Thammasat students, MBA program, win the world championship – Simulation game ‘CAPSIM Challenge 2024’

It is a moment of great pride of the country and Thammasat University that students of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, Thammasat Business School, have won the world championship in the CAPSIM Challenge 2024 Simulation Game competition.

This competition is organized by CAPSIM Management Simulations Inc. There are over 100 participants from Business Schools around the world. In the selection round for MBA students at Thammasat University, three students which are Pipitthon Laongkaew, Supasin Vijittrakanrung, and Sirada Chindaudomsate, ranked in the top 6. According to the competition rules, the final round contestants must not be from the same university. Therefore, Pipitthon has been selected to compete in the final round.

In the final round of the competition, Pipitthon was able to win the world championship with a score of 834 out of 1,000, defeating competitors from the Indian Institute of Management in India, University of Massachusetts – Amherst in the United States, University of Warsaw in Poland, Bharathidasan Institute of Management, and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, both from India.

Pipitthon Laongkaew, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) student at the Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University, shared insights about his experience in competition, including the key to success and the emotions evoked by winning a global award.

Key to success

Pipitthon stated that, “Firstly, understanding is crucial. I always believe that no matter what we do, we should have a clear understanding of our own actions, and the same goes for CAPSTONE. You must understand the rules and details of the game thoroughly. In competition, it is not easy to predict the strategies of opponents. Therefore, a genuine understanding of the game will help you effectively solve problems that arise. Second is to think and act differently. In competitions, I have the assumption that if everyone plays the same, the results will not differ much. Therefore, if I want to win the competition, I have to think of strategies that are different and yield better results than playing in the usual way. This includes emergency plans and response strategies in case things don’t go according to the planned”.

He also quoted that, “Winning this award would not have been possible without the support and encouragement from Prof. Dr. Nopadol Rompho, as well as all the professors who have shared their knowledge throughout the almost two years. I would also like to express my gratitude to all my MBA Batch 51 friends for their advice and motivation. Thank you all very much for your contribution. I believe that all students of Thammasat University have knowledge and abilities. I cannot say that winning in a global competition is easy, but I think it is within the abilities of all friends in the CAPSTONE game. Therefore, with determination and attention, all of you can definitely do it.”