HP and Junior Achievement Announce Lithuania as Winner of 2008 HP Global Business Challenge

Contest encourages students to apply entrepreneurial thinking

HP and JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement) today announced Team Hattrick from Lithuania as the winner of the HP Global Business Challenge, a worldwide competition designed to increase the business knowledge and skills of students.

This week, HP and JA Worldwide hosted 16 students representing eight countries at HP’s Colorado Springs campus as they competed in the final round of the contest.

Team Hattrick received the first place honor and was granted a cash prize of $3,000. Second place was awarded to Team Santos from Argentina, with Team Kiki from Estonia placing third.

The competition began in late February with 238 worldwide teams participating. After two elimination rounds, eight teams emerged as finalists to compete in the last round of face-to-face competition.

“Teaming with Junior Achievement for the last 12 years on this challenge supports HP’s goal to encourage innovation, diversity and global collaboration among the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” said Yvonne Hunt, vice president, Global Social Investment, HP. “In addition, we are pleased to announce our 2009 grant commitment to JA Worldwide, a gift totaling $1 million in computer hardware and continued collaboration in major JA programs globally.”

2008 HP Global Business Challenge

The 2008 HP Global Business Challenge is based on JA Titan™, an online program that allows teams of high school students to act as chief executive officers of virtual manufacturing companies and compete to earn the highest performance index.

The teams are prompted to make decisions that affect the profitability and sustainability of their virtual company and attempt to outperform their competitors in profit, sales and market share. They set prices, determine production levels, invest in capital, and plan marketing, research and development budgets.

“The HP Global Business Challenge is Junior Achievement’s most intense competition, requiring superior knowledge and skill levels,” said Sean C. Rush, president and chief executive officer, JA Worldwide. “These students are socially minded technology innovators and through this competition we are empowering their entrepreneurship and work readiness.”

Students from the following teams traveled to Colorado Springs to participate in the last round of competition:

Universities

* Argentina – Team Santos, National University of Cordoba, Cordoba
* Azerbaijan – Team Rasmus, Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, Baku

High Schools

* Canada – Eagles, Auburn Drive High, Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
* Estonia – Team Kiki, Narva Kreenholmi Gymnasium, Narva, Ida-Virumaa
* Hong Kong – SCC Top Company, Christian Alliance SC Chan Memorial College, Tuen Mun
* Lithuania – Team Hattrick, Klaipeda Azuolyno Gymnasium, Klaipeda
* Poland – Team Frytos, I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Stanislawa Dubois, Koszalin
* United States – Tallassee 2, Tallassee High School, Tallassee, Ala.

More information on the HP Global Business Challenge is available at http://www.ja.org/Programs/programs_high_intl_hpgbc.shtml.