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New York City, NY (April 1, 2025) – The Spencer-RIMS Student Risk Management Challenge judging committee has selected eight university teams to advance to the next stage and compete for the top honor at RISKWORLD® in Chicago. The annual global competition challenges university teams to develop and present risk management strategies for a real-world business case study.

The university teams invited to the final competition rounds at RISKWORLD include:

• DePauw University – Greencastle, Indiana, USA
• Institute of Insurance and Risk Management – Hyderabad, Telangana, India
• Saint Joseph's University – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Tribhuvan University – Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal
• University of New South Wales – Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• University of South Africa – Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
• University of Wisconsin-Madison – Madison, Wisconsin, USA
• University of the Witwatersrand – Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

A record-breaking 244 students from 61 university teams participated in the Challenge. The student teams represented 16 different countries: Australia, Bermuda, Canada, China, Germany, Ghana, India, Lesotho, Nepal, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and USA. Thirty-eight of the teams were first-time applicants, and nine of the universities were Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The teams comprised of 4 undergraduate students and based on the solutions they developed for the 2025 case study, the top eight teams were invited to present their strategies at RISKWORLD in Chicago, IL, USA, from May 4 to May 7, 2025.

This year’s case study was based on the City of Huntington, located in West Virginia, United States. Focused on climate risk, the student teams were challenged to identify the risk’s impact on the city, recommendations for proactively addressing it, and the key strategies to effectively implement their proposed solutions.

A diverse panel of six esteemed risk management professionals evaluated each team’s success in creating Risk Management Reports and assessed their skills in risk identification, risk reporting, analysis, risk strategies, professionalism, and innovation. This year’s judges are:

• Pamela Bradshaw – Risk Management Professional
• Kristy Coleman – Director of Risk Management at Warner Bros. Discovery
• Adam Ennamli – Chief Risk Officer at General Bank of Canada
• Cynthia Garcia – Chief Risk Officer at Bernards
• Cristian Iglesias – Manager, Risk Services at The Cheesecake Factory Inc.
• Tyler Vaughan – Insurance Risk Analyst at Avery Dennison

On May 4, the top eight teams will present their findings to the judging committee and will answer live questions. The top three teams will be selected after the first round of presentations, and these finalists will present one last time at the conference on May 5 in front of an open session for all RISKWORLD attendees. The winning team will be announced at the Spencer Soiree later that evening (5-7 PM CT at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in Chicago).

To learn more about the Spencer-RIMS Student Risk Management Challenge, visit www.spencered.org/risk-management-challenge.

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About the Spencer Educational Foundation
The Spencer Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to fostering the education and professional development of risk management and insurance students. Since its establishment in 1979, the Foundation has been the foremost organization helping students succeed by providing scholarships, grants, and internships to support talented individuals pursuing careers in these fields. To learn more about the Spencer Educational Foundation and its programs, please visit www.spencered.org.

About RISKWORLD®
Launched in 1963 as RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition, RISKWORLD® attracts some 10,000 risk and insurance professionals at all experience levels, business executives with risk management interests, brokers, insurers and service providers for the ultimate learning and networking experience. The four-day. RISKWORLD experience offers more than 150 learning opportunities, keynote presentations, special events, and an expansive Marketplace with hundreds of solutions providers – all with countless opportunities to engage and elevate the risk community. RIMS is celebrating its 75th Anniversary at RISKWORLD in Chicago from May 4 - 7. RISKWORLD 2026 is scheduled for May 3 – 6 in Philadelphia.

About RIMS
RIMS, the risk management society®️, empowers risk professionals to make the world safer, more secure, and more sustainable. Through networking, professional development, certification, advocacy, and research, RIMS and its 80 chapters serves more than 200,000 risk practitioners and business leaders from over 75 countries. Founded in 1950, the Society publishes the award-winning Risk Management Magazine and produces RISKWORLD®️, the largest annual gathering of global risk professionals. RIMS embraces diversity, equity and inclusion and welcomes all risk professionals to connect and learn, explore the online Risk Knowledge library, tune into the RIMScast podcast series, and engage the global risk community via RIMS social media channels. To learn more, visit https://www.RIMS.org.

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