Sponsor the Global Retail Challenge
- By [ Erin Hiatt , Katie Nicholos ]
RILA’s Global Retail Challenge, in partnership with McGill University, is a 7-week retail design thinking case competition that teaches university student teams from around the world how a career in the retail industry empowers them to pursue their passions and live their values.
So far, nearly thirty student teams from 8 countries are signed up to participate in the 2019 Global Retail Challenge, including Columbia, McGill (Canada), BIMTECH (India), Ashesi University (Ghana), Ecole des Ponts (France), and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Japan).
To students like Faith Knox, a rising senior at Texas A&M University, the Global Retail Challenge competition cemented her interest in a career in the retail industry and helped her secure her current merchandising internship at Levi’s.
“A lot of people don’t understand retail and everything that goes into it – so many people say they aren’t doing retail even though their backgrounds work well with retail. It just has so much more than you expect. It was great to see members of our team discover the opportunities of the retail industry.”
Faith Knox
- Senior
- Texas A&M University
Become a Sponsor
We need your support to take the competition to the next level. Retailers can engage with the Global Retail Challenge through an exclusive Bronze level sponsorship designed with meaningful company-student interactions in mind.
This opportunity offers a chance for retailers to:
- Mentor students during one week of the virtual curriculum
- Help shape project content focus and outcomes
- Promote company internships
- Receive unparalleled access to up-and-coming talent from around the world, including networking at the Global Retail Challenge finals
- Join other leading retailers as a judge at the Global Retail Challenge finals
- Be the first to see creative solutions to retailers’ pressing sustainability problems
- Put your company brand behind the foremost global retail circular economy case competition
Non-retailers also have a variety of exciting options to engage with participating students and retailers, including exclusive speaking opportunities and interaction with leading teams.
Please contact Erin.Hiatt@rila.org to learn more – our student teams would love to have you involved.
The 2019 GRC is Now Underway! Follow Along Here:
- Week 1 Update: Kicking off the 2019 Global Retail Challenge
- Week 2 Update: Value Chain Analysis in the Circular Economy
- Week 3 Update: Stakeholder Engagement in Design Thinking
- Week 4 Update: Big Ideas to Power the Circular Economy
- Week 5 Update: Mapping a Circular Economy Business Model
- Week 6 Update: The Financial Case for a Circular Economy
- Finals Weekend: Winner Named in Circular Economy Case Competition