Applying strategy under pressure: Inside the Global MBA 2026 Hackathon
An immersive week in Paris where Global MBA participants tackled real business challenges alongside leading organisations.
The Global MBA Hackathon is a flagship moment in the EDHEC Global MBA journey. Hosted on the Paris campus, the full-day competition challenges participants to mobilise the tools developed during the first term and apply them to real business situations. Working in diverse teams and under tight deadlines, students are asked to move quickly from analysis to action, while engaging directly with organisations facing concrete strategic questions.
Global MBA participant Maryam Ahmed Kawu reflected, “This week in Paris was packed with learning, collaboration, and meaningful connections.”
Indeed, the Hackathon formed the centrepiece of a broader Paris-based academic and career week.
From academic frameworks to live business challenges
The week opened with a design thinking session, setting the methodological foundation for the Hackathon. This focus on structured problem-solving and user-centric thinking proved essential once teams were assigned their cases.
“On day two, my team and I participated in the Global MBA Hackathon 2026, where we worked on developing international expansion strategy for Sunbiose, a mission driven climate startup focused on enabling communities to produce and share clean energy through collective self-consumption projects,” explained Maryam explained.
The Hackathon format required teams to work at speed while maintaining strategic discipline. For Resham Mehta, another MBA candidate, the experience highlighted how quickly theory becomes tangible. “What surprised me most wasn’t the pace; it was how quickly ‘theoretical strategy’ turns into something very real when a business is on the line.”
Learning through constraint and collaboration
Across teams, time pressure emerged as a defining feature. Resham described the challenge her team addressed in partnership with ECTOR. “My team and I partnered with ECTOR on a question that doesn’t tolerate fluff: How do you improve market share in France, become profitable, and increase SOM over the next two years?”
Design thinking became a working discipline rather than a conceptual tool. “We went all-in on design thinking. Not as a buzzword, but as a discipline: start from customer reality, map friction, find where value leaks, and build something people can actually execute,” she said.
The constraints of the format sharpened decision-making. “Limited time forced clarity. Different viewpoints forced better questions. And that pressure made us prioritize what mattered instead of what sounded impressive.” Reflecting on the broader lessons, she added, “Speed doesn’t kill quality; ambiguity does. The moment we aligned on the real problem, everything accelerated.”
Strategy through a luxury lens
Global MBA participant Shibu Singh, who worked on the LVMH case, the Hackathon offered exposure to a particularly demanding strategic environment. “Participating in the EDHEC Business School Hackathon alongside LVMH was energizing in a specific way,” she explained. “It reinforced that luxury is one of the most demanding strategy environments because the standards are higher, the details matter more, and ultimately, the experience is the product.”
Coming from a background in strategy and consulting, she highlighted the shift in perspective. “What I loved about this experience was the luxury lens, where value is created through consistency, discretion, and storytelling, all anchored in an uncompromising commitment to the client relationship.”
Her key takeaway was unambiguous. “Luxury is not transactional, it’s relational,” said Shibu. “It requires analytical rigor, yes, but also human intuition: reading context, anticipating needs, and delivering excellence without ever feeling forced.”
EDHEC alumna Sophie Mona Pagès, who was present at the Hackathon on behalf of LVMH, described the event as part of a broader approach to engage with the next generation of talents. “LVMH is interested in taking part in such opportunities because it offers students the chance to get a hands-on experience of our business,” they explained. “It is a one of the ways to transmit our savoir faire and help in shaping the next generation of luxury professionals .”
They also highlighted the personal motivation behind their involvement. “I love to take part in hackathons or entrepreneurial initiatives,” they said, pointing to the value of formats that allow for direct interaction and open exchange.
Fresh perspectives from asset management
For AXA IM and BNP Paribas Asset Management, the Hackathon provided a direct view of how Global MBA participants engage with complex topics under real constraints.
Yanina Fedyunina, representing BNP Paribas Asset Management, was struck by how quickly the teams engaged with the substance of the challenge. “The students understood very well all the challenges without our help,” she said. “They understood it very fast.”
She also highlighted the practical value of the output. “The quality of the solutions,” she noted. “We received the submission on Monday,” she added, explaining that the proposals were shared internally shortly after the Hackathon.
Her colleague Amélie Raeckelboom, emphasised the relational dimension of the format. “It was good to participate to this event,” she said. “It’s easiest to make a relation between the student and us.”
Together, their reflections echoed the Hackathon’s core objective. To place students in situations where they engage autonomously with real business issues, while companies gain fresh perspectives grounded in current operational realities.
A long-term approach to academic and corporate engagement
From a careers and employer engagement perspective, Spencer Hamilton, Head of MBA Careers and Corporate Services, underlined the distinctive value of the Hackathon format. “The Hackathon allows companies to see Global MBA participants in action, working in teams and under pressure, which offers a far more authentic view of talent than a traditional recruitment process.”
For participating organisations, the Hackathon created the right conditions to engage with students beyond traditional recruitment frameworks, while remaining closely connected to real strategic questions.
Competition, outcomes, and recognition
While collaboration remained central throughout the day, the Hackathon retained a competitive edge. Teams moved through cycles of brainstorming, analysis, iteration, and final pitching within a compressed timeframe.
For Shibu and her team, recognition came through performance and standards. “I’m proud to share that our LVMH team was placed 2nd, but even more rewarding was the intensity of the collaboration and the standards we were held to throughout.”
Beyond the competition
The Hackathon concluded as part of a wider career-focused programme, including the EDHEC Forum on 9 January 2026. “The week wrapped up with the EDHEC Forum, a great opportunity to engage with companies and build meaningful connections beyond the fair,” said Maryam.
Looking back on the experience as a whole, she summarised it succinctly. “A rewarding week combining innovation, teamwork, and career development.”
For the Global MBA Class of 2026, the Hackathon delivered a clear promise: an opportunity to test ideas under pressure, collaborate across backgrounds, and experience strategy as it unfolds in real time.
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