Virtual Business Challenge Changes for 2017-2018

Article originally published in DECA Direct.

Following the recent Virtual Business Challenge live competition at the 2017 DECA International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, Calif, DECA Inc. and Knowledge Matters are announcing competitive enhancements to the Virtual Business Challenges for the 2017-2018 school year.

Virtual Business Fashion, Knowledge Matters’ latest high school business simulation, will be added as a new competitive track for both the online VBC qualifying rounds and the in-person live VBC competition at next year’s DECA ICDC.

Virtual Business Fashion uses the fashion industry to teach a wide variety of business concepts and lessons including social media marketing, retail location, trend research, and much more.

For the 2017-2018 VBC, DECA Inc. and Knowledge Matters will be launching a new format to the perennially popular Virtual Business Challenge. Teams will soon have access to almost all the full simulation capabilities versus select simulation actions in previous years’ competitions.

In addition, next year’s VBC will introduce shorter online qualifying rounds. Each VBC online qualifying round will be 11-days in length: October 24 – November 3 and January 9-19.

Registration will begin on October 10.

The shorter online qualifying rounds in combination with access to the full simulation capabilities will enable teams to focus on key business decisions that impact their virtual business profit and success.

Next year’s DECA ICDC VBC competitions will be identical to previous years (with the addition of a Virtual Business Fashion track) as VBC finalists from the online qualifying rounds face off for 15-minute, live competitions at ICDC.

“We just completed another exciting VBC competition at #DECAICDC in Anaheim, Calif., and the excitement was palpable as the 96 teams competed live,” said Peter Jordan, President and CEO, Knowledge Matters. “We constantly review the Virtual Business Challenge and how the competition is run. These latest changes are designed to continue the exciting DECA VBC tradition next school year and into the future.”