Proton Business Case Study Challenge 2025 ends in Putrajaya, UUM team takes top prize

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton has concluded the Proton Business Case Study Challenge 2025 with a grand finale held in Putrajaya, where Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) emerged as the overall champion.

The academic case competition, now in its second edition, drew 42 teams from 25 public and private universities, with participants representing six regions across Malaysia.

The winning entry came from Team WOLC (UUM), which beat 41 other teams to take the title. Team ANOVA from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) finished as first runner-up, followed by Team SAA UMK from Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) in second place.

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Winners, prizes, and best presenter

For 2025, the champions took home RM8,000, while the first and second runners-up received RM5,000 and RM3,000 respectively. Proton also handed out a Best Individual Presenter Award, which went to Phibert Goh Jie Hao from UNIMAS, along with RM1,000 in prize money.

The grand finale was judged by leaders from Proton and MARii, and was attended by Proton’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Ir. Abdul Rashid Musa.

Finalist teams at the Putrajaya finale represented six regions, with universities listed as Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).

This year’s case, how Proton stays competitive from ICE to EV

The competition kicked off on 14 November 2025. This year’s case-study question asked teams to consider how Proton can lead Malaysia’s transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs), while still staying competitive in both segments.

That theme mirrors where the market is heading and it also gives Proton a practical way to see how students think about strategy, brand positioning, product planning, and execution in an industry that is being pulled in multiple directions at once, electrification on one side, price pressure and mainstream demand on the other.

Proton says the competition also supports its Human Capital and Administration (HCA) efforts to engage high-potential undergraduates and identify future talent, including conditional offers to join the company under its Proton Young Talents (PYT) programme. According to the company, 30 conditional offers were issued through this year’s challenge.

“The Proton Business Case Study Challenge reinforces these aims by allowing PROTON’s Human Capital and Administration division access to high potential undergraduates who show an interest in the automotive industry and to assess their suitability under specific conditions. This year, 30 conditional offers to join PROTON as part of the PYT programme have already been handed out to rising talents, demonstrating the value of such an event towards the company reaching its long-term goals,” said Dr Kasuma Satria, Chief Human Resources Officer, PROTON.

From a student collaboration to a national competition

Proton traces the roots of the Proton Business Case Study Challenge back to 2023, when it started a business case competition in collaboration with the Association of Malaysian Students studying in Beijing (AMSIB). The initiative later grew into a national-level competition, with Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) winning the 2024 edition, before expanding again for the 2025 programme.

The company’s pitch is straightforward, programmes like this help it build stronger links with universities and students, raise its profile among graduates weighing up where to start their careers, and keep a steady pipeline of talent for its longer-term plans.

Proton Young Talents programme and HRD Awards 2025 mention

Alongside the case competition, Proton continues to push its Proton Young Talents (PYT) programme, which it says has brought in around 400 young graduates so far. Proton describes PYT as a structured development track with job rotations, mentoring, peer and performance reviews, plus hands-on projects intended to build real working exposure inside the organisation.

Proton also notes that it received the Human Resources Minister Award in the Large Employer category at the HRD Awards 2025, which took place on 26 November 2025.

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