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MSBA Trends Market – Format & Student Guidelines

Event Format (Read This First)

The Trends Market is a trade show–style event, not a traditional presentation session.

  • Each team will be assigned a table to showcase your project
  • Judges, guests, and peers will walk around and visit tables
  • You will give short, repeated explanations + demos + Q&A
  • There is NO formal presentation time or scheduled stage presentation

Think of this as:

“You are pitching your project multiple times in small, interactive conversations.”

Logistics & Setup

Arrival:

  • Please arrive 20 minutes early to set up your table

Badges:

  • We will provide stick-on name badges
  • You may bring your own badge if preferred

Table setup:

  • Laptop/demo ready
  • Handouts placed neatly
  • Clean, professional presentation space

What You Need to Prepare

1. Handout (Required)

Format: 1 sheet (front/back) or 2 pages

Content:

  • Problem
  • Data
  • Methodology
  • Results / key takeaways

Must include:

  • Team number
  • Team member names

Practical guidance:

  • Color is optional (nice, but not required)
  • Bring ~20–30 copies (you won’t need one for every attendee)
  • Think of it as a visual anchor, not a report

2. Live Explanation + Demo

You should be able to:

  • Show a working demo, OR
  • Walk through slides/poster on your screen

3. Your Pitch (Core Skill)

Prepare a ~1-minute version of your project:

  • Problem – Why it matters
  • Approach – What you did (high level)
  • Result – Quantified if possible
  • So what – Business value

4. Flexible Depth

You must adjust based on your audience:

  • Some judges → technical depth
  • Others → business value and intuition

A good opener:

“Would you like a quick overview or a deeper technical walkthrough?”

Visit and Evaluate Other Teams

  • Each student is randomly assigned to evaluate a number of other teams.
  • Be sure to visit those teams and fill out the evaluation form online.
    • The barcode for the online form will be available in the project list handout.
  • You should feel free to checkout other teams (but do not fill out an evaluation for them)

How to Interact with Judges & Guests

Starting the Conversation

If they don’t introduce themselves:

“Before we start, could you share your background so we can tailor the overview?”

Answering Questions

  • Clarify if needed:

“Just to confirm—are you asking about the model or the business application?”

  • Connect to impact:

“We used XGBoost because it handled nonlinearity well, improving accuracy by 12%, which makes decisions more actionable.”

  • Handle gaps professionally:

“We didn’t implement that due to time constraints, but here’s how we would extend it…”

Networking (Keep This Simple)

This is not primarily a networking event—but opportunities will happen.

  • Your project presentation is your networking
  • Success =

“A few meaningful conversations,” not collecting contacts

If someone shows interest:

“I’d love to stay in touch—could I connect with you on LinkedIn?”

Tip:

  • Have your LinkedIn QR code ready on your phone or handout

What Good Looks Like

Strong teams:

  • Are clear and concise
  • Adapt to the audience
  • Show confidence without overselling
  • Connect everything to business value

Weak teams:

  • Over-explain technical details immediately
  • Read from slides
  • Cannot explain “why it matters”

Final Checklist

Before you arrive:

  • ✔ Handouts printed (~20–30 copies)
  • ✔ Demo working (test it!)
  • ✔ 1-minute pitch practiced
  • ✔ Laptop charged / materials ready
  • ✔ Ready to explain at multiple depth levels