Competing among 2,000 teams from universities worldwide, two students from the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business won the top prize in the 2024 Adobe Analytics Challenge. The event took place during the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, on March 25, 2024. By capturing first place, the team of Bishal Dasgupta (MBA ‘24) and Ene Solana (MBA, MS ‘24) earned a $30,000 prize.
This unique analytics-focused business case competition allows university students to use Adobe’s industry-leading analytics products and access real-world data from leading organizations. This event started as a recruiting tool to help uncover the brightest minds and most passionate talent in analytics. It has grown into one of the top business competitions in the country for college students.
This year, the students worked on an issue for one of the largest auto manufacturers in North America. For the Katz students, this was another opportunity to apply their skills and the school’s growing emphasis on real-world learning and the use of data and analytics to solve business challenges.
“I am really proud of their performance, dedication, motivation, and capability to skillfully analyze, and effectively present, a real-life analytics challenge,” says Prakash Mirchandani, professor of Business Administration, director of the Center for Supply Chain Management at Pitt Business, and the team’s mentor. “Ene and Bishal not only conducted the technical analysis but also addressed the question, ‘so what?’, making their presentation memorable and impactful!”
Solana says it was great to win the challenge after she and Dasgupta intensely dissected the data to develop insights and recommendations, supported by their Katz experience, to address the manufacturer’s business needs.
“Katz provides a rigorous experiential-based learning experience that prepares students for the business world,” she adds. “The rigor of my first year actually contributed to my stamina in preparing for the challenge. Also, I was able to apply the skills I gained from some of my MBA courses in analyzing the case.”
“It felt rejuvenated and grateful to represent and win for Katz on a global stage amidst many talented peers,” says Dasgupta. “The statistics, strategy, and finance classes have been instrumental in understanding the business context, identifying value levers, analyzing data to find insights, and then instituting a strategy to prioritize and implement value-creating opportunities.”
