No. 153 / Sep 6, 2021
Last June, Ajou University recruited students to excavate the Hidden Champion (Ajou Champ). The Hidden Champion is not well known to the public, but it is a highly successful company that controls the global market in each field. Ajou University created Ajou Champ in 2014, which help students map their career paths every year. Ajou Champ explore excellent small-and-medium-sized companies and share the results to students. They hold group meetings, attend lectures that help them carry out future activities, explore companies during the summer vacation, and write reports based on their findings. By the time they submit reports, they are trained on presentation skills and can participate in the Ajou Champ contest. The Ajou Globe (The AG) met with Jeong Jin-seon (3rd grade, Department of Economics / 8th Ajou Champ) and Kim Gyeong-seok (3rd grade, Department of Economics / 7th Ajou Champ) and interviewed them about this project.
Q. Why did you apply for Ajou Champ?
A. Jin-seon: I applied for Ajou Champ to help me decide on my career path by participating in this project and discovering various companies. I also wanted to apply what I learned at school to corporate analysis of Ajou Champ.
A. Gyeong-seok: Based on our experience in corporate analysis at the securities research club, Yull Street, we wanted to participate in the contest. Then, we applied for Ajou Champ to prove the activities that we have been doing in Yull Street.
Q. How did you organize your team and what was important when filling out the team’s application form?
A. Jin-seon: Our team consists of the same major classmates, and we thought that the team’s sincerity and determination were the most important.
A. Gyeong-seok: I grouped together one classmate who is very passionate about the idea and my four classmates who are active in Yull Street. We then tried to convey that we were interested in corporate analysis and that we had the passion to participate with our best effort.
Q. It would not be easy for students to explore the company. Does Ajou University provide any materials to make it easier?
A. Gyeong-seok: Ajou University provides information about various companies and official documents that can easily explain the purpose of the project when contacting companies. At least one consultant is assigned to four teams, so we can prepare for the company exploration with the consultant. We were also able to visit other companies in person more easily, thanks to Ajou University’s basic schedule for company visits.
Q. What are your criteria for selecting companies and how do you contact the companies to visit?
A. Jin-seon: We chose the service industry as a priority. We sent an e-mail asking for cooperation, and if we did not get a reply, we called them directly.
A. Gyeong-seok: We chose the fields that we expected to have a vision in the future and selected some companies with distinct strengths compared to others in each field. Then, we prioritized them along with the companies’ financial statements and decided on the companies that we could visit.
Q. What do you write in a report after contacting companies?
A. Jin-seon: We write the reasons for recommending the company and its overall status. Specifically, we write information about the company, technology, employment, welfare, and interviews with related employees.
A. Gyeong-seok: We organized the background for selecting the company, simple information about employment, key company history, the financial status of the company, its characteristics compared to its competitors, etc.
Q. What do you consider the most when choosing the company to present at the contest?
A. Gyeong-seok: We considered the future growth potential of the company and its differentiated policies in that area as the most important. We thought that we should select the company that we felt presented the biggest difference its strengths so that we could make a fluent announcement.
Q. Do you have any special experience you can gain from being Ajou Champ?
A. Jin-seon: Although we were rejected a lot while trying to contact many companies, we were proud when we finally succeeded after experiencing the excavation process in person. In addition, we believe that we are growing by complementing and advising each other.
A. Gyeong-seok: The team needs to focus on this project for a long time, therefore, cooperation and consideration are very important. The experience and the human development resulting from wining the Ajou Champ contest made us more mature.
Q. Do you face any difficulties while doing Ajou Champ? Please tell me what should be added or improved.
A. Jin-seon: We spent a longer time than usual contacting companies as COVID-19 worsened. In additon, it was sad because of contactless meetings and limited company visits. Still, we keep interviewing by calling companies directly or sending e-mails about the difficulty of holding contact meetings.
A. Gyeong-seok: Ajou University helped us a lot, but it would have been better if Ajou University asked for prior consent from companies in various fields. In addition, the presentation of the Ajou Champ contest was done in form of a recorded video due to COVID-19, which was regrettable as the results could be unfair compared to face-to-face presentation in terms of grading.
Q. What type of students can apply for Ajou Champ?
A. Jin-seon: Students who have not yet decided on their career path or who have the passion to experience various things will be able to get a lot of help if they apply.
A. Gyeong-seok: I hope that students who are interested in businesses or industries, but who do not challenge in those fields, will be helped by consultants and lectures to find a sense of corporate analysis and make future activities easier. If you invest enough time, analyzing the company is not difficult, so I hope many students will participate in Ajou Champ without pressure.
Q. Last, please feel free to say anything to the next challenger.
A. Jin-seon: We are full of willpower, but we experience difficulties in the face of realistic limitations, so we hope that the COVID-19 gets better and the next challenger will be able to explore the company well. In addition, if you are interested in various industries and firms, we think it will be easy to engage in Ajou Champ.
A. Gyeong-seok: I hope you do not get too hurt when you are rejected while contacting companies. I hope that Ajou Champ will become a fun experience for everyone.
By Lee Ga-eun, AG Reporter
dlrkdms2231@ajou.ac.kr
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