KU Business Case Competitions

EY/KU Case Competition

Each fall the KU School of Business, in partnership with the KU Case Competition Club, hosts a case competition with cash prizes open to KU undergraduate students of all disciplines.

This opportunity is generously supported by global accounting and consulting firm EY.

2026 EY/KU Case Competition key dates

• Registration period: August 24 – September 16
• Kickoff meetings: Interested participants should attend either 5 p.m. September 8 or 5 p.m. September 10, Dicus Family Auditorium, 1111 Capitol Federal Hall.
• Required workshop: 5 p.m. September 17, Dicus Family Auditorium, 1111 Capitol Federal Hall
• Preliminary-round video submission deadline: 11:59 p.m. September 22
• Networking event: 5–7 p.m. October 8, Capitol Federal Hall
• Finalist competition: From 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m. October 9, Dicus Family Auditorium, 1111 Capitol Federal Hall

Who can participate?

Undergraduate KU students of all disciplines

(Note: Teams that place in the top five become ineligible for future fall competitions.)

Why participate?

• Showcase your strategic thinking and presentation skills.
• Network with industry professionals during a dedicated event.
• KU Business students will earn 20 HATCH points for participation in the competition, 10 NEST points for attending an info session, and 10 HATCH points for the required workshop.

Cash prizes

• 1st place: $1,200 
• 2nd place: $1,000
• 3rd place: $800
• 4th place: $600
• 5th place: $400
• Five additional awards, each $400, in categories of Most Innovative, Best Presentation, Judge's Choice

Kirkendall Awards Ideation Challenge

Established in 2024, the Kirkendall Fund honors the late KU Business and KU Engineering alumni Robert “Scott” Kirkendall, Jonathan “David” Kirkendall, and their parents, Robert and Gail Kirkendall. This permanent endowment fund supports student-driven solutions to major environmental, technical and social challenges.

Kirkendall Awards

Interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students from Business, Engineering and other STEM fields at KU compete in a 10-week challenge throughout the fall semester. Over the 10 weeks, participating students will:

• Receive a specific prompt with a current environmental, technical or social challenge;
• Participate in a series of workshops to learn and apply the design thinking process;
• Research, design, prototype and test a real-life business solution;
• Receive mentorship and coaching from past competitors and professionals;
• Present their ideas to a panel of expert judges from industry, venture capital and academia at the end of the 10-week period. The top three teams receive prize money.

Who can participate?

Undergraduate and graduate KU students from:

• KU School of Business
• KU School of Engineering
• Industrial Design majors
• All STEM majors

How to apply

Applications for the 2026 Kirkendall Awards Ideation Challenge were due April 10. 

Program format

Students are expected to attend all sessions. Programming is tentatively scheduled for Fridays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Capitol Federal Hall. The final Friday will include extended sessions for the preliminary and final rounds. Exact times will be shared with selected students.

Team structure

Teams of four that do not meet the below requirements will be disqualified from consideration.

• Apply as a pair or a team of four; selected pairs will be matched with another pair to create a team of four.
• Each team must include:
  • At least one Business major
  • At least one Engineering/STEM major

AIO Case Competition

The AIO Case Competition challenges students to apply Figure Sense principles to generate insights from real-world data, sharpen their analytical and presentation skills, and compete for cash prizes.

Who can participate?

The fall 2026 competition, open to undergraduate students, will kick off in September with the case release. Teams could include one to four members.

Undergraduate students must have a major and/or minor in one of the following:

• Business Analytics
• Information Systems
• Supply Chain Management