During March 2020 the X_Bank University Challenge, an online inter-university competition using the Digital Banking Simulation by TOPSIM, was organized by Dr. Keith Pond (Loughborough University) and Klaus Walter. In this simulation, companies in the banking industry compete in the marketplace and each has its own business model, strategic focus & competitive advantage.
How was the online competition organized?
The Universities of Liechtenstein, Latvia and Malta each offered three teams, mainly composed of postgraduate students in Finance. Three teams of MSc Finance students from Loughborough University also competed. Comprising 5 rounds (the first being a pilot round, where teams could make mistakes and learn from them without affecting their results) the simulation was split into three markets, each with four institutions (four or five students per team). The four “scoring” rounds were one week-long, ending at midnight CET, each Sunday. Each Monday, a result summary podcast was posted.
In the final round a live webcast presented the results – and the winning teams to delegates and partners. Although there could be only one winning team, it is safe to say that all participating teams (and individuals) were able to “Learn Finance by Doing Finance”, and benefit from this highly interactive and engaging learning experience. Furthermore, students from Liechtenstein, Latvia and Malta were able to use the simulation as part of a credit bearing course, creating assessments and “wrap-around” lectures to investigate the issues raised further.
The simulation used a Moodle based VLE controlled from Loughborough University, signing up partner tutors and students to give them access to forums, weekly podcasts, the TOPSIM participant manual and chat rooms.
About the Digital Banking Simulation
In this Management Simulation participants take on the role of the management board of different companies – from an international banking institution to a financial service startup. The simulation is designed to facilitate an engaging, dynamic, interactive and highly impactful experience which will take participants on a journey in which they will alternate between the world of the industry and their own business model, through individual and collaborative learning.
We are looking forward to expanding the competition to other schools and students, expressions of interest can be addressed to Keith Pond directly. If you wish to hear more about how TOPSIM can support your (online) learning and training initiatives, do not hesitate to reach out to Angela Feigl or join our free webinar on April 21st. Sign up here: https://topsim.com/en/events/
