Martin Brandsrud

Interview with Martin Brandsrud

1. When were you an active case student at BI and at which campus?

From 2021 to 2022 in Oslo

2. Why did you decide to join BI’s case activities?

During my bachelor’s I wanted to find an activity that was challenging and valuable, and where I would meet like-minded students with high aspirations. As studying mainly required reading, tests, and case-solving, I searched for a practical activity that is also rewarding.

3. What was the name of your case team and how did you find your teammates?

Aqua Consulting. We met the first day at BI Case and just before the first case-problem, we formed a team.

4. Did you have a specific role on your team? 

We did not have any specific roles on our team, but we all helped where it was needed. Our roles were dependent on the problem we got and where we thought we would contribute the most at the given case. Usually, I applied material we found to get the best solutions for the problems and helped on the financials if needed.

5. Which case competitions did you take part in? 

BI National Case Competition and Nordic Case Challenge.

6. What is your best memory from your case journey at BI?

My team got the opportunity to compete internationally in Reykjavik. We met lots of motivated students which gave a hard competition for us. Being second in our preliminary case group gave us motivation to work hard and efficient in the official case, which resulted in our team being the winners of the Nordic Case Challenge.

7. What are your top three takeaways from case training and competitions?

1. When solving a problem, you must truly understand the question given, and if there are any underlying problems that needs to be solved. It is also crucial that every team member have the same perception, as it may occur inconsistencies in the presentation and Q&A if the team members have different views on the problem.
2. Time-management. It is hard to identify what should not be wasted time on and is important to do to be efficient. You must be able to do identify the problem, brainstorm, and find possible solutions, back up your ideas with research and material, and make a presentation. It is a demanding process that requires excellent time-management skills, and teamwork and communication is essential.
3. The ability to listen and taking your team member’s viewpoint into account. Your own suggestions to the case-problem may not be accepted by your teammates, but mutual understanding and listening is key to have great teamwork and get the best results. Be aware of biases and instead of turning down great suggestions, give criticism or try to see if the suggestions can be further developed.

8. What skills did you learn from participating in case which were relevant to your development/career and how?

By participating in several competitions and workshop hosted by experienced professionals, I got hands-on experience in problem-solving. By being in a fast-paced environment combining studies and other extracurricular activities, I learnt how to deal with multiple engagements simultaneously and be able to learn about presenting techniques, visualization, strategy, and touch into several interesting industries on the way.

9. Do you have any advice to students who are curious about case?

You must spend a good amount of time in BI Case Teams to gain results, but it is rewarding, social, and comes with a lot of goods that you will not regret on taking. It is an experience I recommend not to miss and if time is spent well, you will have more than enough time to spend on whatever you are doing on a regular basis. I highly recommend everyone to try BI Case Teams if you want to learn something practical and rewarding!