Global Case Competition

The 180 Degrees Global Case Competition is an annual, social impact theme based case competition that offers students around the world a unique opportunity to solve real-world problem statements for some of the largest and most impactful nonprofits globally. The competition features multiple rounds of problem-solving case challenges, insightful discussions with case partners, and the chance to compete against the brightest minds.

The competition provides students a unique opportunity to:
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Gain recognition for innovative solutions

Work alongside global peers and industry mentors

Solve high-impact problem statements

About the 2026 edition of the Global Case Competition

The 2026 edition of the Global Case Competition will tentatively run from to December. Participants will go through multiple rounds of case-solving, engaging discussions with case partners, and final presentations before a panel of judges.
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Learn more about the detailed competition structure, application process and evaluation criteria in our programme brief here.
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View our programme brief

Apply here ( For 180DC teams)

Apply here ( For non- 180DC teams)

Follow us on social media for real-time announcements!

Timeline (Tentative)

September 1 – Applications open

October 4 – Applications close

October 16 – Round 1 results announced

November 1 – Round 2 submission deadline

November 14 – Round 2 results announced

November 22 - Round 3 (Interviews)

November 20 - Round 3 results announced

December 6 - Round 4 (Grand Finals)

December 13 - Winners announced

Who can apply

Who is eligible to apply?

Anybody who is currently enrolled in any full-time educational degree/programme and is
passionate about social impact & problem-solving!
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• Age has to be under 28 as on the date of application
• Team composition: 3-4 students per team
• Cross-university teams are allowed.

What’s in store for the winners?

Below is an indicative and tentative list of prizes, please note that we’ll be announcing a full list as we get closer to the launch!
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• Cash prizes (total pool will be announced soon!)
• L&D perks
• Complimentary access to CasewithAI - your personal AI case coach for 24/7 practice with instant, high quality feedback. You can learn more about their platform here or from their socials here.
• Fast-tracked recruitment for the Global Leadership Team at 180DC*
• Priority access to the Future Leaders Program 2025-26*
•GLT sourced projects in the following calendar year*
• Trophies & medals

* (Ts & Cs applicable)

About the 2025 Edition

About the program

180DC Global Case Competition gives an opportunity to students around the world to challengethemselves and make impact at a global scale. It aims to bring together the brightest minds fromaround the world, challenging them to solve a real-life social problem. We aim to cultivate thenext generation of impact-driven leaders by empowering aspiring consultants across the 180DCnetwork to use their expertise and create sustainable solutions for social change.Our case partner in 2025 was Barefoot College International (BCI), a global NGO equippingrurally remote communities with the tools and knowledge to achieve self-sufficient clean energy,educational and economic resource access. Our participants developed methods to help BCIlaunch an affiliate program that enables grassroots organizations to operate under the BCIbrand and scale their social impact

About our case partner of 2025 - Barefoot College International

Barefoot College International (BCI) is a global NGO equipping rurally remote communities with the tools and knowledge to achieve self-sufficient clean energy, educational and economic resource access.

BCI does this by training women as Solar Engineers, Educators and Entrepreneurs, and then equipping them to fully solar electrify their communities, and to implement educational and economic uplift programs. Communities living in rurally remote poverty are often prevented from taking control of their development by their reliance on costly, environmentally harmful fossil fuels that also impact human health.

BCI’s programs help communities achieve, on average: 98% reduction in the use of fossil fuels, a 70% reduction in ocular and respiratory infections, 50% increase in household income, 35% reduction in energy costs and 30% increase in educational attainment. BCI’s programs address 15 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Globally our work produces 205,682 MWh of clean energy every year, offsetting 164,500 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Their impact so far:
• 15/17 UN Sustainable Development
Goals achieved
‍• 98 Countries covered
‍• 4,250 Solar Mamas trained
‍• 7,455,000 Direct beneficiaries
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Visit BCI website here to learn more

Testimonials from the partner and winners

"180DC's dedication to providing an exceptional and productive experience for BCI was apparent from first to last. They took the time to learn about us deeply and became a true thought partner throughout the engagement. Their recommendations from the Global Case Competition were ofexcellent quality. As a small organization, we especially appreciated how 180DC went the extramile in helping us stay organized and on track. This partnership has delivered true long-term value to our organization and to our many beneficiaries we support in the field."
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- Sue Stevenson, Director of Strategic Partnerships and International Development, Barefoot College International

"The standards demonstrated by all this work and the presentations were excellent. Much of the content from all of the presentations will be of great use to us. The professionalism, dedication,and demeanor of all involved was exemplary. Many congratulations to everyone who presented.It is somewhat odious to pick winners and losers because of the wide range of useful content, but there were clear overall differences."
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- Hugh Stevenson, President, Barefoot College International Geneva

“Competing in the Global Finals was an incredibly rewarding experience for Adlay Advisory. Thecase allowed us to engage with Barefoot College International (BCI), and showed us the power of community-driven, women-centric models in real-world contexts. We were challenged todesign a scalable, values-aligned affiliate model, and our research helped us appreciate how solutions rooted in local knowledge and driven by community support can be both sustainable and transformative. This grounding allowed us to align our recommendations with the operational realities of decentralised vocational training and grassroots impact, ultimately strengthening our strategic insight and real-world applicability.”
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- From Adlay Advisory (180DC University of Sydney), Global Winner 2025

Snapshot of the 2025 edition:
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• 500+ students participated
• 130 teams from 25+ countries

Hall of fame:
Global Winners:
• Adlay Advisory (180DC University of Sydney)
• McNificent Solutions (180DC University of Warwick)
Global Runner-Up:
• CAC Cutters (180DC University of California, Santa Barbara)
Regional Winners:
• 180DC UGM Team A (180DC Universitas Gadjah Mada)
• El Chapo (180DC Shaheed Bhagat Singh College)
• The Bridge and Beyond (180DC University of Oxford)

“This case competition was an excellent opportunity to boost our skills and prove ourselves on atruly impactful case. It was great working with and presenting to a real client, one with real, proven and large-scale impact. We saw first hand the importance of deeply understanding the client and their unique context, balancing cost of implementation to its effectiveness, reflecting scarcity in resources social enterprises have. It gave us the confidence to take the next step to progress in the world of consulting and engage with new, exciting opportunities. Ultimately, we focused on crafting tailored impact and we delivered it.”
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- From McNificent Solutions (180DC University of Warwick), Global Winner 2025

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About the 2024 Inaugural Edition!

For the inaugural edition, we were honored to partner with One Acre Fund (OAF), a leading social enterprise dedicated to reducing hunger and poverty among smallholder farmers in East Africa. OAF provides farmers with asset-based financing, agricultural training, and access to essential resources to help them build sustainable livelihoods and combat food insecurity.180 Degrees provides socially conscious organisations around the world with affordable consultancy services in all areas of business: strategy, finance, sales and marketing, operations, logistics, and human resources.

The competition provided participants with the opportunity to engage with OAF's impactful work, gain insights into its initiatives, and pitch innovative solutions to real-life challenges the organization is currently facing. If you are interested to know more, feel free to check out our detailed deck on the 2024 edition here!

Testimonial from the partner
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We enjoyed working with 180DC Global and a variety of teams through the first Global CaseCompetition! We appreciated the diverse perspectives teams brought to the challenges posed, and received many ideas that we can pursue internally as a result.”
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- From One Acre Fund (OAF), case partner of 2024 edition

Snapshot of the 2024 edition:
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• 200+ students participated
• 60 teams from 10+ countries
• Real-world solutions pitched to the OAF team.

‍Hall of fame:
‍Previous Global Winners:
• Valencia (Global Winner)
• The University of Sydney (Global Runner-up)
• Vanderbilt (Third Place)
Regional Runner-ups:
• Milan (EMEA)
• Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (APAC)
• University of British Columbia (AMER)

Contact Us

❓Have questions about the Global Case Competition? We're here to help!

ℹ️ For general queries, reach out to us at global.programs@180dc.org
🤝 If you're interested in partnership opportunities with the Global Case Competition, please feel free to drop an expression of interest at partnerships@180dc.org
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