Martin Øverbø

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

2021/2022, Oslo

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

I wanted to be part of a challenging student activity and test my skills in a competitive environment. And I thought it would be a great way to meet other peers both from BI and other business schools.

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

Our team’s name was Aqua Consulting. We met at the case training sessions, and after meeting a couple of times we formed a team.

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

Our roles were not all fixed, but I mostly did the financials and helped in on the strategy part. I was also the team leader, setting the course for the team and ensured that we managed our time well.

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 best memory was the Nordic Case Challenge in Iceland. We spent a short week in Reykjavik with a lot of social activities and solved two cases. And the absolute highlight was of course to win the final and bring the trophy back to Norway.

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

1. Identify the key issue early in the process and continue to ask yourself if you truly are solving the problem. It’s easy to drift away from the key issue after many hours of work.
2. Trust your plan and strategy, and don’t let tough questions from the jury shake your confidence.
3. Identify the key strengths of your team members. I believe it’s good to have a diversified team, with people from different study programs and background.

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

You will get a unique insight in how to do problem-solving. Through the case training sessions, we learned these skills from professionals from tier 1 companies with years of experience. Case is also a great arena to improve your presentation skills.

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

Go all-in. Participate at all the case activities and invest time with your team. It will pay off.