RMIT students recognised for innovative sustainability idea

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RMIT students recognised for innovative sustainability idea

A team of RMIT first and second-year students have won second prize at Young Hotelier Awards ASEAN 2019.

RMIT Tourism & Hospitality Management students Ngo Bao Quan, Le Quang Kim Ngan and Nguyen Quang Hong Phuc won second place at the Young Hotelier Awards ASEAN 2019 for their sustainable startup idea.

The Young Hotelier Awards ASEAN, an idea and innovation contest in Southeast Asia aims to uncover and encourage talents in the hospitality and tourism industry. The contest accepts submissions from teams that outline an innovative startup idea.

RMIT Vietnam Tourism and Hospitality Management students Ngo Bao Quan, Le Quang Kim Ngan and Nguyen Quang Hong Phuc progressed to the final round of the competition with a sustainable business idea around eco-brick houses.

Instead of developing an idea based on technology 4.0 like the other teams, the three students focused on solving a current global environmental issue - waste production – by recycling plastics into eco-bricks for building houses, a concept which aligns well with the principles of eco-friendly tourism.

The students also built an eco-brick bakery prototype from plastic bottles and cement which brought their business idea to life and strengthened their presentation.

The team’s prototype of an eco-brick-built bakery

“When brainstorming, we decided to not only talk about the profit but also the business model’s sustainability,” Phuc said. “We were convinced and influenced by what we learnt at RMIT about eco-tourism and sustainable practices in business. Thanks to [RMIT], we developed a habit of being aware of balancing profitability and sustainability.”

In addition to the board of judges at the competition, enterprises were invited to the final round of judging to assess and give comments about the ideas. The eco-brick house startup idea impressed industry partners so much that the team has already received interest to take the plans further.

“When joining the competition, we never aimed for the prize. We just wanted to maximise our experience during our university life, expand our network and learn from the competition,” Ngan shared.

Quan shared that the most fundamental factor a person needs to do well at a competition is to be well-prepared: “We spent the night before the final round forecasting the questions that might be asked by the judges and then we prepared the answers to those questions.”

The three students make the most out of their university life by entering international competitions.

Ngan and Phuc also teamed up for the ASEAN Data Science Explorers 2019 competition and won second place with their idea to address disaster preparedness by using data and research for ASEAN countries.

Story: Cindy Tran

Business and management

08 October 2019