The NRF Foundation Student Challenge isn’t an average business case competition. This unique experience gives undergraduate students at NRF University Member Schools the chance to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in a real-world setting. Since its launch, the NRF Foundation Student Challenge has provided nearly $300,000 in scholarship funds to students across the country, and priceless career opportunities.
It’s more than an exercise. A handful of teams will earn the chance to present their pitch to leaders from retail’s biggest companies, with the top team earning a $5,000 tuition scholarship for each team member.
The 2021-2022 Student Challenge competition is now open!
Submit a team
The 2021-2022 Challenge:
Kohl’s is a retailer that prides itself on its assortment of national, exclusive, and private label brands. Their partnerships with celebrities, influencers, designers, as well as internally developed collections are what sets them apart from other department stores. Most recently, Kohl’s has made it a priority to promote Diversity and Inclusion through product assortment, support of small businesses, and cultural relevance.
Teams will act as members of the Kohl's Product Development team and are tasked with developing a new private label brand that embodies the meaning of diversity and promotes equity & inclusion through product assortment, marketing strategy, pricing etc. Teams of two to four students will collaborate on a 30 slide pitch presentation and 90 second pitch video to convince Kohl's leadership team of how their brand embodies diversity & inclusion, and why it will cater to new and existing customers.
The NRF Foundation hosted an information session focused on the requirements & timeline for this year's competition and a Q&A with last year's top team. You can view the recording here.
Members only
The NRF Foundation Student Challenge is exclusively open to students that attend NRF University Member schools. Each member school can submit two teams of two to four students each; interested applicants must check with their school’s NRF Advisor to see how they are selecting teams to enter. Participating students must be sophomores or above at the time the scholarship is awarded in January 2022.
To join the NRF Student Association as a student member, your school must be a member of NRF. We currently partner with dozens of colleges and universities across the United States to promote careers in retail and provide students with exclusive access to educational, networking and scholarship opportunities. All students at member schools are eligible to join the NRF Student Association for free.
To find your advisor, or for more information, contact scholarships@nrf.com.
“This competition has inspired me to think beyond the status quo. The Student Challenge has shown me how innovative retail can be and I’m excited to take what I’ve learned during the Student Challenge and come up with my own inventive ideas.”
- Kendall McDermott, Columbia College Chicago
The Student Challenge enforced our idea that that retail industry is consistently evolving, especially as it relates to technology. The challenge also showed how important data is for a growing business and how said data informs retail strategists.”
- University of Pennsylvania Team
Other opportunities
