Yin Yu, a student in Columbia's M.S in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program, won the Best Analysis and Presentation award at the NegotiateUP competition last October. She was one of the top two team finalists negotiating on Contract Negotiation and Start Up Trade-Off Negotiation. Amy Jones, a fellow Negotiation and Conflict Resolution student, also competed, and won the Best Negotiation award.
In the final round, Yin was selected to partner with one team member and participate in a Contract Negotiation and Start-up Trade-Off Negotiation. She and her team represented the economic gain of the project, versus the artistic side, which was negotiated by the opposing team. Though paired with a team, she was being scored independently.
“Teamwork and a good relationship with our negotiation partner are indeed vital. However, we need to balance between mutual goods and individual goals because after all, it’s a competition and everybody wants to perform their best self,” Yin said. She added that having a good attitude, respect for other partners, and being able to perform under pressure helped her tremendously. Her professional and academic experience as a student at Columbia’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program also helped her pinpoint important stakes and analyze possible compromises during the negotiation.
Yin is a bilingual marketing consultant with past experience in business development, marketing strategy, and project management. During her career, she realized that cooperating with business partners requires strong knowledge and skills in negotiation to overcome obstacles. This led her to pursue her M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution to help prepare for her career change as a consultant. On top of negotiation application in business setting, Yin also felt that the program further strengthened her purpose as she also learned about mediation, ombuds, and peacebuilding in international conflicts.
“My goal right now is to work in a consulting firm, as I love and have passion for challenging work,” Yin said. “I want to work for a firm which has the same values as mine, and make positive sustainable impacts in the foreseeable future. I believe the resources I acquired from the Career Design Lab at Columbia are fundamental for my future.”
NegotiateUP is a two-week worldwide Online Negotiating Competition and Learning Event where participants need to compete in a minimum of three negotiation simulations. The event was held in October 2021, and was conducted in collaboration with institutions such as Columbia, MIT, and Harvard.
There were two awards presented at the competition and both were won by Columbia students. The Best Analysis and Presentation award assessed six team finalists in a 12-minute final negotiation analysis and presentation video which was presented in a livestream evaluation session. After, the top two teams had to participate in a live final negotiation role-play simulation to win the title of Best Negotiation Team.
