BBICC 2018

Student Ambassadors' diaries

So, it was the second day of BBICC, and that means The Amazing Race!
But before that, the first thing on the schedule was the grand opening at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences.

It was a unique sight to see so many students from different continents at our faculty.

After the ceremony, students could participate in the T-shirt exchange. Every team brought some T-shirts from their university and they could exchange it for a T-shirt from any other university they liked the most. It is a joyful moment accompanied by lots of laughter and many pictures, of course. Now, equipped with new T-shirts, we headed to Saint Sava Temple, the first stop in The Amazing Race. It was raining like crazy that day, but that didn’t kill our enthusiasm.


We gathered in front of the Temple and were divided into mixed teams of five or six students. It was a great way for us to meet each other a little bit more. During the race, we were talking about the differences and similarities between Serbia and other teams’ home countries. It was really cool to see how people your age from other countries, for example from Australia, spend their average day. Along the way, we visited the Faculty of Law, Museum of Nikola Tesla, Parliament of Serbia and many more landmarks in Belgrade.

I enjoyed sightseeing with my team so much that I felt like a tourist myself. It was very interesting to see how students from different parts of the world experience Serbian culture, architecture, and history.

Along the way, we had to fulfill certain tasks. One of the funniest moments for me was when my team had to figure out what the literal translation of Serbian proverbs really meant. Another one was trying to pronounce some Serbian tongue twisters really fast. It was really hard for me to pronounce them, even though I speak Serbian, so you can imagine foreign students trying, it was hilarious. Even though we were on a tight schedule, we had time to grab a bite at a famous pizza place in Belgrade “Bucko”, which literally means “Fatty”. There, my team tried pizza with traditional Serbian toppings.
It was a busy day in Belgrade, but in spite of that and the heavy rain, we were able to take some amazing pictures and still arrive in time to the finish line – The Kalemegdan Fortress. It is one of the most important historical landmarks in Serbia, where we all took a great group photo to capture the moment. The view from Kalemegdan Fortress is amazing because you can see almost all of Belgrade and the confluence of rivers Sava and Dunav.
Although we were all a little tired from The Amazing Race, the day wasn’t over yet! We suited up and headed straight to the Gala Dinner at the Palace Hotel. The view from the top floor was just breathtaking.

That evening there was a lot of chatting and mingling while everyone was enjoying traditional Serbian food and music.

Soon, we had to bring the second day of BBICC to an end, because the following day would be the first short case solving and everyone needed to prepare for it and get some rest.

I have enjoyed every moment of BBICC and have met some amazing people! I will certainly never forget it. BBICC, I miss you!

After a day full of fun activities, from going around Belgrade in the pouring rain to dressing up nicely for a gala dinner, day 3 came quite quickly. This was a day that carried a clear message – it was time to get serious.

Alarm rings at 6 o’clock in the morning, I am jumping out of my bed just to make sure everything I need for the day is packed, rushing to get decently ready and there I went, straight to the hotel where the important day was awaiting, the first short case day.

Everything had to be perfect, no mistakes were permitted, and we all knew that.

Soon the time came for all ambassadors to make sure their teams were up and ready to meet us at the lobby. It was time for the case overview and no team could be even a minute late. The lobby was slowly but surely getting more and more crowded as I was going back and forth trying to find my team.

In the middle of this hustle and bustle that was created in a matter of minutes, I turned around just to see my team coming towards me, with the biggest smiles on their faces, the one thing that was never lacking throughout the whole BBICC journey. We were all truly happy.

Then the case overview began, doors closed and all went silent, but not for long.
After going up and down from the first to the tenth floor repeatedly, making sure everything is in its place, we gathered again at the lobby.
However, this time nervousness could be felt even through those big wooden doors, anticipation was real – competition is officially starting, any minute, any second, from now.
Just like that, two big doors opened and there they were, all teams, like a big whirlwind, coming out running, with no time to lose. The competition has now started.

Up to the room we went and one simple yet serious task had to be done – giving teams their first case of the competition. Everything had to be done exactly on time, I remember frantically looking at my phone every 2 seconds, not so patiently waiting for a signal to give my team their case. In one moment, I got the message: GIVE THE CASE NOW AND EXIT THE ROOM. I closed the door of their room, sat on the chair in front and let the waiting game of 4 hours begin.

Those 4 hours flew by and it was time to knock on the door and tell my team they have 5 minutes left to finish everything.

I will admit that I was nervous, let alone they, but I knew everything was going to be just fine, even more than that, it was going to be amazing, and so it undoubtedly was.

They finished on time and had to get ready for the presentation. Oh well, the presentation, if the level of nervousness was high beforehand, picture us now. As much as I tried to be calm, supportive and cheerful, I just couldn’t escape from being nervous as well, for them. I wanted them to be the best versions of themselves and most of all I wanted them to be happy, content and proud of themselves afterwards.
The moment came, we entered the presentation room and they instantly became four business consultants giving their amazingly smart ideas. It is safe to say, I was completely in awe.

Throughout the whole 20 minute presentation I felt so incredibly proud of these people, the people I had met only 3 days earlier, and that’s where BBICC’s magic lies, its unexplainable way of connecting people.

The day was successfully coming to its end, but before that, it was time for an evening cocktail. The time where all 20 teams, their advisors and the organizing committee are in one place. The place where people from all around the world are in one room, sharing their experiences, getting to know each other. At that moment I could only think of gratitude I felt, and to this day feel, for being a part of something so special.
And just like that, it was time to rest, the second short case day was just around the corner.

The fourth day of BBICC was the day the second mini case was introduced to the competitors. The day ran smoothly, with the same routine as the previous day.

Everyone’s excitement and positivity were filling the room as the teams were getting ready to work on the case study for the following five hours.

When I had entered my team’s room to give them the mini case the atmosphere was not as I expected it to be. Instead of being nervous and tension flying in the air, they were laughing and enjoying casual conversation.

Then the hardest part for me started, my 5-hour shift in front of their room, in case they needed anything during case cracking or if they just wanted to go for a quick walk. But, to be completely honest, even those 5 hours went by very quickly because of the great chemistry between all of the ambassadors and all the fun we were constantly having on our WhatsApp group.

Once they finished solving the case and creating their presentation, the level of nervousness was high, as the teams didn’t know what to expect from the presentations that would follow.

I watched my team present their solution and I was so amazed by how much they accomplished in so little time.

A deafening noise started echoing across all corners of my room. In the complete darkness, I was chaotically trying to find the source of it. A mixed feeling hit me, on one hand, happiness that that horrible alarm finally stopped, on the other, it was 6.40 a.m. and I’ve slept for only 4 hours for the third day in a row.

Then it hit me, the D day has come. The day when the big case is going to be handed out and the battle for the first spot in the division is going to come to a finale.

As I got dressed I started texting and calling my team, in a scramble to see if they were up, and ready. No answer, I hope they aren’t still asleep. Getting a bit anxious, I jumped into my car and gullibly, hoping that they all didn’t hear their phones, pulled out of the driveway. Five minutes into the drive and another wave of bad luck hit me. I was stuck in the 8 a.m. rush-hour. I nervously took out my phone to see if the team had responded. No messages and no sign of them. After a gruesome thirty minutes in traffic, I finally arrived at the hotel and rushed in like there was no tomorrow. As I walked in I saw some of my fellow ambassadors chatting in the lobby. Without even saying hi, the first thing I said was: “Has anybody seen my team?”. They all waved their heads and said no at the same time as they had practiced it a million times beforehand.
Ding. A notification. It was them, they’re awake and are ready for some breakfast. Finally, I started to relax, as we had eaten and had a nice morning chat. I could see that they were nervous, and how could they not be, heck even I was nervous.

To be quite honest, I never thought that I personally would be able to bond with a group of people in such a short time. In retrospect, I feel privileged to have met such great people as the NUS squad and to be able to be a part of their team during the competition.

After finishing the breakfast, we made a deal to meet in the lobby at 9:45, a bit earlier before the case overview started. 9.50 and everybody has arrived, well almost everybody, Jun is late again. I turned around and there he was running like crazy, with a big smile on his face.
Finally, the overview started. The ambassadors were waiting patiently in front of the conference room. They were ready to escort their teams straight to the room after the overview was over. After some time, that felt like forever, the door opened and the teams started to come out and all hell broke loose. Ambassadors were gathering their team in an effort to guide them to their rooms and, more importantly, to give them some encouraging words before the case cracking begins.


I looked around the hallway and there was my team, with worried looks on their faces. I quickly became nervous, thinking maybe they didn’t prepare for this industry, or maybe they don’t think they can crack the challenge in 24 hours. Whatever the case was, I knew I had to try to make them feel relaxed and ready for the challenges that were coming. The funny part is that at that moment I saw myself in their shoes, and knew I wanted to help them out any way I could.

I went up with them to their floor, leaving them to get comfortable in the rooms, and then quickly went to the second floor to get the cases. As I was going back to their room, with the cases and office supplies in my hands, I thought man, this casebook looks thick, this is going to be hard. I walked in and waited for the signal to hand out the cases, while making small talk . One of my biggest impressions of the Singapore team was that they were more worried about how I’m going to manage to be on duty for 24 straight hours, than how they are going to solve the case.
The moment I took the cases out of the bags they were gone from my hands. I wished them goodbye and slowly left the room. Sitting on a chair outside I thought: “Man, this is going to be some long 24 hours”.

As I got comfortable in my spot there was only one thing I knew, I could be an ambassador every year!

I was welcomed by one very loud “Marina, so good to finally see you!” by none other than Ali, the greatest showman of BBICC 2018. They were all happy and more importantly, satisfied with their solution, which I never doubted. Once the team gave me their USB drive with their PowerPoint presentation, I had to make sure it gets safely delivered to a certain place as soon as possible. After we made sure everything was fine and working properly, it was time for thTime is almost up! BBICC was coming to an end and it was almost time for all the teams to slowly wrap up their work and submit their final case. 24 hours have never gone this fast.

Being in charge of the first shift the previous day meant I wasn’t supposed to be back at the hotel until 11 am but waking up at 4 am (which was a result of falling asleep at 8 pm the previous night) meant I was back much sooner.

Even though it was 6 am once I got there, the hotel was wide awake and more alive than ever, full of people I didn’t know until a few weeks ago, but I now consider my family.

Since I wasn’t on any official duty, I had so much fun sneaking through the hotel hallways, accompanying my fellow ambassadors who were in charge of the third and final shift.

It was almost noon which marked exactly 24 hours since the big case solving started and I was back on my ambassador duty. Since the competition started, I got really close to my team, the American University of Beirut. Now I can say that Mira, Ali, Joelle and Ramzi are my friends. And I was really nervous for my Lebanese friends. Are they finished? Are they satisfied with their solution? Did they get any sleep? It was 12 pm which meant time for me to come inside their room and pick up their presentation.

This was the longest I haven’t seen my team since BBICC started and I must admit it was strange to be separated from them for such a long time.

e team to relax, but not for too long. Final presentations are the following day!

Since nobody from the team got any sleep in the last 24+ hours, they decided to stay in their rooms for the rest of the day, get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow, as most of the other teams did as well. Since they were not allowed to be in touch with their advisor until they finished presenting their solution, I was in charge of letting Mr. Hagop, their advisor, know that they are okay and there is nothing to worry about. He was thrilled to hear they seemed satisfied and happy with their solution. I must admit I was very surprised to see someone genuinely care so much about his students, as if they were his children.

Mr. Hagop, my team’s advisor, was not only interested in how case cracking went but also if they slept at all, if they ate well, etc. He was later announced The Best Advisor of BBICC 2018, which was a title well deserved.

Most teams were fast asleep shortly after submitting their cases, which meant we, the ambassadors, had some free time. And of course, nobody left the hotel! We spent that afternoon hanging out in the lobby and our beloved Brain Box, talking for hours about what an amazing experience this has been and reflecting on everything that the past week had brought us. Before starting this BBICC journey, everybody who had already been a part of it in the previous years talked about what a life-changing experience it is. And once I’ve experienced it for myself, I can only confirm it.
For me, this has been the week I slept the least but felt the most energized, the week I spent laughing and the week I learned something new every single day, the week I met some of the most brilliant people from all over the world and most importantly, the week that introduced me to some of my closest friends without whom I cannot imagine my life today.

If you cannot imagine being the happiest you’ve ever been for 24 hours, 7 days straight, then you must experience BBICC.

The big day was here. After the presentations of the big case written by Telekom Serbia were completed, it was time for the announcement of the finalists and Queen’s University was one of them.

They had to face their fears one more time, to prove themselves to the jury members, but this time in front of a room full of people.

I had learnt a lot from my team, but this time they definitely exceeded my expectations. After the sleepless nights, three solved cases, a whole day full of presentations, you still couldn’t feel the tension between them. They didn’t seem nervous although I bet they were. All four of them remained so calm and professional, both as a part of the team and as individuals. They were walking in circles, repeating the presentation in their minds for the hundredth time and in that exact moment, I felt that they would be perfect. Focused, extremely committed, hard-working, as every single one of them was, they were better than others in just one single thing. They were a team.

There was no better feeling than watching them get up on the stage, present their solution and answer every single question that came to the minds of the jury.

I was so proud as if I was part of their team. And in some way, I was.

As an ambassador you will face a few sleepless nights, keeping in mind every single rule of the competition and making sure nothing goes wrong and you will be in a constant rush, but I promise that the feeling of excitement will never leave you. You will make friends, meet people with different habits, traditions and appearance and you will wish that this week never ends.

When all four finalists finished their presentations, it was time for the winner announcement. The conference room was full of positive energy and laughter. Students were cheering for each other, hugging, talking and you couldn’t feel any tension, but yet all of them were dreaming about the same thing – to win the amazing Belgrade Business International Case Competition.

Finally, when I saw on the screen that Queen’s University is the winning team, it felt like it was me who won.

I congratulated them and we spent some carefree time at the party that was organized right after. We had a lot of fun and made some lifetime memories.

I will remember that day for the rest of my life and I’ll have the exact same smile on my face when I think of BBICC. Always.

Snapshots of the year

Scroll to Top