IEN's Student Corporate Engagement Challenge puts a new spin on the traditional approach to investment competitions by focusing on the responsibility of investors to directly engage company management on the risks and opportunities they see.
The Challenge invites students to not only produce an investment recommendation in a publicly-traded company, but also to include in their recommendation a shareholder engagement strategy for improving the company’s business performance and impact on society.
Select a year below to read about the participants, winning teams, and deliverables from that year's Challenge.
2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024
SIGN UP FOR THE 2024 CHALLENGE
Interested in participating in the 2024 Challenge? The sign-up window has been extended! Sign-up to compete by January 5th.
Investment industry professionals, student-managed-fund alumni with sustainable finance experience, and IEN Members interested in supporting the 2024 cohort can also sign up to be a mentor by January 5th.
TIMELINE
The Sign-Up Form to participate in the 2024 Challenge is open from now through December 22nd. If you are planning to participate, you must fill out the Sign-Up Form. Additional key dates are as follows:
- Week of January 11th: Participating teams announced.
- February 18th: Investment recommendation and engagement strategy one-page prospectus due.
- Week of February 26th: Judge feedback on prospectus will be circulated to each team.
- March 24th: Written deliverables due.
- April 7th: Recorded oral presentations due.
- April 21st: Judge scores will be due assessing each team’s written deliverables and oral presentation.
- Week of April 29th: Finals will take place & the winning teams will be announced.
Note: Exact dates may be subject to change, and all participants will be notified if a shift in the timeline is required.
ELIGIBILITY
Students from any degree program (business, finance, environmental science, engineering, communication, policy, etc.) and any degree level (associates, bachelors, graduate, etc.) are welcome to participate.
Teams must have no less than 3 and no more than 5 students. If more than 5 students at your institution are interested in participating, you are welcome to have more than one team submit deliverables. We cannot guarantee more than one mentor per institution.
The Challenge will be split into two judging categories: one for undergraduate students, and one for graduate students.
DELIVERABLES
The first deliverable teams will submit will be a one-page prospectus of their proposed investment recommendation and engagement strategy.
After receiving feedback on their prospectus, teams will then produce (1) a written investment recommendation (investment thesis, financial model and valuation, quantitative ESG research and analysis, explanation of the company's situation in the market with comparison to industry peers, and risk identification), (2) a proposed shareholder engagement strategy to address an identified risk area, and (3) a recorded oral presentation outlining the potential of the investment recommendation and engagement strategy.
Note: Further details on the criteria for all deliverables will be shared on an orientation call for participants the week of January 11th.
BENEFITS
Participating students will receive a variety of benefits, including access to mentorship and networking opportunities, free and discounted registration to educational workshops and industry events, presentation opportunities, and multimedia interview opportunities. Student groups and their institutions will be highlighted in press releases, on the IEN website, and through media campaigns and communications, raising the profile of both the institution and the participating students, thus building professional networks and uncovering career opportunities.
All participants will gain access to a library of recorded, as well as live, workshops on how to develop their written investment recommendations and engagement strategies.
Additionally, we will aim to have a minimum of one call a month with experts in the field to address specific questions related to each team's investment recommendation and engagement strategy.
Build your professional network and learn from leaders at highly successful investment firms doing some of the most exciting work in the sustainable investing field through the mentor matching component of the Challenge. IEN will provide participating institutions with a mentor from an IEN member firm to guide the development of their investment recommendation and engagement strategy.
LEARN MORE
If you still have questions, feel free to send an email to Bella Alvarez at [email protected].