After hearing about the competition through advertisements at the University of Economics, Prague, CEMSies Petr, Filip and another student from the Czech Technical University decided to enter the Freshhh competition to learn more about the Oil and Gas industry.
The competition was set up in 3 rounds:
- Round 1: In the first round teams ran a refinery and had to optimize production to obtain the highest profit relative to the other 2200+ teams.
- Round 2: In the second round teams managed a chain of filling stations, while directly competing with other teams, to achieve the highest return on assets.
- Final Round: The 5 best teams then advanced to the live finals where the task was to create a presentation with recommendations for MOL Group how it should change its strategy in the low oil price environment.
In addition to obtaining a deep understanding of the Oil and Gas industry, the team improved their ability to think strategically and they also learned that working hard pays off...the final prize for the competition was an award of 25,000 Euro and an opportunity to join the MOL Group.
Filip Biznar believes that skills they learned at CEMS in communication, presentation and teamwork was especially key in the live finals where they interacted directly with the executive board of directors. “There was also one course on risk management, which I took during my CEMS exchange at the University of Cologne, that was particularly valuable for the competition. In that course we have managed a virtual company producing washing machines that was expanding globally. Here I learned many useful concepts of making strategic decisions and applied them during the Freshhh competition,” says Biznar.
CEMS and VSE gave them opportunity to get hands-on experience from leading corporations through seminars and projects and high involvement of lecturers with business background. “On one hand, the academic part of our study improved our working processes and set a high standard in conducting any analyses. On the other hand, experiences from the corporate world revealed to us the occasional limited applicability of the studied materials and what the real challenges in business are,” says Biznar. Besides the official seminars and curriculum, many opportunities to meet with the representatives of successful companies in less formal atmosphere were also provided. Through these meetings they were able to better understand perspectives on the world or get closer to job offers.
Biznar is also not new to competitions, he has also made it to the local finals in the KPMG International Case Competition and CFA Institute Research Challenge recently. “For CEMSies, it is important to have a broad understanding of the different industries and we should constantly pursue opportunities where we can develop further. The Freshhh 2015 competition provides a great insight into the Oil & Gas industry, it develops valuable skills and the overall experience was really exciting,” says Biznar. When asked what his future plans were, Biznar stated, “the basic vision for the beginning of my career is to get engaged in organization with positive impact on the world, to work with great colleagues and to continue learning and advancing.”
About Filip Biznar
Filip is from Slovakia and earned his bachelor's in Finance, Banking and Investment from the University of Economics in Bratislava and will graduate in St. Petersburg, Russia this fall after completing his CEMS studies at the University of Economics, Prague and the University of Cologne. He is currently working as an analyst at the Boston Consulting Group in Prague.
About Petr Boros
Petr is from the Czech Republic and earned his bachelor degree in Computer science from Masaryk University in Brno and will graduate in St. Petersburg, Russia this fall after completing his CEMS studies at the University of Economics, Prague and the London School of Economics. Petr is an active entrepreneur and cofounder of several companies. He is a music enthusiast and plays several instruments.
