Behind the Scenes of the UC Davis-Financial Times Biz Quiz: Preparation, Perseverance and Teamwork

What monetary measure is China likely to take in order to mitigate the impact of Trump’s anticipated tariffs on Chinese tariffs?

That was just a sample of the hundreds of questions posed to MBA student teams from nine business schools from three states that went head-to-head for more than $10,000 in prize money at the third annual UC Davis-Financial Times Biz Quiz hosted by the Graduate School of Management.

The competition offers an exciting opportunity for MBA students and observers to test their knowledge of the global news cycle, with a host asking questions based on Financial Times content.

I knew the Biz Quiz would be an opportunity to push my boundaries by immersing myself in reading and recalling recent global business news and trends. When Professor Ayako Yasuda began recruiting for our UC Davis MBA Biz Quiz teams early in the fall quarter, I was immediately intrigued and honored to be selected to represent UC Davis in the competition.

Stepping Up to the Biz Quiz Challenge

Preparing for Biz Quiz was no small feat. Five of my Full-Time MBA classmates and I were divided into two teams. We quickly began preparing by breaking down the overwhelming task of reviewing 500+ Financial Times articles that the Biz Quiz questions could be drawn from during the competition. To make this deep dive into FT content manageable, we generated questions from each article to guide our understanding and discussions.

As our coach and cheerleader, Professor Yasuda dedicated so much of her time to helping us navigate the process, and I learned about hard work and perseverance from her. She didn’t just guide us; she inspired us with her commitment and passion.

Balancing my classwork, internship search, and Biz Quiz preparation felt overwhelming at times. There were moments when I wished I had known the gravity of the competition earlier—I might have prepared as though my life depended on it! Despite all the challenges, it was a fun and incredibly educational experience.

In early November, about two weeks before the competition, our team ramped up our preparation, meeting three times a week in the evenings to study and strategize. These sessions strengthened our understanding of the content and brought us closer as a team. The spirit of competition—something many of us hadn’t experienced in years—was invigorating.

Biz Quiz is a beautiful experience that pushes you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace a healthy, competitive mindset. The biggest takeaway for me was the value of perseverance and collaboration.

The competition was a reminder that success often comes from consistent effort and the willingness to learn from others. Beyond the academic challenge, Biz Quiz taught me how to manage competing priorities, stay disciplined and embrace a spirit of continuous learning.

Hats off to the winning team from the University of Texas, Austin, McCombs School of Business, who dominated the competition and showed their enthusiasm from all their hard work that paid off. (They correctly answered the question at the top of my blog: China would devalue its currency.)