Jul 24, 2025

Strategy in Practice: Immersive Learning Meets Purpose-Driven Innovation at The Strategy Cup

By Tuck Communications

The culmination of this year’s core strategy course was The Strategy Cup—a competition in which first-year students were tasked with designing a strategy for Innova Schools, a purpose-driven network of low-cost private schools in Peru that delivers high-quality education through innovative design, pedagogy, and technology.

Innova Schools was the visionary dream of Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor T’88, chairman of Intercorp, who set out to transform education in Peru by making world-class learning accessible to everyone. His dream resulted in a network of schools, serving over 60,000 students, that consistently outperforms Peru’s top private institutions on national exams, at a fraction of the typical cost.

“Innova is a story about purpose driven by strategic thinking and the belief that every element of a school—its design, pricing, pedagogy, and physical or digital presence—can be intentionally built around a single idea: that great education is not, and should never be, a luxury,” says Ramon Lecuona Torras, clinical professor of business administration.

The Challenge

Students worked in teams to craft a bold yet feasible strategy that would help Innova expand its impact, enhance profitability, and scale high-quality education across Peru. Teams had to evaluate trade-offs across key areas—technology, infrastructure, teacher retention, revenue streams, and new markets—then present a cohesive plan to a panel of executives, faculty, and alumni judges.

The winners of the Strategy Cup were Patricio Doig, Chase J. Eller, Ria Jindal, Brooke VanRosendael, Yubo Kate Wang, and Austin A. Weinstein. The team presented a strategy to incorporate vocational training in the schools.

“We wanted to go beyond the obvious and find a solution that could really help Innova Schools grow in a smart and meaningful way. Our idea focuses on a new area of opportunity that allows Innova to scale while staying true to its mission,” says Ria Jindal T’26.

The pitches were judged by Aurelia Alvarado, incoming CEO of Innova Schools; Alberto de Cardenas, executive director of Peru Champs; Hernan Carranza, chief strategy officer of Intercorp; and Sandy Speicher, former CEO of IDEO.

“Having real-time conversations with Innova’s executive team helped us translate classroom learning into a strategy grounded in reality. The extensive background materials provided by our faculty and direct engagement with execs made sure that our recommendations were relevant, actionable, and tailored to Innova’s specific situation,” reflects Kate Wang T’26. 

None other than the dreamer behind the schools, Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor T’88, presented the Strategy Cup to the winning team. He encouraged students to think about societal challenges throughout their careers and to use their talents to work towards tackling them. He rewarded the winning team with a trip to Peru, where they will be able to visit the schools that they learned about.

“The idea of closing the Strategy course with an experience like this—students applying the principles they’ve learned in class to a real problem and receiving real-time feedback from the company’s actual top management team—is something we’ve been imagining for years. This year, it became a reality thanks not only to the inspiring collaboration of the Innova Top Management Team, but also to the flexibility and support of Dean Hall, who recognized the value of the initiative and made room for it in the Core Curriculum”, says Giovanni Gavetti, Doreen L. and David I. Chemerow ’73 T’75 Professor of Strategy.

One Tuck

Not only did first-year students participate in the competition, but second-year students also served as mentors and judges.

“We studied Innova in our first-year strategy class, and it really stuck with me—using education to transform lives through smart business strategy (and it was founded by a Tuckie!) Revisiting it as second-years captured the best of strategy at Tuck: translating classroom knowledge into practical applications,” says Valeria Tiffer T’25.

Second-year mentors were tasked with helping their peers make sense of the challenge, particularly regarding the business landscape in Peru. 

“Contributing to the Tuck Strategy Cup was an unforgettable experience. I was inspired firsthand by top-level executives and internalized the idea that it’s possible to generate both profit and purpose. This lesson felt especially meaningful to me, given the company’s mission in my home country, Peru,” Petar Nestorovic T’25 reflects.

Future editions of the Strategy Cup will continue to build on this momentum, offering more Tuck students the opportunity to tackle real-world problems and apply what they've learned in class.