8th SJIM-Albers International B-Plan Competition

It is 2024 and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as a technology and a tool, has been growing in leaps and bounds. However, the benefits of this technology are being limited to those on the privileged side of the digital divide while vulnerable groups are being left behind in an emerging AI-driven society. Neither governments nor large businesses have spent sufficient effort to bridge these gaps. This task now seems to be left to entrepreneurs to do better. Can you use the power of AI to improve the lives of one vulnerable group, namely, the elderly?

Would you like to take part in a competition that is trying to find a scalable solution towards using AI to help the elderly? Would you like to collaborate across continents on an impactful assignment?

St. Joseph’s Institute of Management (SJIM, India) and the Albers School of Business (Seattle University, USA) invite you to join hands with students at Albers and SJIM to create the best business plan to solve this crucial problem.

You will be part of a virtual team, collaborating over the internet and harnessing different countries’ technical and social expertise towards a critical global issue.

The business plans of all participating teams will be judged by prominent and successful jury members from across the globe. Three finalist teams will get to present and debate their case in front of a distinguished panel at Albers or SJIM, either in-person or virtually.

So join us today to win this unique multi-school multi-nation b-plan competition!

Competition Topic

There is no doubt that the usefulness AI as a technology and a tool has taken the world by storm by in the last few years. The current global AI market of $279 billion is expected to grow to $1.81 trillion by 2030, clearly indicating the benefits that businesses see in AI. However, given AI’s primary business-focused purposes of automation, error-reduction of repetitive tasks, personalization and quality improvement, we have largely seen its benefits accrue to those on the privileged side of the digital divide. But what about AI’s impact on those on the other side – the vulnerable groups in society that are not always digitally and financially included. Can the power of AI be leveraged to do more in society: to benefit more people across all sections of society?

In recent times, whenever Pope Francis has spoken about the benefits of AI, he has also often called for action from the world to ensure that AI is used to “overcome ignorance and facilitate the exchange of information between different peoples and generations, [otherwise, it will] end up creating new castes based on access to information and thus giving rise to new forms of exploitation and inequality” (Rome, 2024). We are already seeing glimpses of vulnerable groups in society being left out of the digital revolution. For example, in the previous decade, although the number of people using the internet grew from 50% to 86%, the number of older adults using the internet increased to only 59%. Similarly, in today’s world, while it is estimated that over two-thirds of the population uses smartphones, less than a third of older adults do so.

We are now at the cusp of an AI-based change in business, governance and society. Unlike previous technological revolutions, can we create businesses that use the power of AI to carry all sections of society forward and not just a select few? Your task as a young business entrepreneur in these challenging times is to lead the charge on using AI to help the elderly (older adults). Hopefully, your ideas can then pave the way for a wider use of AI for all sections of society. Can you develop a scalable business model for this purpose? Think beyond just awareness campaigns and social activism. Can you make a real difference using your business acumen and leveraging the inter-disciplinary and international nature of your team?

Working in international virtual teams, can you develop a financially sustainable and technologically feasible and scalable business idea that will use AI to help older adults (elderly)?

Remember, you can tackle this problem from any angle and with whatever extent of technicality you wish. Your business idea can cater to the situation either in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, Philippines, India or any combination, or it can even be at the global level.

Competition Demands

While this competition is co-hosted by St. Joseph’s Institute of Management (SJIM, India) and the Albers School of Business and Economics (Seattle University, USA), the students of all courses/departments/programs/schools at Advantere, Ateneo de Manila, ITESO, Fu Jen, Regis, Santa Clara, Seattle University and of the St. Joseph’s group of institutions are eligible to join.

The only infrastructure you need is an internet connection! After registration, all students will be assigned to teams. Ideally, each team will be comprised of a minimum of one or two students from each country/school. However, team sizes might vary based on the registrations.

Teams will meet during 2-3 mandatory virtual meetings to discuss their business plans. There will be short gaps of a few days between these meetings. Finally, each team will have to submit a 7–10-page business plan for the first round of judging by the international jury. Thus, the demand on each individual’s time may be around 3 hours a week, over a two-week period.

For the first round, the business plan should be submitted in a doc/docx/pdf format. All submissions will be passed through anti-plagiarism software. The document should use Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins all round. The length of the document must be a maximum of 10 pages, excluding any appendices. Judges will read, but not evaluate, any appendices. The required structure of the business plan is below.

• Cover page, which includes the name of the proposed company and the names of the team members.
• The Idea: one page dedicated to explaining the idea (or your solution) in brief.
• The People: The men and women who will be starting and running the venture, their roles, details about any outside parties providing key services or important resources, and so on.
• The Opportunity: A profile of the business itself – what it will sell and to whom, whether the business can grow and how fast, what its economics are, who and what stand in the way of success.
• The Context: The bigger picture – the regulatory environment, demographic trends, technological trends and developments, and any other factor that will inevitably change but cannot be controlled by you (the entrepreneur). How will you be prepared to deal with the inevitable change in the environment?
• Risk and Reward: An assessment of everything that can go wrong and right, and a discussion of how the entrepreneurial team can respond. Financials, like break-even analyses, can be included here.
• Appendices, if any.

The structure listed above is adapted from an article by William Sahlman, Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration (Emeritus) at Harvard Business School. All teams are encouraged to read this short article, which is available by clicking here

For the final round, the business plan should be submitted in a ppt/pptx format. The structure of the presentation will follow the broad structure of the written plan. Each team will have 15 minutes to present their plan. After all teams have presented their plan, the judges will give each team a set of questions to answer. All teams will get 20 minutes to discuss between themselves, including with overseas team members via the internet. Thereafter, the teams will have to give their response to the judges.

Competition Judges

For the First Round:
For the first round of this competition, we have judges from across the globe who are experts on this year’s competition topic. This multi-member panel of judges will shortlist the three best business plans for the final.

For the Final Round:
The final round will involve finalists presenting their b-plans to a multi-member panel of judges from America or India, depending on the location of the final round. Each of these judges will bring their expertise to bear at this competition. At the end of this round, the best business plan will be chosen.

Deadlines

Important Links

Registration (individual or 2-member team): https://forms.gle/hVbvFCAEdty87Fby7
Submission of b-plan for first round: https://forms.gle/5DE4x6av8eiWXvQ37

Submission of b-plan for final round:https://forms.gle/Qc1QGd7YwU3tnnVg8


How to Join?
Please register by filling up this form: https://forms.gle/hVbvFCAEdty87Fby7.   You will then receive an email by 30th Oct 2023, informing you of your team members.

Regis University students please contact Prof. Ken Sagendorf (ksagendorf@regis.edu) if you have any concerns or issues.

Ateneo de Manila students: please contact Prof. Miguel Sevidal (asevidal@ateneo.edu) or Ms. Beatrice Chan (beatricemdc@gmail.com)   if you have any concerns or issues.

ITESO students: please contact Ms. Pilar (mplopez@iteso.mx) if   if you have any concerns or issues.

Fu Jen University students: please contact Mr. Curtis Chen (fj03713@mail.fju.edu.tw)   if you have any concerns or issues.

Albers/SU students: please contact Ms. Amelia Marckworth (marckwor@seattleu.edu) or if you have any concerns or issues.

SJIM / SJCC / SJCL / SJU students: please contact Dr. Caren Rodrigues (caren@sjim.edu.in) or Dr. Anup Krishnamurthy (anup@sjim.edu.in) if you have any concerns or issues.

Read about past b-plan competitions here :

2017 (1st) : Recycling in Bangalore and Seattle

2018 (2nd) : Combatting Fake News

2019 (3rd) : Defeating Food Insecurity

2020 (4th) : Universal Digital Inclusion

2021 (5th) : Engendering Responsible Consumption

2022 (6th) : Creation of Urban Green Spaces

2023 (7th) : Universal Right to Water