TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Registration
1. Registration in the competition constitutes acceptance of these Terms and
Conditions. The HCGCC Team reserves the right to amend these Terms and
Conditions without notice and at its sole discretion.
2. Students must be between ages of 13-18, and be currently attending a
secondary or high school at the time of the global competition in September
2025 OR if have graduated already, will not start university studies in 2025.
3. Students register individually:
Registration Fee
a. The Early Bird registration fee is US $15.00 per student. Individual
registration stage dates: July 14- August 30 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
b. The Regular registration fee is US $20 per student.
Individual registration stage dates : August 31 - October 15 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
c. The registration form closes automatically on October 30 EST(
GMT+0), 23:59. No registrations will be accepted after this time.
d. Students may reduce the registration fee by using a promo code (not
accessible upon request).
4. Cancellation policy.
a. Registration fees are non-refundable.
b. By paying the registration fee and submitting your registration form,
you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the Harvard Crimson
Global Essay Competition no refund policy
5. All correspondence regarding the HCGCC 2025 Competition will be made
through the nominated contact details provided when registering. These
emails must NOT be school emails.
6. It is the responsibility of the team leader to properly register the team and its
members with the correct emails. A full team consists of 2, 3, or 4 students in
total. Team registration form will be sent via email to all students once they register individually. Team Registrations dates Jul. 23 - Oct. 23 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
7. HCGCC is not responsible for updating incorrect email addresses.
8. Failure of all team members to complete their individual registrations, will
result in disqualification of the entire team.
9. Participants under the age of 18 years will be deemed to have obtained the
permission of their parent or guardian to participate in the competition.
10. The Team Leader’s email will be used as identification for the team when
accessing registrant-exclusive events and resources, as well as the written
submissions in the regional and global rounds.
11. The timeline of the competition is
a. Assessment Stage
Regional Case release Oct. 24 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
PDF submission deadline Oct. 29 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
Regional qualifiers announcement Nov. 7 EST ( GMT-4), 23:59
b. Regional Round
Video submission deadline Nov. 12 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
Regional winner announced Nov. 18 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
c. Global Round
Case release Nov.18 EST( GMT+0), 23:59
PDF submission deadline Nov. 23 EST ( GMT+0), 23:59
Global Finals Nov. 24 (exact time depends on the finalists’ timezones)
Global Winners announcement Nov. 30 EST ( GMT+0), 23:59
All changes will be published on the competition website, www.casecomp.org.
12. During the assessment and regional rounds, teams compete with each other
based on the region team represents:
a. Asia Pacific (including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, NZ & AU)
b. North America
c. Europe + Central Asia
d. Latin America
e. MENA + Africa
13. Assessment stage:
a. A PDF presentation will be submitted by the team leader for review. PDF
submission deadline Oct. 30, 23:59 EST (GMT+0)
b. Presentation should include not more than 6 slides.
c. The appendix should be included in slides after the conclusion of the
presentation and can contain additional market research or models that can be referred to during the presentation and Q&A. The appendix itself will not be marked.
EACH TEAM MAY HAVE A MAXIMUM OF FIVE APPENDIX SLIDES. ANY
SLIDES AFTER FIVE WILL BE DISCARDED.
14. The top 10 submissions from each region (50 teams overall) will be invited to
the regional round.
Regional round includes:
a. Video pitch, 5 min max:
i. 1-2 min team introduction,
ii. helicopter view on the case from team/summary - 2-3 min
b. 10 teams advance to finals. The top two teams from each region will be
invited to the global virtual finals, where they will respond to a new case
and present their work to a panel of global judges.
15. Teams must submit their work before the specified deadlines - no late
submissions will be accepted.
16. Students must have access to internet speeds capable of supporting video
conferencing tools for presentations. The recommended internet speeds are
1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (upload/download).
Presentation Rules for the Global Round
1. Powerpoint slide decks can be a maximum of 10 slides, excluding the
appendix and title pages.
2. The appendix should be included in slides after the conclusion of the
presentation and can contain additional market research or models that can
be referred to during the presentation and Q&A. The appendix itself will not be
marked. EACH TEAM MAY HAVE A MAXIMUM OF FIVE APPENDIX SLIDES. ANY
SLIDES AFTER FIVE WILL BE DISCARDED.
3. Teams invited to present in the global rounds will have 10 minutes to present
their strategy and solutions. Anything said beyond this time limit will be
disregarded. Each team’s presentation will be followed by five minutes of Q&A
from the judging panel. These questions will directly relate to the team’s
proposal and test their understanding of business concepts and the case
study itself.
4. Each team will be given a mark for the 10-minute presentation, and a mark for
their performance during the five-minute Q&A session. The winning teams will
be determined by the sum of these two marks.
Prizes
1. Main prizes
a. 1st Place: Work experience program at a top company, $1,500 cash (for
the whole team), and $2000 in Crimson credit per participant, Crimson
Credit can cover no more than 50% of the total cost of the package
b. 2nd Place: Mentorship session with Jamie Beaton (CEO, Crimson
Education), $1,000 cash (for the whole team), and $1,500 Crimson credit
per participant, Crimson Credit can cover no more than 50% of the total
cost of the package
c. 3rd Place: Mentorship with Fangzhou Jiang (CBDO, Crimson Education),
$500 cash (team), and $1,000 in Crimson credit per participant, Crimson
Credit can cover no more than 50% of the total cost of the package
2. Special prizes
a. Rising Star Team (youngest team with the highest score that does not advance to the final round): $300 gift card for the whole team, $500 Crimson Global Academy credits per person
b. Best Presenter team: $300 gift card, individual prize, and Crimson credits $500
3. Prizes must be claimed by March 31, 2024 latest
Competition Management
1. If this Competition is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being
conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the
reasonable control of HCGCC Team, the HCGCC Team reserves the right, in its
sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to disqualify any team
or participation; or (b) subject to any written directions from a regulatory
authority, to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Competition, as
appropriate.
2. Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, HCGCC Team
(including its officers, employees, and agents) excludes all liability (including
negligence), for any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of
opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any
way out of the promotion, including, but not limited to, were arising out of the
following:
(a) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or
not under HCGCC Team’s control);
(b) any theft, unauthorised access or third
party interference;
(c) any entry or prize claim that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by HCGCC Team) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of HCGCC Team;
(d) any variation in prize value to that stated in these Terms and Conditions; (e) any tax liability incurred by a winner or participant; or
(f) use of the prizes.
3. Each participant indemnifies and keeps indemnified HCGCC Team against all
claims, losses, damages, and expenses suffered by HCGCC Team or any third
parties arising out of the breach of these Terms and Conditions by the
participant, the conduct of the participant in the Competition or the use of
any components of the prizes.