Students employ fintech and blockchain for sustainability

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Tiếng Việt

Students employ fintech and blockchain for sustainability

Vietnamese students devised innovative ways of using fintech and blockchain to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a nationwide competition hosted by RMIT University.

Now in its second year, the RMIT Fintech Blockchain Competition is an annual competition where high school and university students can propose solutions for real-world problems using blockchain and fintech.

Running from May to August this year, the competition called for ideas to tackle one or multiple SDGs, including:

SDG 1 – No poverty
SDG 2 – Zero hunger
SDG 4 – Quality education
SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth, and
SDG 13 – Climate action

Following the final pitching round on 7 August, Team The Un“BLOCK”able from RMIT University’s Saigon South campus was crowned champion.

The team consisting of students majoring in Economics & Finance and Tourism & Hospitality Management won for their idea of TOURChain, a blockchain-powered platform that supports tourists on their sustainable journeys by offering community-based travelling opportunities.

The Un“BLOCK”able team leader Nguyen Tuan Hung said: “In the post-COVID era, more and more travellers are interested in sustainable tourism. We really believe that a model for tourism that supports environmental protection and local development will be the number one choice of the future.

“By using blockchain as a core technology, our solution can provide a secure and transparent experience for travellers and service providers”.

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Team The Un“BLOCK”able won the Champion title at the RMIT Fintech Blockchain Competition 2022.

The competition was organised by RMIT School of Business & Management in collaboration with the RMIT FinTech-Crypto Hub and RMIT Vietnam FinTech Club, and sponsored by Binance, Arches Global, OneBlock Labs and Metalook Magazine.

The organisers received 31 submissions from 127 Vietnamese high school and university students, representing over 30 education institutions across Vietnam.

Only the top six most insightful, well-researched and creative ideas were selected to enter the final pitching round. The finalists received one-on-one mentoring from an industry expert to further improve their business proposal and for the preparation of the final pitching in front of judges from fintech/ blockchain companies – Binance, KardiaChain and M3Ta Inc., and academic leaders from RMIT.

The finalists comprised first- to final-year students from RMIT University, National Economics University, Foreign Trade University and FPT University.

The runner-up and second runner-up titles went to The Conquerors from the National Economics University and The Part-time Engineers from RMIT University, respectively. The People’s Choice Award went to Team GoSG from the National Economics University.

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The top six teams comprised first- to final-year students from RMIT University, National Economics University, Foreign Trade University and FPT University.

From healthcare to insurance, finance, agriculture and tourism, the industries that the teams proposed solutions for are some of the most important pillars of Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

Dean of RMIT School of Business & Management Professor Robert McClelland said: “The participants this year are very strong in business knowledge and technical knowledge. They addressed the different aspects of Industry 4.0 very well.”

“Through this competition we hope to encourage students to engage with industry leaders and consider how technology can be a force for good in the world. We hope that they found participating in this event a fun but challenging task.”

Co-Founder and CEO of KardiaChain Mr Huy Nguyen said: “It's important to have many more of this kind of competitions. The ideas that came through today are only the start – turning them into products and making value is a long journey. Vietnam has a good chance of becoming a leader in fintech and blockchain, and it all starts with ideas like these.”

Story: Ngoc Hoang

Business and management

Media Release

10 August 2022