Three graduate students in the Master of Engineering Management and Leadership program at Rice have won first place for best analysis in the 2024 Student Case Competition at the ASEM (American Society for Engineering Management) International Annual Conference.
Sandro Serpone, Emilie Josephson and Cecilia Alberti competed against 12 other teams and came in second for the People’s Choice Award at the conference held Nov. 6-9 in Virginia Beach, Va.
The teams were assigned an engineering management problem related to Microsoft. They had a limited amount of time to review the case, develop strategies and present solutions to a panel of 15 industry judges.
“Our presentation analyzed Microsoft’s transformation under CEO Satya Nadella’s leadership. We highlighted key milestones for Microsoft such as the acquisition of LinkedIn and GitHub, and the partnership with OpenAI,” Alberti said.
“Our solution focused on continuous differentiation in the AI portfolio, integrating capabilities into Microsoft’s platform, creating cross-functional teams, and prioritizing user experience, diversity and employee retention.”
If their suggestions were acted on, Alberti said, Microsoft could experience sustained revenue growth, improved employee satisfaction and the likelihood of thriving in the AI era.
Serpone earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidad del Norte in Colombia in 2019. Alberti earned her B.S. in industrial mechanical engineering in 2021 from the Universidad de la República in Montevideo, Uruguay. Josephson earned her B.S. in industrial management and economics from Mercer University in Macon, Ga. in 2023. Serpone and Josephson graduate from Rice in December and Alberti in May 2025.
Their faculty advisers were Steve Gomez, professor in the practice in the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership; Edgar Avalos Gauna, lecturer in statistics; and Mary Glavan, assistant teaching professor in the ACTIVATE Engineering Communication Program at Rice.