Make the case for diversity

Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Notre Dame are invited to compete in the annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grow the Good in Business™ Case Competition. The competition is an opportunity for students to sharpen their business acumen and advance inclusion by taking on a real-world case. The competition, sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and now in its fourth year, awards $35,000 in cash prizes to the top six teams. The top three teams in each of the undergraduate and graduate tracks will earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500. Registration opens on the website February 10. “We aspire to Grow the Good in Business at Mendoza, and principles related to diversity, equity and inclusion are essential in that effort,” said Kristen Collett-Schmitt, associate dean for undergraduate and specialized master’s programs at Mendoza. “Workplaces and communities that consider DEI in operations and decision making have a greater chance to flourish.” Students compete in teams of two to four members, with one student per team required to be a student in the Mendoza College. Each team will submit written and oral solutions to a business challenge related to equity and inclusion to a panel of judges made up of Notre Dame faculty and staff members and representatives from sponsoring organizations. The case for the 2025 competition centers on affordable access to child care. The full case will be shared with each team after it registers. Past challenges have asked teams to create ways to improve equity in health care through private equity and solutions that increase access to and the quality of financial services in underserved markets. The timeline for the competition:

• March 8 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Registration closes.
• March 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET: Round 1 submissions due.
• April 1: The top three teams for the undergraduate and graduate tracks are announced.
• April 11 at 10:00 a.m. ET: Final round and networking event

Current sponsors include KPMG, 1st Source Bank, ADP, the South Bend Elkhart Regional Partnership, the Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership, the Fanning Center for Business Communication and the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate. For more information, visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grow the Good in Business™ Case Competition.