ABERDEEN, S.D. — Three Northern State University students completed an undergraduate research project analyzing judging data from the 2025 BIG Idea Competition, delivering their findings and recommendations directly to the BIG Idea Working Committee.

Emma Beavers, Louise Meyer and Natalia Szybinska each contributed to different aspects of the project under the guidance of Dr. Aaron Scholl, assistant professor of economics and department chair of accounting, agricultural business, banking and finance. The research examined scoring patterns from student business pitch submissions to better understand how entries were evaluated and how the competition could be strengthened going forward.

Beavers and Meyer worked on the quantitative portion of the project, analyzing scores across judge groups and industry categories. Their analysis found that some judges tended to score more generously than others and that score variation was greater in certain categories. Szybinska focused on the qualitative component, examining the competition and evaluation process through a broader interpretive lens.

Together, the findings offered practical recommendations to support more balanced judging panels, improve comparisons across categories and encourage ongoing review of scoring trends.

"Projects like this highlight the value of experiential learning and give students the opportunity to apply the research skills they have developed in the classroom to a real-world setting," said Dr. Scholl. "The students were able to work with actual competition data, collaborate as a research team and present recommendations to stakeholders. We are very fortunate to partner with organizations like the BIG Idea Competition that provide hands-on experiences and help prepare our students for success beyond the classroom."

"Working on this project was a very valuable experience because it gave me the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in a real-world setting," said Louise Meyer, who plans to graduate in December 2026 with a degree in business management. "I enjoyed analyzing the data, discovering new patterns and seeing how research and statistical methods can be used to support business decisions."

"It was a great experience and helped me strengthen my analytical skills and was a great way to actually apply what I previously learned in class," said Emma Beavers, a spring 2026 accounting graduate who will continue her studies this fall in Northern's Master of Science in Accounting Analytics program.

"The opportunity to work on the BIG Idea research project allowed me to apply the skills I developed at Northern State University in a real research setting," said Natalia Szybinska, a spring 2026 graduate in communications with an associate degree in digital entrepreneurship, who will continue in Northern's Master of Science in Strategic Innovation and Leadership program. "It provided me with valuable experience that I will be able to use throughout my future academic and professional career."