With the help of economics professor Dr. Yuriy Bots, economic students were able to be a part of a TradeWins simulation. TradeWins is a business simulation exercise presented in an interactive format, which involves all participants as executives of hypothetical companies located in many different countries with an interest in a certain technology. Each company executive team has a set of objectives as they produce their particular version of the technology involved.
There is not one outcome to the simulation since conditions are constantly changing due to the decisions of participants throughout the process. When TradeWins was at Jewell this fall, six students came together to participate in the simulation: Chen Peng, Jakob Miller, Jannik Schuller, Collin Kasitz, Seth Shaw and Eric Krieger.
Participants observed that the required decisions became more complex and difficult as the simulation progressed. Students were challenged to make executive-level decisions, which benefit themselves as well as others with significantly different objectives. All agreed that TradeWins effectively challenged critical thinking and decision-making.