Global Student Competition

The PCMA Global Student Competition aims to encourage innovative thinking and collaboration among students, worldwide, to explore fresh ideas that will expand the outlook of the business events industry while engaging their knowledge and understanding of the industry.

Overview

Congratulations to Singapore Polytechnic on being named the winners of the 2024 Competition!

Their ability to deliver innovation through their proposed event, Global Space Startup Summit 2026, and demonstrated understanding of business events set them apart from the competition.


This year’s competition welcomed a record-breaking submission of 45 proposals. From those entries, the following schools were named among the Top 5 Finalists:

The George Washington University, Team 2

The George Washington University, Team 5

High Point University, Team 2

Texas A&M Team 1

 

2024 Theme: Driving Experience Innovation in Business Events

Integrating research from  Guiding Principles in Experience Design
Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA)             

View the general requirements here

Within the proposed theme, teams will develop a detailed proposal for a mock Convention, Conference and/or Tradeshow for an association or corporation.

Details:

Teams will be evaluated based on their proposals, scored by a committee of industry professionals. The top five teams will then be invited to virtually present their final proposal to the panel which will include a 5-minute pitch presentation and a 5–10-minute Q&A Session with the judges panel.

The winning team will receive complimentary round-trip air transportation, accommodation, and registration at Convening Leaders 2025 in Houston, TX. The team will be invited to then present their pitch during Convening Leaders and have the opportunity to work with the PCMA Team on a special project during edUcon 2025. This exposure to over 5,000 industry professionals for recognition, networking and continued education is a rare resume building opportunity for students seeking employment in the business events industry.

Timeline


August 1st – October 18th: Registration Open
November 1st: Proposals Due
November 20th: Finalist Teams Announced
Week of December 2nd: Final Presentation to Judges

(on-demand virtual meetings available at team’s request through Nov 1st with PCMA staff. Please email [email protected] to schedule.)

Resources

Suggested Learning Resources:

PAST WINNERS


2023 Winners: High Point University 

2022 Winners: George Washington University and ISAE Universidad

2021 Winners: Durham College

2020/21 Winners: University of Florida

2019 Winners: California Polytechnic State University

2018 Winners: Kansas State University

Judges

Naomi Crellin
Founder & CEO, Storycraft Lab

Ronald Lim
Co-Founder & Event Producer, Think Event

Rachael Molyneux
Account Manager, ACC Liverpool

Sherrif Karamat
President & CEO, PCMA

Fergal O’Sullivan
Global Account Executive, Marriott International

Robin Preston
Managing Director of Events, American Institute of Architects

Alejandro Ramirez Tabche
CEO, BTC

Powered By:

Connect with Leaders Who Inspire and Support You

Become a Member

Get premium access to provocative executive-level education, face-to-face networking and business intelligence.

Join PCMA