Rutgers Business School students develop problem-solving skills through experiential learning in every academic major

This year, students competed for cash prizes in the Experiential Learning Showcase that required them to show how they applied the knowledge and skills learned in classes to real world business problems or opportunities.

PISCATAWAY, N.J., May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Two members of the student social entrepreneurship organization Enactus won $8,000 at Rutgers Business School's Experiential Learning Showcase for effectively demonstrating how their classroom knowledge helped to grow a hydroponic farming venture, a method of growing plants using a nutrient-rich water solution instead of soil.

With a blend of passion and poise, Rithik Kapadia, a senior majoring in accounting, and Léo Moreno, a junior studying finance, were the first- place winners in a tight, final round among six teams vying for $20,000 in prize money.

In all, 71 students from across Rutgers Business School's two campuses – a mix of both undergraduate and graduate – competed in the inaugural event. The entries they detailed to judges and spectators ranged from business ventures and co-op experiences to professional services based on their studies.

Lei Lei, the dean of Rutgers Business School, is a long-time proponent of experiential learning and the value it adds to a student's education.

"Companies across all industries have been facing an ever-increasing level of uncertainty and complexity," Lei said. "It is more important than ever for our students to develop problem-solving skills through experiential learning."

The Experiential Learning Showcase was intended to offer students a platform where they were able to demonstrate the essence of experiential learning – applying the knowledge and skills learned in classes to real world business problems or opportunities. It went further though, asking them to describe the impact of their efforts and to reflect on the personal and professional growth they gained as a result.

Professor Mason Ameri, executive director of experiential learning who organized the event, described experiential learning as part of the DNA at Rutgers Business School – evident in every discipline, course and co-curricular activity. "We're showcasing something that happens every day inside the business school," Ameri said.

Kapadia and Moreno are part of a team of students who built Enactus's Agoraponic Farms to address food insecurity at Rutgers and the New Brunswick area. Using hydroponic systems – a soil-less farming technique that requires little space – the venture grew $4,000 worth of lettuce last year. Their produce is distributed through partnerships with a campus café and a student basic needs center.

The judges awarded a $7,000 second prize to finance students – Malik Vazquez, Issa Jadallah and Jose Jimenez Gratereaux – who are members of the Association of Latino Professionals for America at Rutgers Business School-Newark. The team created a student-managed investment fund that will pay out scholarships to ALPFA members.

The ALPFA Fund team also won the Rutgers Choice Award after receiving the highest number of votes from spectators at the event.

Senior accounting student Kevin Cheung won the third prize of $5,000 after describing how he led members of Beta Alpha Psi last year in a volunteer effort preparing tax returns for low-income New Brunswick residents.

Michael IIcyn, a JP Morgan Chase executive and one of three judges, uttered one word as he began to announce the winners and the impact of their projects. "Wow," he said.

The judges were struck by the potential impact of the winning projects, he said, as well as the maturity and skill of the students. "You've done a tremendous job for where you are in your career journey," he said. In addition to IIcyn, Daniela Koumides, a Rutgers MBA alumna who is employed at Cigna, and Alan Olegario, an account director Microsoft and Rutgers engineering alumnus, served as judges.

Professor Ameri said the showcase is a first step in highlighting the broad experiential learning footprint within Rutgers Business School. "We deployed the event to celebrate the outstanding work of our students, but just as importantly, to spotlight a foundational component of experiential learning that is often unobserved: reflection," he said.

Each team was required to create a poster board explaining their project, its impact, what classes were applied to the project and what they gained through the experience. During the first round, the three judges went to each poster, individually listening to the students, asking questions and offering feedback. After the first round, the judges narrowed the field to six finalists.

The finalists were required to do a pitch-styled presentation detailing their projects and experiences, how they applied their knowledge and what they gained through their efforts.

The students managing the ALPFA Fund told the judges they used knowledge from their finance classes to find undervalued investing opportunities and identify different stock styles. They also learned discipline and patience, they said, by holding workshops to provide members with an understanding of the investment world.

"Yes, we are managing a fund, but we're also investing in people," Vazquez told the judges.

Cheung told the judges he gained project management experience and delegation skills by leading the students who helped prepare hundreds of tax returns for New Brunswick residents. In one case, he told the judges, the students made a correction on a single mother's tax return that provided her with a refund of $12,000 – extra money to spend on food or housing or clothing.

Kapadia and Moreno, the first-place winners, won points for their knowledge of the metrics around the venture and for their public speaking skills. Both students said they grew from the experience of public speaking in a series of pitch competitions. Their efforts paid off.

"This win is truly trajectory-changing," Moreno said after the competition. "It gives us the resources to grow the project in a meaningful way and bring our impact to the next level."

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SOURCE Rutgers Business School