Youngsters embrace digital innovation to build a sustainable future

Youngsters embrace digital innovation to build a sustainable future

An AI-powered solution to promote green consumption took home the Champion title at the RMIT Business Plan Competition (RBPC) 2023.

Themed “Be Next: Embracing Digital Innovation, Building Sustainable Futures”, RBPC 2023 offered a platform for university and high school students across Vietnam to tackle real-world problems and reimagine a technologically advanced and sustainable future.

RBPC first kicked off in early August 2023, attracting 89 teams made up of students from nearly 100 different universities and high schools nationwide. After a preliminary round and a semi-final, five top teams advanced to the final pitching round in Ho Chi Minh City.

From food waste, to e-commerce, electric vehicle, and smart contracts, the ideas tackled diverse emerging issues as well as state-of-the-art technologies.

Team V3738 from Hanoi-based VinUniversity came out on top as the champion with their idea for EcoSight, a smart AI-powered shopping assistant.

RBPC champion team V3738 pose with a judge and an organiserThe champion team V3738 from VinUniversity consists of Business Administration students Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang, Bui Thi Diem Hong, and Nguyen Tri Duc, and Computer Science student Thai Huu Tri.

EcoSight introduces an eco-conscious and health-conscious shopping practice, where with just a scan customers can be instantly informed of a product’s sustainability rate and other important information.

To provide a seamless online-to-offline shopping experience, EcoSight can be integrated as a plugin in e-commerce platforms. The team also proposed installing eco-scanning machines in brick-and-mortar stores.

Besides, to encourage a green consumption habit, customers are rewarded with EcoScores for each sustainable purchase suggested by the app, which can be converted into discounts.

Business Administration student Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang said on behalf of team V3738: “As youngsters, we strongly believe that green consumerism will be the future of Vietnam in five to ten years, thanks to rising awareness of sustainability and pursuit of a green lifestyle”.

“In such context, EcoSight sets out with a mission to revolutionise the way Vietnamese shop, help eco-products reach much wider customer groups and empower a green, healthy society”. 

Mock-up of the EcoSight app interface by team V3738Mock-up of the EcoSight app interface by team V3738

RBPC is hosted by The Business School in association with the RMIT Vietnam FinTech Club. Its precursors were the annual RMIT Fintech-Blockchain Competition and RMIT Amazing Vietnam Student Competition, both of which were initiated in 2021 and provided an engaging academic playground for hundreds of students across the country.

From such a basis, RMIT created a single, larger-scale business plan competition this year. The 2023 edition introduced five areas of focus related to Digital Marketing, Management and Change, Tourism and Hospitality, Financial Innovation, and Business and Technology.

Participants at RBPC grand finaleThe three-month competition featured mentors, judges and guest speakers from Google, Binance, Sofitel Saigon Hotel, L’Oréal, Aurecon, Kyber Network, WordsMine, Fusion Original Saigon Centre, Joyride, Hung Dong Xanh, and Nuoa.io

RBPC’s mission is to inspire students across Vietnam to identify real world problems that are disrupting the world, and to generate their own creative solutions or business models to solve these problems, contributing to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Associate Professor Nguyen Vu Hong Thai, Deputy Dean Learning & Teaching at The Business School, RMIT University Vietnam said, “the competition serves as a testament to RMIT’s commitment to creating opportunities and fostering sustainable innovation”.

“I take pride in the fact that we are nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit while preparing the next generation to construct an inclusive and sustainable future through these events,” he added.

Follow the annual competition at: https://www.facebook.com/rmit.rbpc.

Story: Ngoc Hoang

09 November 2023

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