Two MBA students from Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) became the sixth in eight years to achieve Global Champion status in a renowned international academic competition known as the Business Strategy Invitational (BSI).

Shakir Ali and Michele Fields, who both graduated from IUPUC with MBA degrees this past May, bested eight other student teams in one of 11 competitions featuring colleges and universities from around the world.

Managing a virtual business named the Avarice shoe company, Ali and Fields out-performed their peers from Florida State University, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, among others.

“This was one of our best teams ever,” said Dr. Thomas Clerkin, associate professor of management in the Division of Business. “They scored higher than all but eight of the 127 student teams in competition.”

To qualify for the invitational, students must first excel in local competitions. “That was challenging enough,” Ali explained. “Our own MBA classmates pushed hard and we were thrilled to win. But since the invitational included competitors from all over the world that raised the intensity level about five times.”

Since 2005, the Division of Business at IUPUC has placed 25 student teams in the international competition. Six have achieved champion status. Besides Ali and Fields, three other IUPUC teams (two MBA and one undergraduate) participated in the invitational this year.

Clerkin is one of only two professors to obtain the “Master Professor” distinction as many as six times.

According to Michael Oakes, interim head of IUPUC’s Division of Business and senior lecturer in finance, results of the BSI competition help with assessment of the business programs. “It’s one thing for us to blow our own horn, but this is external validation that our students’ management knowledge and skills are truly world-class.”