A team of five Business Honors students at Chambers made an impression against dozens of universities in an international business ethics competition.
Hosted by Los Angeles-based Loyola Marymount University in April, the 2026 International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition had 59 teams from 41 universities across seven countries participate.
The competition saw teams of students attempt to rationalize real-world business challenges involving an ethical and sustainability dilemma, such as the environmental or supply chain impacts of an industry.
Students were tasked with pitching their chosen issue and potential solutions to a panel of judges across three presentations.
Chambers got involved in the international competition thanks to efforts from Dr. Li Wang, Director of the Business Honors Program, and Dr. David Dawley, Executive Director of the Robbins Center for Business & Strategy.
Through the Robbins Center, students can partake in study abroad programs, as well as on-campus opportunities such as the International Business Club. According to Dr. Dawley, it’s a goal of the Robbins Center to provide a variety of international opportunities, such as this recent case competition, to students.
“We’re always trying to up our game with the international offerings, whether it be abroad or here on campus,” Dr. Dawley said. “And a program like this helps us learn and compete in that landscape.”
Two divisions for the competition allowed universities to participate with teams remotely, in-person in Los Angeles, or both. The Business Honors students, including two seniors, one junior, one sophomore, and one freshman, participated in the remote division.
The students — Julia Vanatta, Morgan Baker, Nicholas Hage, Sogol Chekani, and Alessandra Prudhomme — prepared for the competition at Reynolds Hall over the course of six weeks. Their first task was picking a sustainability topic.
Senior marketing major Prudhomme said the team brainstormed several business ideas that involved sustainability issues, including blood plasma supply, artificial intelligence, and other topics before landing on electric vehicle batteries.
“A lot of electric vehicles right now are coming to the end of their lifetime,” Prudhomme said. “So it’s a problem that’s rapidly approaching and we thought it was a relevant topic to discuss.”
The team’s topic came to be titled From Production to Recycling: The Ethical Double-Edged Sword of EV batteries. They researched the production process of EV batteries and its environmental impact.
“People typically think they're better for the environment than they really are. We focused on how during the production process, there are lots of gasses released. And even when they’re recycled, that’s where a lot of the environmental harm is. So we wanted to hone in on that research and present an idea of how we can make it more sustainable.”
The teams competed across three rounds of presentations on their chosen topic. Dr. Wang said the first round consisted of a 25-minute presentation on the financial, ethical, and legal aspects of the idea with the entire team participating. Round two involved a 10-minute presentation with further details on the ethics of the idea, with two-to-three students participating. The final round was a quick, 90-second presentation by just one student — essentially an elevator pitch to the judges acting as an executive audience.
Prudhomme said the competition provided a good opportunity for her and the other students to gain some valuable practice on pitching to an audience.
“It’s nice to know how to pitch your idea to a company for whenever you have a job, because it’s not going to be easily replicated in a classroom setting. We had judges from many backgrounds, and we had to act as if they were our company’s board.”
For their incredible effort, the Chambers team earned runners-up honors in the online division's 10-minute presentation.
Taking away from the experience, Prudhomme said international opportunities like this one are a great way for students to learn outside of the classroom.
“It’s hard to get experience in the international sector, so any chance for that is something you’d want to latch onto. I studied abroad in Japan when I got the chance, and now I've been in this case competition. I think they all teach you valuable lessons that you don’t get in your typical classes.”
Providing students with these unique learning and competitive opportunities is one mission of the Business Honors Program. According to Dr. Wang, the program is still in its early stages, but it’s clear that the students are making their mark while competing with other universities.
“[Our students] are competing with national peers and getting that experience makes them more marketable,” Dr. Wang said. “Our graduates have done really well and we compete with big name schools. So we want to continue to provide these kinds of opportunities for the students.”
Following the competition, the students were given certificates from Loyola Marymount University recognizing their efforts as runners-up.
-WVU-
JC 05/18/26
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jacob Comer
Senior Communications Specialist
John Chambers College of Business and Economics
jrcomer@mail.wvu.edu
