[编者按] 由北欧国际知名模拟课程平台CESIM公司举办的第二届面向国际留学生的“一带一路商业模拟大赛”决赛于11月30日在上海财经大学举行。我院来自巴哈马、柬埔寨、缅甸、尼泊尔的四名留学生组成参赛队伍Nirvana（涅槃）报名参赛，从全国近三十支参赛队伍中脱颖而出晋级决赛。在与10支决赛队伍经历一整天的激烈角逐后，取得优异成绩，荣获决赛二等奖！本文作者Ronnell Armbrister代表获奖留学生团队对参赛历程和赛事心得进行了总结回顾。

It all started on October 8, 2019, when we were introduced to the CESIM p

latform by Professor Johnson Cao in the first session of our International Business course. Little did we know at the time, it would be an exciting and life altering experience, that would draw out our strengths and shine a light on our weaknesses, bring us closer together and mold us into a tightly knit team.

The CESIM platform aims to not only enlighten us to the International Business Environment, but to provide us with a practical and dynamic experience of how important it is to truly understand your market, your capabilities and decision making aptitude.

After winning the game amongst our classmates, we gained more confidence and considered going up against the international teams in the competition. Our main goal was to learn from these teams who are studying Business Administration and International Business as Majors, because we knew we could gain a wealth of knowledge from them, and would benefit greatly from the exposure at the international level. We wanted to enjoy the experience.

Thankfully, we made it to the finals!

November 29: Rounds 1 – 2:

The first two rounds were rather tough, we were given two hours to learn the industry, and had to complete the second round within an hour of the first round’s completion. As much as we would like to use the excuse of having so many other commitments and time constraint to absolve our overall performance, however, in the real world, there are also many obligations and time constraints.

Knowing this, we had to gather our strengths, support each other, and make the best decisions that we could.

Grand Finale

November 30: Rounds 3-6:

The next day was the grand finale! We were all so excited to head to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. As we entered the busy campus, there was an immediate adrenaline rush. Upon entering the room to begin the final rounds, you could feel the energy of anticipation from all of the teams as they planned and strategized.

But this was only half the battle!

Next, we moved over to the library where we would display our creativity through our red carpet performance. After this point, we presented our decision making strategies and learning outcomes to the judges and audience of our peers.

And finally, we secured a second runner up position!

All in all, this was a truly rewarding experience and a great opportunity to network with like-minded progressive individuals preparing for successful careers. We are very grateful to SNAI and AFDI for the exposure to such a unique learning tool, and to Professor Johnson Cao for all of his efforts in preparing us for success!