International Student Business Competition: A Mysterious Business Case II successfully implemented
The Department of International Business is pleased to share that from 16–22 January 2026, the major part of the project titled “Challenges in Business Education + International Student Business Competition: A Mysterious Business Case II” was successfully implemented. The project, created by a member of the Department of International Business, is sponsored by the International Visegrad Fund. It was officially submitted to the Fund by the Faculty of International Relations of the Prague University of Economics and Business, in cooperation with Matej Bel University and the University of Pécs.
On 16 January 2026, 18 students from Czech and Hungarian universities, representing a total of six nations, departed from different locations for Banská Bystrica, where they were supposed to spend two nights. On 17 January 2026, they spent one day at Matej Bel University at a public roundtable, where four speakers from three universities – Matej Bel University, the University of Pécs and the Prague University of Economics and Business – exchanged scientific evidence and ideas with the students present on current challenges in business education vis-à-vis the spread of AI tools. In addition, the students took part in a one-hour psychology-oriented workshop led by Ms. Andrea Seberíni.
In the evening, the official opening of the second edition of the International Student Business Competition: A Mysterious Business Case took place. It was held at the Frais restaurant in the center of Banská Bystrica. During the opening, the drawing of groups, the assignment of business cases and the assignment of mentors took place. In this year’s edition, the competition was enriched with new outdoor and game activities. This meant that the business cases the students received were incomplete, and the teams drawn had to complete different tasks over the following days in order to obtain the full version of their case.
On 18 January 2026, the 18 students and their mentors departed for a mysterious location. Like last year, the students did not know the final destination. Eventually, they arrived in the Low Tatras and were accommodated in Chata Zázvor, where they spent four nights.
The whole program was complemented by a one-day trip during which students also carried out several outdoor and game activities. On Wednesday 21st, the defence session took place. It took over five hours, and the presented solutions were of very good quality. Nonetheless, the mystery remained unsolved again. The winning group was awarded 1 800 EUR (300 EUR per person). The awarded students were: Štěpán Matyáš (Brno University of Technology), Vojtěch Pumpr (Charles University), Petr Kubalík (VŠE), Ondřej Bednárik (VŠE), Juan Esteban Muñoz Gomez (University of Dunaújváros) and Martin Moravčík (Masaryk University).
In addition, the jury, composed of four members, including one of the two members of the Organizing Team, voted for the best student of the competition. This award was given to Petr Kubalík, who received an additional 150 EUR.
We congratulate everyone on their participation. Also, the Department of International Business greatly appreciates the participation of the two partner universities as well as the assistance of Bachelor’s student Mr. Matúš Šintál for becoming the second member of the Organizing Team, alongside the aforementioned department member. The aftermovie video is available here.
