KEDGE and Copenhagen Business School launch the first International Transport Liner business game competition

18/10/2021

KEDGE & Copenhagen Business School: A high-profile partnership

Established in 1917, Copenhagen Business School is one of the top Danish universities home to 20,000 students. Just like KEDGE, it is highly regarded for its programmes and research related to international trade & shipping.

On October 13th this year, 40 students from CBS, enrolled in the BSc programme in International Shipping and Trade, and 40  M1 (pre-specialisation) year students from KEDGE, enrolled in the MSc in International Trade and Logistics, competed in the Transport Liner Business Game (TRALIN).

The TRALIN Serious Game

The game was developed more than 10 years ago by KEDGE professor Pierre Cariou and Patrice Guillotreau (University of Nantes) for educational purposes. It has been played by more than 1,000 students, from the Bachelor to the executive education MBA degree level. It is a multi-player experimental game, designed to illustrate how companies can restore global market profitability over time.

Each group of students, acting as a major liner shipping company (Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO...), had to deploy some containerships on various maritime routes to maximise profit. They were, however, confronted with a high level of uncertainty as their individual profit depended on the competitors capacity, a decision unknown when they had to decide (prisoner dilemma).

The team involved in the TRALIN project

The project is led and delivered by:

  • Dr. Pierre Cariou, professor in Shipping and Port Economics at KEDGE
  • Dr. René Poulsen, head of BSc International Shipping and Trade at CBS
  • Dr. Liping Jiang, associate Professor in Economics at CBS
  • Elisabeth Jouannaux, academic director at KEDGE
  • KEDGE PhD student Alice Thebault

Final results

Here are the results of the competing teams:

GAME #1
1.    MSC (CBS)
2.    Evergreen (KEDGE)
3.    CMA CGM (KEDGE)
4.    COSCO (KEDGE)
5.    Maersk (CBS)
 
GAME #2

1.    Maersk (KEDGE)
2.    COSCO (CBS)
3.    CMA CGM (CBS)
4.    Evergreen (CBS)
5.    MSC (KEDGE)

This game demonstrates the MSc's experiential approach to teaching to understand the concrete challenges of the world of logistics and international trade. The international element is the cornerstone of this programme that follows a partnership-lead method of teaching, enabling students to get hands-on experience managing international and strategic issues related to sustainable transportation, storage, customs, and IT.

Discover the MSc International Trade & Logistics