The RMIT Vietnam student team overcame difficult odds to win 2017’s RMIT Challenge, defeating 27 teams from ten universities across Ho Chi Minh City and learning valuable lessons along the way.
“By participating in the competition, we learned practical knowledge about the market as well as essential skills such as building financial models and industry analysis,” said Vu Duc Thang, Bachelor of Business (Economics and Finance) student and leader of the successful RMIT student team.
“All of those skills are highly demanded by the market, and the competition was a perfect place for our team to gain experience for the future.”
The RMIT Research Challenge, organised by the student Finance Club on 4 May 2017, involved students from other leading universities in the region for the first time since the competition’s inception. This resulted in a more challenging environment for the students.
Every team comprised 3-5 students and a mentor from the finance industry. The RMIT team was paired with an RMIT alumnus who is pursuing her Masters degree in Australia.
“It was very cool to meet and work with a mentor who is a professional from the industry,” Thang said.
“She was super excited and enthusiastic about supporting us during the competition.
“Moreover, we also had opportunities to meet many other talented mentors and judges from the industry who were always willing to support us whenever we got stuck. They helped us to think like professional analysts.”
The winning team received a scholarship worth 66 million VND for an accreditation course.
The RMIT student team formed a strong bond while compiling a report on Digiworld, the subject company of the competition. The team leveraged their individual strengths in order to put together a winning report despite looming final examinations.
“It was not only about team work, but also about learning how to become a good teammate as every part of the report was interconnected,” Thang shared.
“We learned to manage time efficiently and apply our knowledge in a real-world situation. After the competition, our team had a broader view of what our future careers would look like.”
Now that final examinations are over and Thang and his team are ready to go out into the world of work, they recommend other students to participate in next year’s RMIT Research Challenge.
“Winning this competition is a great pleasure. It widens the knowledge, sharpens the skills, and gives job opportunities,” Thang said.
“If we have a chance, we would come back and support any competition like this for RMIT students and the community.”
The other members of the winning team were Tran Dang Manh, Pham Thien Trung, and Nguyen Tuan Anh.
Story: Daniel Eslick