AI's data centers are power- and water-hungry, and Earth-bound resistance is mounting, so the industry's next move is orbit. This year, the Leeds Business Ethics Case Competition (BECC) asks whether launching data centers into space offers an ethically compelling and commercially viable solution—or just pushes the problem somewhere no regulator can see and no neighbor can contest.

This year will feature undergrad and grad teams of 3-5 students each competing for a generous cash prize. Your team will prepare a presentation to pitch to judges in person on 9/23. This competition is a great chance to prepare for the Daniels Fund National Ethics Case Competition in Spring ’27.

The registration deadline for all teams is Sept 11 at 5:00 pm.

Brackets and Prizes

Students will compete in separate Graduate and Undergraduate brackets. Prizes will only be awarded in brackets with at least 6 teams competing.

1st prize: $6,000

2nd prize: $4,000

3rd prize: $1,000

Schedule

·      Fri. 9/11: Team signup deadline (5:00 pm)

·      Fri. 9/11: Case released (6:00pm)

·      Wed. 9/23: Preliminary round 6:00 to 8:00 pm (10 min. pitch and 5 min. Q&A); grab-n-go dinner from 5:15pm

·      Wed. 9/30: Finals 5:00 to 7:00 pm (10 min. pitch and 5 min. Q&A); awards & dinner 7:00 to 8:00pm

This competition is primarily for Leeds students, but each team may include up to two students from a CU discipline outside of business. Undergrad teams may not contain any grad students. Please reach out to Shireen at shireen.miller@colorado.edu if you want to compete but do not have a team. We will do our best to connect you with other students who may want to compete, but the expectation is that students should register a pre-formed team.

Participation in this case competition counts towards the experiential learning requirements for the Sustainability MBA Pathway and the Social Responsibility and Ethics undergraduate certificate. Please register with your colorado.edu email address to facilitate requirements tracking.