SINGAPORE - Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has emerged champion at the 2015 John Molson Master of Business Administration (MBA) International Case Competition, the first Asian institution to win what has been dubbed the "toughest and most gruelling case competition in the world".

Four MBA students from Nanyang Business School came out top from amongst 180 students representing 36 schools to win. The team was led by Cory Reid, 32. He was accompanied by Aswathi Suresh, 26; Sunitha Vijiyasingam, 35; and Jonah Wong, 29.

In the first round, the team was able to win all five round-robin cases simulating real-life business challenges, which included segments such as live case presentations. They then advanced to the final round, where their strategies to identify viable growth markets for Brazilian bus manufacturer Marcopolo S.A. earned them their title as the first Asian institute to win the competition in 23 years since its debut.

Mr Jonah Wong, speaking about the team's way of preparing for the competitions, said: "Our winning formula was team work. Everyone had a role on the team.

"But we always made sure we knew what everyone was doing so that all of us had a clear picture of what our solution would be, debated with each other objectively, and made sure we could answer any objections and questions about our recommendations."

NBS has participated in the John Molson competition since 2009. Its best showing previously was third place in 2010.