students are entrepreneurs who take part in these competitions and give up the little spare time they have after meeting the tough demands of their academic programmes. Competitions consolidate students’ learning and build upon their previous job experience. They also make the most of students’ willingness to experiment and take on new challenges. We are proud of our students when they carry off the prize but one needs to bear in mind that learning rather than winning is the aim”, adds Costa.

“I am delighted that I had this unique opportunity”, said Alisa Znamenskaya, a Third-Year BBA student. “The competition was very tough and we are proud of working with highly talented students from various backgrounds and from around the world. This challenge helped us learn the skills we need to make it in the business world. Moreover, the health project we worked on showed us that we can help make the world a better place through what we do”.

There were 17,500 entries from students to take part in this year’s KICC. These students were drawn from 500 universities spread across 25 countries. Just 21 teams reached the international final, working together over four days to come up with a variety of solutions for the health sector.