Curiosity, creativity, and high-pressure teamwork took centre stage at this year’s J.P. Morgan Personal Investing X IMB Design Sprint, where BSc Information Management for Business students stepped into the role of product innovators for two action-packed days. Working on a live brief set by senior product leaders, students tackled a real investment-platform challenge and pitched their solutions to decision-makers from one of the world’s leading financial institutions.
Hosted across UCL’s Institute of Education and One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, the Sprint blended discovery, UX design, product strategy, and storytelling, but what made this year especially powerful was the story behind the person who made it happen.
A Full-Circle Moment for IMB alumnus Richard Rácz
This year’s Sprint was led and championed by Richard Rácz, Product Manager at J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, and a BSc Information Management for Business alumnus.
Richard was not only the industry lead, and is in fact a large part of the Sprint’s history. As a student, he took part in the School’s very first IMB Design Sprint and, this year, he returned not as a participant, but as the driving force behind a monumentally successful industry collaboration, designing and delivering the challenge, coaching students, and bringing together an exceptional panel of speakers and judges.
From shaping the brief to mentoring teams and delivering pitch training, Richard played a central role across both days. His journey from Sprint participant to Sprint leader gave participants a powerful, tangible example of where their own IMB experience can lead. Students repeatedly highlighted his energy, openness, and practical insight as one of the defining strengths of the event.
The challenge brief, delivered by Richard, set an ambitious goal: design a competitor experience strong enough to stand alongside J.P. Morgan Personal Investing’s own platform — not a classroom exercise, but a real-world product challenge. Students then gained insider perspectives from senior product specialists Martin Zahariev and Lola Burton. Their sessions unpacked how modern product teams investigate user needs, run discovery work, and translate insight into product direction. These practical frameworks immediately shaped how teams approached their ideas.
Mixed year-group teams quickly got to work - defining user problems, applying Jobs To Be Done frameworks, running rapid research, and pressure-testing concepts through energetic red-teaming sessions. The pace and expectations closely mirrored a real product environment. One student described the experience as “exceptional — ambitious and creatively demanding beyond typical app design.”
Day two shifted focus from ideation to persuasion. Richard returned with a focused session on how to structure and deliver a compelling product pitch, sharing practical techniques used inside real product organisations. Students then took part in a UX and concept-flow workshop led by Valeria Morales, Product Manager, Design System and Digital XP at Chase.
Armed with expert guidance, teams refined their user journeys and clarified their product stories, preparing for the final showcase. The Sprint concluded with final pitches delivered in Canary Wharf to a senior judging panel from J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, a rare and high-value opportunity for students to present directly to product decision-makers.
On the panel was Alexa Dreger, Programme Director, Amir Farjah, Product Lead, Carlos Espinosa, Product Lead, Denver Currie, Head of Product and Meg Karidis, Product Lead. Presenting in front of leaders at this level elevated the experience from academic exercise to professional reality. Judges challenged assumptions, tested logic, and explored trade-offs — giving students authentic exposure to how product proposals are evaluated in practice.
The winning teams
After an intensely competitive presentation round, two teams stood out. The winning team consisted of Dheer Darshakkumar Sheth, Sarah Hong, Tony Huang, Ayush Pandit, and Patrick Sun, and the People’s Choice Award went to Siddhant Agarrwal, Philipp Bederov, Adam El Haj, and Russell Liaw.
Students credited their success to the quality of mentoring and the openness of speakers and judges. One Public Choice Award winner described the Sprint as “intense, insightful, and incredibly rewarding.” More than a competition, the Sprint demonstrated the strength of IMB’s experiential learning model — and the lasting impact of its alumni network. Seeing a former Sprint participant return to lead and scale the experience made the event especially meaningful for students.
The School extends its thanks to the J.P. Morgan Personal Investing speakers, mentors, and judges, and to supporting staff at University College London who made the event possible.
Find out more about UCL School of Management’s BSc Information Management for Business programme.
