Capsim 2025 Fall Challenge Winners Have Top Skills On Employers’ Wish Lists

Winners and finalists of the Fall 2025 Capsim Challenge all demonstrate the top skills employers want: critical thinking, problem solving and adaptability. Under the intense pressure of hour-by-hour, real-time decision making for multi-million dollar simulated businesses, they have turned business theory into winning strategy.

For the first time in over 20 years, winners of both the Capstone 2.0 and the Capsim Core 2025 Fall Challenges came from the same university: the Bharathidasan Institute of Management, India. The Capstone 2.0 team of Prasana Subramaniam T R and Yutesh P, and the CapsimCore team of Vaithiyanathan S, Shrie Sannith N and Khailaash Lakshminarasimhan prevailed over fierce international competition.

Business students around the world joined the Challenge, repeating the simulation they experienced in class – in their own time – to hone their management skills. Finalists competed over a relentless eight hours of decision making, stretching through the night in Asia and Europe.

Prasana Subramaniam, from the winning Capstone 2.0 team, said: “The toughest challenge was maintaining strategic consistency while adapting to unpredictable competitive moves. Balancing aggressive investments with financial stability, managing tight deadlines, and . . .  sustaining focus, truly tested our ability to stay composed and think ahead.”

Vaithiyanathan S, from the winning CapsimCore team, said: “There were moments where results did not match my expectations, and staying focused instead of reacting emotionally required discipline. Pushing through those rounds taught me resilience and the importance of sticking to a clear strategy even when pressure is high.”

According to their professor, Dr R Subramanian, “Capsim Challenge provides opportunities for our students to test their comparative and competitive strategic decision making capabilities. This global competition enhances the spirit of understanding in the competitive behavior of students at a global level.”

Critical thinking – strategy goes beyond algorithms

Professor Matthew Langenkamp, whose team from University of Massachusetts-Amhurst reached the finals, said while all students have access to sophisticated AI and ML tools, “strategy is not something an algorithm can simply hand them.”

“When human teams compete against other human teams inside Capsim, the advantages of AI are sharply limited,” Professor Langenkamp said. “They can’t automate judgment, intuition, or the ability to see around corners in a competitive environment.

“Capsim ensures that students—not the technology—are doing the cognitive work of analyzing markets, solving problems, and thinking strategically. It is a rare environment where human decision-making is front and center, and where students are tested on their own abilities to build, defend, and execute a strategy.”

Problem solving – dynamic cross-functional analysis

Professor Norma Juma, who taught the finalists from Washburn University, said: “Integrating data-driven decision making, strategic thinking, and cross-functional analysis in dynamic, competitive environments,” was critical for business leadership.

The simulation experience, “fosters a level of intellectual agility and managerial discipline that traditional lectures or case studies simply cannot replicate,” she said.

“Years after graduation, alumni still describe how forecasting, capacity planning, and ethical decision-making frameworks from Capsim became foundational to their professional confidence and leadership journeys.”

Adaptability – flexing in a time of flux

According to Professor Nopadol Rompha from Thammasat University in Thailand, “students learn to evaluate trade-offs, manage uncertainty, and communicate their strategies—abilities that translate well into real-world business roles.”

And Professor Itay Trabelsi, of Bar-Ilan University, Israel, said, “Year after year, students tell me that this course prepares them for the real world more than any other part of the program. The simulation develops cross-functional thinking, data-driven decision making, and strategic discipline — skills that are essential for leadership positions in today’s dynamic business environment.”

Final results for Capsim's Fall 2025 Capstone 2.0 Challenge: 

Final results for Capsim's Fall 2025 Capsim Core Challenge: 

About the Capsim Challenge

The Capsim Challenge attracts students from around the globe who have completed a Capsim simulation in the previous 12 months. Countries represented include Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Türkiye and USA. All winners past and present are listed in the Capsim Hall of Fame at www.capsim.com/challenge.