By UOW Malaysia 

The future of global strategic advisory looks exceptionally bright following the success of a championship-winning team led by a UOW Malaysia School of Business student at the AlphaSights Asia Case Competition 2026. Held on 4 June at AlphaSights’ office in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, the event brought together some of the region’s brightest university talents in a high-stakes showcase of market analysis, strategic problem-solving and professional pitching.

Conquering an International Field

The competition attracted an impressive 176 submissions from across Asia, with only four teams ultimately selected as finalists and sponsored to travel to Hong Kong for the physical pitching round.

Representing Malaysia, Team “Power of Love” comprised Lim Cheng Hong, a final-year Bachelor of Business (Hons) Dual Award student from UOW Malaysia Glenmarie Campus, together with Jillian Yeow En Yu (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Ricky Chua Chin Han (Asia Pacific University), and Ng Sue Xuen (Universiti Malaya). With Cheng Hong serving as team leader, the multidisciplinary team competed against finalist teams from Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong before emerging as Champions and taking home the grand prize of HKD8,000.

The team’s achievement underscores the value of cross-university collaboration, strategic thinking and effective communication in solving complex business challenges on an international stage.

Bridging the Gap Through Strategic Problem-Solving

As part of the competition, participants assumed the role of AlphaSights’ Client Service Team and were tasked with advising an Asian consulting client on the rapidly evolving data centre landscape across Europe.

Moving beyond theoretical classroom concepts, Team “Power of Love” was required to assess real-world expansion opportunities across traditional FLAP-D markets—Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin—while also evaluating emerging high-growth regions such as Madrid, Milan and the Nordics.

During their intensive 10-minute presentation, the team adopted AlphaSights’ BREAD framework (Brief, Recruit, Engage & Assess, Deliver) to develop a structured expert recruitment proposal and insight-delivery strategy. Their comprehensive eight-page presentation addressed several critical business considerations, including:

• Market Investability – evaluating supply constraints such as power availability, land access and permitting restrictions.
• Customer Demand – analysing the purchasing priorities of hyperscale, enterprise and retail customers.
• Operator Differentiation and Topology – assessing value-added services, AI-ready infrastructure and evolving network requirements.

To address the client’s knowledge gaps, the team proposed a carefully curated panel of industry experts, including senior leaders with experience at organisations such as Microsoft, Deutsche Bank and Equinix. They further strengthened their proposal by identifying practical mitigation strategies for potential engagement challenges, including compliance sensitivities and competitive overlap risks.

A Strategic Investment in the Future

The team’s winning presentation, coupled with a confident defence during the judges’ Q&A session, demonstrated their ability to transform complex business challenges into clear, actionable recommendations for global clients.

Their success at the AlphaSights Asia Case Competition highlights the calibre of talent emerging from Malaysian universities and reinforces the importance of experiential learning opportunities that bridge academic knowledge with industry practice.

For Cheng Hong, the achievement also reflects the growing impact of UOW Malaysia students on the international stage, where collaboration, analytical thinking and leadership continue to open doors to global opportunities. By competing alongside and succeeding against some of the region’s top university talents, Team “Power of Love” exemplified the innovation, adaptability and professionalism required to thrive in today’s interconnected business environment.