The Heavener International Case Competition, hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida in the United States, is an undergraduate business case competition with twenty universities from around the world attending and   competing to solve challenging business cases. This year, from 15-20 February, Thammasat University was invited to    compete in the inaugural occasion of HICC. The Thammasat team was represented by four BBA International Program  students: ?Ning? Papada Sirisukhodom (BBA#21), ?Raveen? Raviporn Anandhwanlert (BBA#22), ?Timmy? Nontakarn   Tantisrisuk (BBA#22), and ?Ben? Pichetpat Chandrema (BBA#22).

Our journey began with very long flights and two transit stops before finally arriving at Gainesville, which is a small,  peaceful American college city generally populated by students from the University of Florida. On the first day of the   competition, we were immediately tossed into the competitive scene in the ?Gator? division that comprised of us against Concordia University, University of Melbourne, Maastricht University, and University of Southern Indiana. HICC attempts to push case competitions to the next level with a new format offering over fifty hours of case competition time split into two rounds of case cracking throughout the week.

The first was a 24-hour case based on a publicly listed local company called Exactech, which develops and produces orthopedic implant products to surgeons and hospitals worldwide. Despite a very positive and responsive feedback from judges, the team came 3rd in the division for the first round.