Eller MIS Students Compete in Final Round of CoMIS Competition

In March, three students majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS) in the Eller College of Management, competed in the CoMIS Competition hosted by the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota—and they made it to the final round of competition.

The team was comprised of Allison Miracle ’21 BSBA, Khirin Dacanay ’22 BSBA, and Rhavi Dacanay ’22 BSBA. The trio competed against 19 other teams from schools around the world.

All teams competed in two cases, an initial 5-hour case to determine seeding—from which the Eller team emerged a top seed—and a final 24-hour case. The 24-hour case required the team to work together to innovate a solution to position a client—in this case, Land O’ Lakes food company—for success given the unpredictable business environment.

In past years, teams were given their case 24 hours prior to the presentation. This time, teams faced not only the same type of 24-hour competition but also the 5-hour competition. In addition to the two cases, teams also had to overcome the added wrinkle of virtual coordination and multiple-round presentations via Zoom.

Teams had 25 minutes to present their solutions to judges, and teams selected for the final round were given 30 minutes to update and refine their presentations. Final presentations also had to take into consideration a new piece of information that impacted the business and the solution, forcing final groups to work under pressure and overcome an unprecedented obstacle.

“This competition really requires creative thinking and knowledge of technology,” says Matt Hashim, associate professor of MIS. “Thinking on the spot, deciding on a solution, doing the research and presenting it to professionals is not easy. The fact that our team made it to the finals goes to show how amazing Eller students are.”