UB School of Management undergrads present research, social innovation and experiential learning projects

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  Cell phone addiction, challenges facing the agriculture industry, and European culture were among the subjects on display during the University at Buffalo School of Management’s Undergraduate Management Poster Competition, held March 30.

At the event, which brought students together in person after two years of remote presentations due to COVID, 31 business administration and accounting undergraduates shared 12 posters highlighting their research, social innovation and applied learning activities.

On the research side, business administration sophomore Hongwei He took top honors and a $750 prize for her project “UB students’ average texting time,” which analyzed the extent to which smartphones impact the daily lives of students.

Business administration senior Votreeshwaran Ilangovan won a $750 prize in the social innovation category for “Tracing the Impacts on Food and Agriculture,” an analysis of how factors like climate change, inflation and the decreasing amount of farmland have affected the agriculture industry.

“This competition gave me the opportunity to share my research with a wider audience by explaining it in a more simple and understandable way,” says Ilangovan. “It’s critical that everyone understands the importance of agriculture—especially the younger generation.”

A team of seniors won the Global Experience category and a $750 prize for their poster “Exploring Eastern European Cultures,” in which the team researched the history and culture of Germany and Hungary. The winning team members were business administration seniors Mary Grace Yetter and Joana Martins Marques and accounting senior Melicia Skeen.

Best Applied Experience Poster went to a team of four for their presentation “Influence of Fintech,” which explored blockchain, crowdfunding, big data and remittance payments. The team members were accounting senior Emma Rowzee, and business administration students An Vo, senior; Farrah Fuld, sophomore; and Riley O’Brien, junior.

The “Most Magical Place on Earth” poster was selected as Viewer’s Choice, which received the most votes by paper ballots at the event. Their poster examined EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World, which they visited as part of their experience in the school’s Honors Program. The $500 prize was presented to a team of School of Management seniors, Christina Pham and Sydney Merritt in accounting and Jeannine Nwade and Claudia Cabrera in business administration.