A dream team with great chemistry, months of brainstorming, research and practice, and a well-executed presentation helped five UConn Case Club teammates finish in the Top 3 in the prestigious Boston University Questrom 50K Sustainability Case Competition.

The UConn team competed against 86 collegiate teams that included students from Columbia, Dartmouth, UC Berkley, MIT, Cornell and Yale. The event winner was St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia.

The UConn team included seniors Tina Ngo (Management & Entrepreneurship; and accelerated MSSRIB) and Hunter Victorio (Management & Entrepreneurship), junior Nina Dombrowski (Analytics and Information Management), and sophomores Emily Baker (Accounting) and Kendall DeCook (Finance and Economics of Sustainable Development and Management).

The case explored the intersection to cryptocurrency and sustainability, and was a months-long project that culminated in a grueling four-round, in-person presentation at Boston University on Nov. 15.

“The knowledge and experience gained in a competition of this caliber cannot be overstated,’’ said Arminda Kamphausen, director for Global & Sustainability Initiatives at the UConn School of Business. “The students build bonds, enhance their professionalism, and end up as content experts in a space completely new to them.’’

“These are the experiences they will take with them as they move forward into careers,’’ she continued. “Their intelligence and capabilities were tested and they expanded their business knowledge by leaps and bounds.’’

Judges Loved UConn’s Unique Proposal

The competition challenged students to design a university-led solution that improves digital-asset adoption, security, and education for college students.

The UConn Case Club designed OpenKey, a university-focused hardware wallet and education platform that helps students safely store digital assets while learning how blockchain technology works. The idea addresses two challenges universities face: the rise of student interest in crypto without proper education, and the lack of secure, beginner-friendly tools on campuses.

Most of the team had very little previous exposure to cryptocurrency, so the first challenge was to learn about the technology. The judges praised the UConn team’s proposal as unique and well-planned and delivered via a strong presentation.

Team Expanded Business Skills; Developed New Friendships

The five business students were strangers back in early September, when they were randomly matched to work enter the competition. Over three months, they collaborated up to four times a week, often for up to four hours each time. They quickly developed strong friendships.

“This was my third year participating in the BU Questrom 50K Case Competition, and I keep coming back because I genuinely love exploring the intersections between business, strategy, and sustainability,’’ Ngo said. “The first two competitions I joined focused on environmental topics like textile waste and emissions reductions, but this year’s pivot to Bitcoin and digital currency pushed me completely out of my comfort zone in a really interesting and positive way.’’

Victorio, who is planning a career in medical device sales, said it was his first time participating in a case competition.

“Our team had a lot of chemistry; my teammates were incredible. If I was going to run a business, I would absolutely choose them as my business partners,’’ he said. “We quickly realized we had a strong presentation that was well supported by our research.’’

Victorio said because of the competition, he has developed more confidence, better presentation skills, and knows he can push himself harder than he had before. “I went in blindly and I didn’t realize what a great experience it would be,’’ he said.

‘We’re Hungry for a Win!’

“What made this experience especially meaningful was my team,” Ngo said. “I loved working with them, truly the best group of people ever. It still amazes me how close we all became in just a few months. Everyone brought such creative yet practical approaches, and I learned so much from them every single week. All of that helped us dive into a field that was incredibly foreign to us when we first started.”

“Participating in this competition matters to me because it challenges me to think critically, collaborate under pressure, and apply what I’m learning in real time. These experiences will continue to shape the strategic and sustainability-driven perspective I want to bring into my career,’’ Ngo said.

Dombrowski and her teammates are all very active in campus activities and had to juggle their planning around their other commitments.

“It was hard to fit in the time,’’ she said. “We all had lots of canceled plans in the last two weeks, but it was worth it in the end.’’

Dombrowski is planning a career in analytics and said during a recent job interview, she was able to highlight the BU competition experience and how critical teamwork was to their eventual success.

“It’s so applicable, I couldn’t stop talking about it. We were accountable to each other and we worked well in a high-pressure situation,’’ she said. “I’m grateful for the team. We lost by one vote! Some of the team members said they wouldn’t enter another competition, but I think we all will. We’re hungry for a win!’’