EDHEC’s Sailing Cup: A wonderful tale of an entrepreneurial adventure for EDHEC students

The 44^th Edition of EDHEC’s Sailing Cup has just come to an end. The event boasts of a budget of €1.8M, 3000 participants in a 12000m² village. It holds a special significance in the EDHEC calendar because the entire event is managed by EDHEC student’s association, which runs it as a Firm would. As in any live project, the team debriefs over the plan to know the takeaways: What worked well? What were the unexpected shortcomings? What needs to be bettered or thought over? What can be added or developed to make the event better next year?

Keeping with the principles of resembling a true firm, everyone in this association has a well defined role. “The aspects that we work upon include Logistics, Communication, Marketing, Audit, Account Management, Network Management etc. It provides a real practical experience, something on par with managing a start-up company”, analyses Raphael Sinodinos, President of the Association.

For Anne Zuccarelli, Head of the Academic Programmes at EDHEC Business School and a fervent supporter of this event, “EDHEC Sailing Cup means a true entrepreneurial plan which allows a team of 50 students to not only put into practice the various management tools; but also a chance to be part of a wonderful adventure. A once in a lifetime opportunity to develop managerial competencies like Project Management, Creativity, Respect for Commitments, Adaptability and a Sense of Responsibility.”

Like in any firm, the association has a President / CEO.
The President is the soul of the association. He is the visionary. His role consists of two main functions: Managing & Coordinating with his team of Managers. In the case of the association, the president not only manages 50 sub-ordinates but also overlooks the smooth transition into the different phases of the project by respecting the deadlines, fixing the guidelines, constantly motivating the teams and even penalizing when delays are experienced. The President also coordinates General meetings, internal Newsletters etc. Finally, the president of the association as every CEO undertakes, decides and carries the responsibilities of making crucial decisions in keeping with the concerned departments.

For it is essential for the president to have a clear vision: “How to run the show, to imagine it and to construct it “, explains Raphael Sinodinos. “The team comprises of 2 batches of 25 students each from 1^st and 2^nd year of EDHEC Business School. Each group is headed by a Vice-President. The batch of 2^nd year students motivates and nurtures their younger counterparts. This provides a unique blend to the association, which sees its team renewed each year. This renewal, although impractical within an actual firm, helps in bringing fresh minds into the association. It helps to generate dynamism in terms of ideas and motivates everyone to work hard.” explains the president of the Association.

As in a firm, every member has pre-defined roles of definite responsibilities. Some members of the association will be in charge of the security matters while others will be responsible for taking care of the treasury. One committee is in charge of the installation of sports equipment. The Logistics committee sets up every necessary facility and manages the supply of drinks and food while the Relations committee is responsible for monitoring the participants. Finally, the Foreign Affairs committee is in charge of communication, partners and mass media.

The association works hard to maintain all the documentation about its work (vertical and horizontal organization, GANTT charts, Weekly Activity Reports, sharing of budget projections, financial balance sheet etc). “For every new phase we set a one-up Communication and Business plan”, Raphael Sidonidos analyses.
Maintaining the budget for The Sailing Cup forms the biggest challenge for the association.  And in order to succeed, the respective teams have to utilize every facet of their management expertise imbibed at EDHEC. Every innovative and creative idea gives the event a fresh feel and has been responsible for continuously attracting fierce competition at the participant level.
EDHEC Business School is a major partner of this event (loan the places, provision of services, communication). Throughout the year, the association can count on professional help from the EDHEC Business School.

Raphael Sinodinos, president of the Association Sailing Cup EDHEC summarizes the event as follows:
“ The development of my managerial competencies is in my opinion the biggest provision in terms of experience for the past year. Managing 50 students with no financial stimulation and a maximum of 2 years of practical experience, teaches you a lot. Whether it is by being confronted by time constraints, lack of motivation, information-flow between departments, taking tough calls or something as plain as fatigue.

These reasons make you customize your approach for every step. At times you do not have any choice but to learn to customize the work for every personnel while on other times you have to be bold enough to go with the ‘one-size-fits-all’ attitude. So, I tried to be as dynamic as possible in project execution.”