Joseph's AI Business Negotiation Competition Experience

I loved every moment of this year’s Global Ai Business Negotiation Competition. I am so
proud of our team, and I am honoured to have received the award of ‘Best Negotiator’.

The competition consisted of four parts, involving close to 50 elite universities from
around the world. We were required to work as a team and solve real-world business
disputes, acting as senior stakeholders for our assigned party (CEO, CFO, etc.). Taking
on the role of CEO and chief negotiator, it was my responsibility to lead negotiations
and support my team wherever possible.

For the first two rounds, we acted as board members of ‘Eurasian Auto Group’, a fictional European automaker conglomerate. We were required to produce a detailed
report on how we would approach our negotiations with another fictional company,
‘Fenchi’, who were being represented by another University team (Minzu University of
China). After producing this report, we had to demonstrate our ideas with a live
negotiation against our Chinese counterparts, discussing and debating the issues until
agreements could be made. We performed excellently and were successful in passing
these rounds.

 

The next round had our team representing a Scottish Whisky producer. Looking to enter
the Chinese market, we yet again had to come to an agreement with a Chinese
counterpart. After our success in the first rounds, we felt an increased sense of
confidence in our ability to work together and communicate our ideas clearly. This was
evident in our performance, we achieved another great victory and were confirmed as
grand finalists. The original group of universities had been whittled down to the final
four.

For the final round, competitors were given the task of pitching our respective locations
(Leeds) to host next year’s competition. Due to the difference in time zones and the
format of the competition, we were given less than 24 hours to prepare, and the finals
were to be held at 1:50am UK time. This was definitely a test of character, and required
a heavy helping of snacks and traditional Chinese tea, but we were able to stick
together and make it work. Whilst we were successful in the negotiation and agreed on
Leeds as the hosting location, we fell just short and were placed 2nd overall, an
achievement we are all proud of.

Working within a team of varied nationalities has provided me with the opportunity to
learn about many different cultures, throughout the competition I have met some
excellent people and made some true friends.

 

Interested in hearing more? Read the full news report of the team's success here - Leeds Team Wins BIG at Global AI Business Negotiation Competition! | The Business Confucius Institute at the University of Leeds

The event was covered by the press, a video report on Southeast TV here and on China News here.

More photos from the event can be found here