UCT students nab first and second places

Winning team: UCT's Leading Edge members, from left, Bob Roux, Jonathan Gray Faith Guyo and Mutsa Kajese won the FNB University Business Challenge.

UCT student teams claimed the top two spots in the FNB Universities Business Challenge South Africa.

Leading Edge, comprising Bob Roux, Faith Guyo, team leader Jonathan Gray and Mutsa Kajese, took the top spot while Beautiful Minds, made up of leader Rendani Mauda, Refilwe Motseolapile, Menzi Ndebele, Thandile Fassi and Brian Moipone, came second.

So close: Beautiful Minds, also from UCT were runners-up. From left, Rendani Mauda, Refilwe Motseolapile, Menzi Ndebele, Thandile Fassi,and Elizabeth Maepa.

The winners pocketed R15 000 and the runners-up R7 500.

The competition helps students develop their understanding of how businesses work, improves their decision-making skills, enhances their team-working abilities and increases their knowledge of key business areas such as marketing, finance, production and human resources.

Based on a realistic but simulated company, 55 teams of up to five students acted as management consultants to the board of directors - taking decisions similar to those taken in real life - and then saw the results in terms of profitability, customer service and share price.