Two-Minute Challenges
An Introduction: The Illinois Two-Minute Challenge (2MC) Approach
2MCs for Research Ethics
Authorship (Graduate version)
You are a beginning graduate student, having started in the program six months ago. Your advisor hands you a manuscript by one of the postdocs in your group and asks you to check the correspondence between numbers in a data sheet and the paper and to proofread it carefully …
Authorship (Undergraduate version)
You are an undergraduate research intern, just starting in a lab. Your supervisor hands you a manuscript by a postdoc in the group and asks you to check the correspondence between numbers in a data sheet and the paper and to proofread it carefully …
Smoking Gun
You had just become a postdoc for a PI who gave me data on 50 subjects to work with. However, the research coordinator, who was resigning, told you that fMRI scans had only been done on 6 of the 50 subjects and that the results did not support the PI’s hypotheses …
Intellectual Property – Copyright
A scientist is invited to give a talk at a conference, sponsored in part by a US scientific organization and in part by a non-US scientific society. A condition of participating is to upload a manuscript containing the essence of the talk prior to the conference …
2MCs for Business Education
Stop Sign
It’s 2 a.m. and you are out with some friends. You are driving. The roads seem deserted. You come to a stop sign. Do you stop? …
Your Resume
You have taken advantage of the many opportunities the University of Illinois has to offer. You are heavily involved in the Greek system, volunteer at the local food shelter, and have season tickets …
I‐Clicker
You are taking a large lecture class with over 600 students in Foellinger Auditorium. You have a group of friends that you normally sit with during the class. The professor takes attendance by asking I–Clicker questions each class …
Employee Discount
Your student loans do not cover the entire cost of college for you. While your parents would like to help, they just cannot do any more right now. In order to pay your bills, you get a job at one of …
You Pick Two
Your dream company has come on campus to interview. They have decided to award you an “alternate” interview slot, meaning you have the last pick at signing up. They have two openings: one at 2 pm, …
Office Supplies
You are working at your summer internship. While having lunch in the break room, you overhear another intern talking about how great it is to have access to all of these office supplies and how he’s …
Library/Database Use
You are working as an intern when your supervisor asks you to do a rush research project on reputation management strategies of executives who use social media. You know that you could do a fast, quality job using the University of Illinois Library resources …
Submitting Receipts
It is your first job after school. You are an accountant for a small firm in Chicago. One day, your supervisor hands you a set of receipts from a restaurant and lounge, and asks you to process them …
Game Reviews
You are an intern for an independent video game development company. Your supervisor asks you to write and post under your own name rave reviews for games that are made by your company, regardless of …
Friend Asking You for a Recommendation
You have a summer internship with a very competitive firm. It’s been a great summer, and you have made a lot of good connections. You are telling your good friend about your experiences and s/he …
Conduct Abroad
You are the CEO of a large, multinational corporation. You have been alerted to payments by one of your major foreign subsidiaries that may be construed as bribery of government officials …
Brand Manager
You are working as a Brand Manager, Right after the release of a highly publicized new product, after shipping over 4,000 units to your customers, you receive a report that your R&D team has …
Pollution vs Profit
You are the CEO of a US-based company that specializes in producing high-tech products that are growing rapidly in the market. Your company is experiencing tremendous economic growth, and you …
A Tale of Five Fire Trucks
You are beginning to budget for the holiday season, and you must purchase gifts for your three children. Your total budget for gifts is $75, and although this is a bit of a stretch for you, you want …
Reverse or Not?
You are the CEO of Alpha Computers, a large multinational electronics company. Your company pays royalties to Beta Electronics Suppliers for special-purpose and unique components used in a key …
Not Expired or You’re Fired?
You have just been hired at McDonald’s in China. You’ve heard that it is statistically more difficult to be hired by McDonald’s than it is to gain acceptance to Harvard University, so this is a great …