Four Hungarian students receive award in the 2012 Corvinus University-Citibank Program Case Study Competition

June 13, 2012

Four students attending the master's course at the Enterprise Finances Department of the Corvinus University of Budapest received an Award from Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Hungary, Dr Miklos Virag, Head of Department of Enterprise Finances and Dr Attila Fiath, professor of the Corvinus University in the 2012 Citi Case Study Competition in an award ceremony on June 12, 2012. First Prize Award went to Gabor Papp for his work entitled Venture capital in Hungary – The role of the JEREMIE funds in the venture capital markets and financing in Hungary.

Senior representatives of Citibank Hungary and Corvinus University together with the awardees in the 2012 Citi Case Study Competition Award Ceremony on 12 June

Sharing his experiences, Gabor Papp, first prize winner of this year's Case Study Competition said, "Participation in the Citibank Case Study Competition provided me with a great opportunity to get more insight in how the venture capital market works in Hungary, and within this, how the JEREMIE funds support financing the early stage SMEs in the country. During my research I conducted interviews with leaders and investment professionals from fund houses as well as with the Hungarian researchers in this area and some of the experts responsible for the development and coordination of the project in Hungary. I am planning to use the findings of my research in a future publication. I am very pleased to have won the top spot in this competition and I will use the funds to sponsor my further master studies."

Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Hungary said, "Financial education is a key focus area at Citibank around the world and in Hungary and this program is a good showcase on how successful a multi-level strategic partnership like ours with Corvinus University can be. I am very excited to hear students' feedback about this competition and our entire program. Together with my other senior colleagues from Citibank Hungary, we are keen to giving presentations to the students in various curriculum subjects, as being part of the only true global financial institution in the world we can provide them with an unmatched global perspective and some practical experience to complement their theoretical studies."

Attila Fiath, professor at the Enterprise Finances Department, program manager at the University added, "The Citi Case Study Competition with a financial reward to best students means a great motivation to students to invest their time to enhance their analytical and practical knowledge in developing study works and use the funds from the award to further build their perspective and career opportunities."

There were two co-winners of the second prize in the competition, Petra Simon with her study about How to manage capital in challenging times? – A study on managing working capital in crisis and Jozsef Fejes with his study on New dimensions in evaluating service provider companies – A review of the value principles of Hungarian business advisory companies. Third prize winner was Miklos Adam Jermann with his work entitled Searching for a way out – A review of the possible exit strategies of the JEREMIE funds. Winners were selected by a panel of four teachers of the department based on a structured evaluation scorecard.

Citibank Hungary helps improve the level of education at the Enterprise Finances Department of Corvinus University of Budapest since 2004 with funds from the Citi Foundation and provides financial support to the department of Enterprise Finances to enhance the level of education. It also features presentations by Citibank volunteers in various financial topics, includes a Case Study Competition, as well as The Best Graduating Student Award to be presented to the highest ranked student of the Department in the 2012-2013 Corvinus University-Citibank Program Launch Event in October.