Whats to do in Boston?

Some teams have time to kill in Boston tomorrow and have been wondering what to do. Here are some recommendations:

(PS: I know you can google this up)

1. Walk the Freedom Trail - A two hour walk - do-able if the weather is good.
One of Americas' first historic walking tours, the Freedom Trail is the perfect introduction to Colonial and Revolutionary Boston.

2. Visit the Faneuil Hall Marketplace /Quincy Market -A collection of boutiques, eateries and pushcart vendors housed in converted 18th century warehouses. Enjoy the street entertainers that frequently perform outside.

(Getting there: Green Line from Kenmore to Government Center)

3. Visit the Boston Common/Boston Public Gardens

(Getting there: Green Line from Kenmore to Park Street / Boylston)

4. Walk down Newbury Street: for some of Boston's most chic, fashionable stores.
You should also walk about at Copley (around the corner from Newbury Street) and appreciate the architecture of the myriad churches.

(Getting there: Green Line from Kenmore to Hynes Convention Center).

5. Take a look at Fenway Park: The home of the Boston Red Sox.It is a 5 minute walk from the BU School of Management.

Anyone who needs help getting around, or someone to show you around the place, do feel free to contact me or any of the committee members and we will be happy to help you.

My email: rachana@bu.edu

The Final Four

While the crowed enjoyed a lunch sponsored by Reuters, Spe introduced the distinguished judges from Ericsson. The judges admitted that although this was a really tough call, they had to pick the 4 best teams. Prof. Venkatraman remarked "Its hard on the guys who came second, but thats life isnt it?". Here are the final four:

Ericsson Cairo
Ericsson Johannesburg
Ericsson Bangalore
Ericsson Moscow

Congratulations and here is wishing you guys a ton of luck.

Agenda for the rest of the evening:

2:30PM Final Presentations Room 208
5:30PM Cocktail reception Atrium
7:00PM Dinner at the 4th Floor Dining Hall

Be there or ... ?

Second Round Teams 5-8

Morning Judges Watching a Presentation

Just one of the first-round teams finished a bit early. The rest of the teams used the full 40-minutes: 20-minutes for the presentation and 20-minutes of Q&A. Now the second-round is underway.

9 AM Presentations are Underway

The first four teams delivered their Powerpoints early this morning and began their presentations at 9:00am sharp. Despite the lack of sleep, all of the early teams looked spirited and confident.

They came. They saw. They organized.

Wish we had a better picture for this one, but as the pieces start falling into place, I want to take the time out to acknowledge the time and effort put in by our in-house bloc party. They have led, supported, steered and been an incredibly collaborative and inspiring team to work with. Three cheers for our organizing committee!!!

Associate Dean John Chalykoff
Communications/Logistics Nicole Bludeau
Events Manager Mary Sforza
Director of Marketing and Communications Jenna Ivers
Committee Chair Matt Spewak
Logistics Manu Goel, Mandar Desai, Julie Gonzalez, Kshitiz Neeraw
Marketing Fran Finke, Ranjeet Bhosale
Marketing/Blogger Rachana Raman
Hospitality Aarti Kapuria
Web Committee Josh Goldstein, Zachary Halloran
Volunteer Coordinator Alison Siegel
Photographer Jax Kirtley
Communications Shrikant Dave

Volunteers on Night Duty

What will become of the restless kind
Where do they go when they've done their time
Wearing their hearts out on the line for all to see
Must be gypsy in their soul
They have a need to rock and roll
They always will, they're out there still they're night owls
-Little River Band

Midnight mood check

Ericsson Delhi
“Dividing but not sure about conquering”. The team captain announced that they had “collectively gained 25 pounds in the last 24 hours”. (!!!)
It’s interesting how these guys have found a way to keep the stress at bay. They like to think they have an imaginary fan club in Delhi, and seem very encouraged by the thought. (Team members seen animatedly waving at suppositious fan club in picture). One of them is even chilling with wrist guards and house music.


Ericsson Dacca is asleep!

Ericsson Bucharest
The team member in the picture described his mood as “Despondent” while another said “Can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I know it is not a train”. I uncovered a little secret about Team Bucharest – one of them is a ClipArt Fetishist and Media Genius, so everybody fear the fear!

Who Needza Pizza?

The grad lounge smells great at the moment. There s Pepperoni, Mozarella and Mushroom pizzas for teams! As teams are coming in, a friendly volunteer Shrikant remarks "I smell pizzas as well as hard work and perspiration!".
Our charismatic Dean Chalykoff was here to receive the pizzas and is now putting the participants at ease, making sure all the teams have their fill.

Load up on the carbs teams, you are going to need all the energy!

And the night goes on...

A Word from Our Sponsor

Steve Newman
Originally uploaded by Boston University Tech Strategy Case Competition

"I’m so impressed by the self-confidence, and the global quality of these teams. I knew the world was like this, but to witness it is something else. I can’t wait to see what this competition produces—I think it’s going to be very high quality. And the organization of this event is very impressive, and so seamless—on the catering side, on the IT side, on the welcoming side… it would be difficult for anyone else to copy this."

--Steve Newman, Program Director for Executive Development, Ericsson