How UF’s MBA Case Challenge prepares students for real-world business success
MBA student Davis Russell (MBA '26) shares how the competition and training and development workshops leading up to the Case Challenge shape his path to leadership.
The University of Florida’s MBA program hosts its annual Case Challenge to give students an opportunity to hone the business skills they’ve learned inside and outside of the classroom by working with a real company on a business challenge. The professional development experience, offered by the program’s Experiential Learning team, provides students with a taste of what they might expect in their future roles at some of the nation’s leading companies.
The months leading up to the Case Challenge are an important period that helps students not only prepare for the competition itself but also develop and practice skills that they will use in their careers. To do this, students participate in a variety of programs: Storytelling for Impact, Leadership Strategies and Team Building, Business Improv and Construct a Compelling Presentation in PowerPoint, to name a few.
Davis Russell (MBA ’26) recently participated in the Case Challenge, and made a point to take advantage of the training and development programs so he would be well-prepared for success in the competition and beyond.
Read more from Russell about how he prepared for the Case Challenge and how the experience is refining his skills for what’s next after his time in the MBA program.
MBA student Davis Russell
By Davis Russell
Throughout my time in the Two-Year Full-Time MBA program, I’ve sought to further develop business skills that I’ve built in my career, which include managing projects, events and marketing campaigns in the fine jewelry industry as well as at a marketing agency. Marketing is an area where I get to blend my creativity with strategy to develop meaningful campaigns.
In the University of Florida’s MBA program, I’ve been able to build on this foundation while refining my leadership and business skills. After I graduate in 2026, I plan to apply my experience and education to a career in branding and strategy with a focus on the luxury industry.
Until then, I’ve immersed myself in many of the training and development opportunities in the MBA program, all of which I can see using in my future career. More immediately, though, these opportunities were a great way to prepare for the MBA Case Challenge.
The case
This year’s case was presented by Owens Corning, a Fortune 500 global company that develops and sells building materials. We were challenged with identifying opportunities to promote sustainable growth by addressing new markets, products, or services while considering strategic fit, addressable market, customer needs, competitor actions, capabilities needed, implementation strategy and financial benefit.
The team proposed that Owens Corning implement thermal energy storage (TES) technology for both residential and industrial markets, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries with benefits like lower production costs, longer lifespan and environmental safety.
The recommendation aligned with Owens Corning’s existing expertise in insulation and high-temperature materials, supported by market analysis showing strong demand for sustainable energy solutions in both residential solar adoption and industrial applications, with an implementation strategy focused on leveraging current manufacturing processes to ensure scalability and meet the company’s sustainability goals.
How we prepared
We arrived at many of these insights thanks to preparation work done in the months ahead of the Case Challenge.
We attended the Storytelling for Impact workshop, where we learned to adapt storytelling techniques into business narratives for more compelling presentations; the Leadership Strategies and Teambuilding workshop, which gave us valuable tools for learning from others approaches to problem solving and how to effectively work as a team despite different backgrounds and experiences; and the Business Improv workshop, which helped us refine our communication, collaboration, influence and group dynamics through fun and interactive exercises like ‘yes-and’ arguments.
A few weeks before the challenge, we attended the Construct a Compelling Presentation in PowerPoint workshop. Here we learned the tips and tricks for content organization, storyboarding and slide design, providing skills for delivering content and engaging our audience, ultimately elevating the quality of our final deliverable.
Beyond these workshops, much of our MBA curriculum prepared us with essential skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and presentation design, all of which were key to our success.
Lessons learned
The Case Challenge allowed us to put our newfound skills and unique backgrounds into practice in a high-pressure, collaborative environment.
The teambuilding workshop gave us strategies to manage roles and responsibilities effectively, ensuring everyone’s strengths were utilized. The Business Improv workshop helped us adapt quickly when we received unexpected feedback during the Q&A session and respond with confidence.
These experiences advanced my ability to collaborate under pressure, refine complex ideas and communicate them clearly.
Prepared for what’s next
Overall, these experiences have helped me become a stronger collaborator, communicator and problem solver.
I’m looking forward to applying these skills in the upcoming Case Competition World Cup hosted in February by Management Consulted. This competition will be another chance to refine how I approach teamwork and present solutions effectively.
Beyond that, I plan to use these skills throughout my MBA program and in my career as a brand manager, where leadership, storytelling and strategic problem-solving will be key to success.
