Ulysses Contest. unibz Teams Secure Second and Third Place
By Arturo Zilli
Two student teams from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano earned second and third place in the third edition of the Ulysses Contest, a European-wide competition that challenges students to develop innovative solutions for family businesses.
The Ulysses Contest is a digital, cross-border initiative aimed at encouraging students to apply academic theory to real-world challenges faced by family-owned enterprises. The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano is one of the founding partners of the contest, which is organised in collaboration with academic institutions and companies from Austria, Hungary, and Germany.
The 2025 edition took place from April to May and was centred on a case study involving Greg’s Tea, a Hungarian family business rooted in centuries of herbal knowledge. The company, known for its focus on the health-promoting properties of herbs, is now facing a generational transition as the third generation prepares to take over. Students were tasked with developing strategic proposals for ensuring a smooth and successful succession.
Out of the 15 participating teams, three advanced to the final stage thanks to the strength of their analyses and the quality of their video presentations. Two of these finalists were from unibz: Passpost Panic (Zofia Katarzyna Gogojewicz, Milka Paulina Girardi Gonzalez, Ekaterina Moguldzhina, Janina Laura Aoba Schmid), who took second place, and The South Tyrolean (Sarah Engl, Lorenza Debiasi, Moritz Hirner-Couderc, Franziska Raffl Steiner), who secured third place.
During the final event on May 22nd, the top three teams presented their ideas live before a jury of experts representing the partner institutions — the University of Szeged, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School, and the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. The jury evaluated the students’ ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practical and creative business solutions.
“The Ulysses Contest once again confirmed the success of its previous editions. This year, the quality of work exceeded our expectations. The students demonstrated great commitment in developing their analyses and translating academic concepts into practical, real-world strategies. The two unibz teams that reached the final were truly outstanding and produced high-level, creative, and compelling video presentations,” said Paola Rovelli, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management and coordinator of the Ulysses Project for unibz. “We hope this experience was enriching for all participants, and we are already working on the next edition of the contest.”
First place was awarded to FamStrat Consulting, a mixed team of students composed of Le Tran Tram Anh, Jessica Tieh, and Mwajuma-Ismail Likombe.
Photo: Dylan Gillis on unsplash
Related people: Paola Rovelli