RMIT students top field in national data science competition

Tiếng Việt

RMIT students top field in national data science competition

A team of RMIT University will be one of 10 finalists at the region’s data science competition this November.

From a total of 852 young people who took part, two RMIT students will represent Vietnam in the Regional Finals of the ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEAN DSE) 2020 which was organised digitally for the first time this year due to COVID-19.

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(From left) RMIT students Nguyen Truong Thinh and Phung Tran Dieu Hoa were crowned national champions at the ASEAN Data Science Explorers 2020.

Bachelor of Digital Marketing students Phung Tran Dieu Hoa and Nguyen Truong Thinh from team CATFISH were crowned national champions for their presentation on fostering economic inclusion of people with disabilities through digital technology.

“We were inspired by RMIT’s Wellbeing Centre and RMIT’s Equitable Learning Services, where we heard of the challenges of disadvantaged students.

“Our team came up with an all-inclusive solution which is able to unlock economic power and reduce workplace discrimination towards people with disabilities – one of six goals as part of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for the competition this year,” Hoa said.

“We had to find a way to shift a deep-rooted prejudice towards people with disabilities and make people know that everyone has capabilities and deserves to earn their opportunity to shine.”

Together with the national champion team CATFISH, two other groups of RMIT students took second and third place in the competition, beating out other prestigious local universities.

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(From left) RMIT students Dao Le Minh Nhat and Nguyen Vu Cat Tuong were named runners-up with the proposal to tackle electrical and electronic waste in ASEAN.

Team Exploratores, comprising Bachelor of Business (Logistics and Supply Chain Management) students Dao Le Minh Nhat and Nguyen Vu Cat Tuong emerged as the runner-up with a proposal to tackle electrical and electronic waste in ASEAN.

Meanwhile, team Futurists, comprising Bachelor of Business (Economics and Finance) students Mai Hoang My Hao and Vu Phuong Thao became the second runner-up for their Fintech project for better health through microinsurance.

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(From left) RMIT students Mai Hoang My Hao and Vu Phuong Thao were named second runner-up for their project on Fintech application for better health through microinsurance.

RMIT University Employment & Industry Relations, Manager Melvin Fernando, who is one of the team’s coaches, said this result shows how RMIT equips students with future-ready skills that will enable them to thrive in the “new normal” era.

“We are pleased to see our students addressing some of society’s pressing social and environmental issues with technology,” Mr Fernando said.

“The top three RMIT teams have shown their confidence and adaptability to the dynamic real-world environment we live in.”

RMIT University School of Business & Management Associate Lecturer and team coach Sienney Liu said that participating in the competition is a great way for RMIT University students to gain new data science skills, which are highly sought after by employers.

SAP Managing Director for Indochina, Verena Siow said that the competition encouraged young people to use their newly learned skills from SAP Analytics Cloud to create impactful solutions for the community.

“We strongly encourage young people to utilise digital skills for their self-development and contribute to create sustainable innovations for current social and economic issues as digital skills are relevant now in the middle of the current pandemic situation and the future recovery,” Ms Siow said.

“The three winning teams from RMIT were judged based on their ability to design the best all-round concept that tackles ASEAN socio-economic issues, driven by data insights,” she added. “The judging criteria looked at the creativity, feasibility, innovation, and the teams’ ability to demonstrate the solution's implementation.”

ASEAN DSE is a regional program by the ASEAN Foundation and SAP that aims to build activism and critical thinking among university students in ASEAN. Since its launch in 2017, RMIT students have affirmed their strong knowledge and skills to win the top prizes four years in a row across the country and the ASEAN winner last year.

Story: Thuy Le

Media Release

08 October 2020