HKU Business School and Solomon Learning Group co-organized the “Fireside Chat with Mr. Antony Leung and Ms. Alison Chan” for the Future Leader Scholarship Programme Awardees on September 27th, 2022. Around 30 students participated in this meaningful event and the two speakers, Mr. Antony Leung and Ms. Alison Chan engaged in a fruitful conversation with our participants in the evening. Both speakers shared their insights into identifying their career interests and developing their careers as well as how financial education makes a difference to individuals. Participants made use of the opportunities to exchange their personal experiences and proactively raise questions to the speakers on different topics about finance, education and career development.
Mr. Antony Leung is the Chairman and Co-founder of Solomon Learning Group. As the former Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, he is currently the Group Chairman & CEO of Nan Fung Group, a leading regional conglomerate focusing on property & investment businesses. He is also Group Chairman & Co-Founder of New Frontier Group, a group that engages in the healthcare business in China. Concurrently, Mr. Leung is the Chairman of two charity organizations – Heifer Hong Kong and Food Angel. Mr. Leung also had extensive experience in financial services, including Chairman of Greater China of Blackstone, Chairman of Asia of JP Morgan Chase, Asia Head of Citi Private Bank, Regional Head of Citi Investment Bank, Treasury and Greater China.
Ms. Alison Chan is the CEO and Co-founder of Solomon Learning Group. She is also the Chairman of Bring Me a Book Hong Kong and the former President and current Director of the Harvard Business School Association of Hong Kong. She is an Aspen China Fellow selected by the Aspen Institute. Alison was the Group Chief Operating Officer of New Frontier Group. Prior to joining New Frontier, she was the Chief Representative of Gerson Lehrman Group in China and was latest heading the New Markets development in Asia. She also worked in the JP Morgan investment banking division in the New York Office and GE Capital in various departments across different global offices. She graduated from The University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and subsequently obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Dean of HKU Business School, Professor Hongbin Cai presented souvenirs to speakers and representatives of Solomon Learning
(Left to Right)
Ms. Gisa Chan, Project Leader, Solomon Learning
Mr. Anthony Leung, Chairman and Co-Founder, Solomon Learning
Prof. Hongbin Cai, Dean, HKU Business School
Ms. Alison Chan, CEO and Co-founder, Solomon Learning
Mr. Oscar Chan, Project Leader, Solomon Learning
Mr. Antony Leung spoke to the audience
Mr. Antony Leung engaged Ms. Alison Chan in a conversation
Partnering with Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Venture into Future Career (VFC) is an exclusive programme for HKU Business School’s Undergraduate Students. The selected students will have the chance to attend the training workshops, receive 1-on-1 career advice and coaching, get in touch with CEO/ CFO/ seasoned industry leaders for first-hand industry information, and be offered a potential internship opportunity at the collaborating company.
The Venture into Future Career Programme 2022-2023 Opening Ceremony was held on 29th September, 2022 in HKU iCube, Two Exchange Square. This is our third year of collaboration with Hong Kong Cyberport Management and Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA) and the programme has admitted a record high of 50 students in the 2022-2023 academic year.
Group picture with guests and admitted students
(Left to Right)
Dr. Winnie Leung, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate), HKU Business School
Mr. Paulus Chau, Director, Hong Kong and Emerging Markets, CIMA
Dr. Derek Chan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate), HKU Business School
Mr. Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer, Cyberport
Polymer Capital is a leading alternative investment firm with a market-neutral, multi-manager platform investing in liquid securities with a strong Asia focus. One of the missions of Polymer is to discover and to develop the region’s best talent. With this, Polymer intends to bring this down to the university level and host an Inter-varsity Case Challenge giving our young talent the opportunity to learn and research the assets/funds management industry, by designing an ESG theme as one of the hedge fund strategies for the Asia Pacific Region portfolio.
Polymer invited HKU as one of the participants. The first round of the Case Competition was held on 5th September at the newly established HKU Business School Centre in Exchange Square 2. Four teams were competing in the first round of HKU Championship. We have three esteemed panellists, Mr King Au, Executive Director of Financial Services Development Council, Mr Hillman Wong, Head of Capital Markets, Polymer and Ms Janet Li, Head of Wealth, Mercer putting their votes to the best team and the best presenter.
Each of the teams has chosen a topic, ranging from electrical vehicle, smart city, smart energy and ESG disclosures. During the course of the team’s preparation, an advisor was assigned to each team who could provide some guidance along their path.
Dr King Au, “we are really amazed and nicely surprised by the quality of each and every team’s presentation, they were deeply thought out, well researched and recommendation sinks well with the thoughts. Picking the Champion team has been tough for the panellists.”
The champion goes to team RAC Capital comprising of Rachel Yip (AMPB III), Carson Lui (IBGM III) and Ande Chong (IBGM III) with a portfolio built on Smart Energy. The team will be representing HKU to compete in the Polymer Inter-varsity ESG Case Challenge 2022 on 28th October (Friday). Gavin Chung (AMPB III) and Leslie Li (AMPB III) were selected as joint Best Presenters.
Congratulations to all the participants. We look forward to seeing our HKU-RAC Capital on stage soon.
The winning team (Ande, Rachel, and Carson from left to right in the middle) with Polymer and the Faculty
The best presenters (Leslie and Gavin from left to right in the middle) with the Faculty
The HKGCC Business Case Competition is an annual competition hosted by Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC). The competition aims to promote the exchange of ideas between tertiary students and businesses by encouraging students to utilize the skills and knowledge learned in class to develop feasible solutions for real-life business problems. Through this competition, students were provided with an opportunity to develop innovative ideas and creative solutions to crack the business cases formulated by 6 sponsors (Citibank, Great Eagle Group, DHL, Sino Group, PwC and NWS).
The 6 sponsors presented 6 problems and students who passed the first round received mentorship guidance from the respective sponsors to polish their ideas for the second round. The enhanced proposal was then submitted for online voting. At the end, three among five teams were selected as finalists with the refined proposal. The finalists had to give a 5-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of Q&A to the panel of judges.
Students of HKU Business School have won numerous awards including four Champions, three 1st Runner-ups and three 2nd Runner-ups with the six sponsoring companies.
Great Eagle Group – Champion and Citibank – 1st Runner Up (Team name: BELKK)
Miss Karine Pangestu, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
Miss Brianna Izellah Pajarillo Madera, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
Mr. Chan Ling Lam Levi, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
Miss Lai Hiu Chi Emily, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
(1 other team member was a student from The Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Financial Technology, HKU)
Citibank – Champion (Team name: Accelerator)
Mr. Lau Wang Shun, BEcon&Fin, Year 3
Mr. Cheng King On, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 5
PwC – Champion (Team name: Sicuro)
Mr. Asimudeen Sahabudeen, BBA(IS), graduate
Mr. Ningoo Siddhant Darpan, BBA(IS), graduate
NWS – Champion (Team name: Day Day Live)
Miss Wong On Yan, BBA, Year 4
(1 other team member was a student from The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, HKU)
Great Eagle Group – 1st Runner Up (Team name: BDG)
Miss You Haewon, BBA(IBGM), Year 4
Mr. Jung Jaewoon, BBA(IBGM), Year 3
Mr. Kim Yehun, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
(2 other team members were students from The Bachelor of Social Sciences, HKU)
PwC – 1st Runner Up (Team name: Enertime)
Miss Wong Karen, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 3
(2 other team members were not HKU students)
Sino Group – 1st Runner Up (Team name: Greenery)
Miss Li Wing Sze, BBA, Year 4
(1 other team member was a student from The Bachelor of Arts, HKU)
Citibank – 2nd Runner-up (Team name: Flower Flag)
Mr. Tsang Chun Wai, BBA(Law)&LLB, Year 4
Miss Lau Ka Yiu, BBA(Law)&LLB, Year 4
(2 other team members were not HKU students)
DHL – 2nd Runner-up (Team name: MODE)
Miss Kim Siyeon, BEcon&Fin, Year 2
Mr. Jung Hyunwoo, BEcon&Fin, Year 2
Mr. Kim Minkyu, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 2
Miss Lee Yuhyeon, BBA, Year 2
Miss Kim Sumin, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 2
NWS – 2nd Runner-up (Team name: Alchemy)
Miss Leung Sin Yan Kiki, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 4
(1 other team member was not HKU student)
Students Sharing:
Great Eagle Group – Champion and Citibank – 1st Runner Up
“Citibank route:
What Citibank wanted was a way to encourage and support HK SMEs under the ESG scope aside from direct financing and investments. For some members of our team, this was our first-ever case competition so there was definitely a steep learning curve in presentation and content skills. Fortunately, with the help of some benevolent seniors and Citibank mentors, our all-in-one platform proposal was able to make it all the way to second place! Along the way, we learnt technical skills such as financial modelling and software development logistics as well as presentation skills like slide design and speech coherency. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this seven-month journey with very invaluable teammates and would highly recommend this to anyone with a passion for innovative thinking.
Great Eagle Group route:
We are very honoured to win the championship in the great eagle stream. Thanks to our mentor Agnes, we could better understand the back-end operations and business model of a hotel group. By talking to the management and staff from Eaton, we also identified their major challenges. Therefore, we proposed a digitalisation solution for Eaton to cement its position as an art and wellness hub. It was an amazing journey for our team.”
(by Miss Karine Pangestu, Miss Brianna Izellah Pajarillo Madera, Mr. Chan Ling Lam Levi, and Miss Lai Hiu Chi Emily)
Citibank – Champion
“It was an unforgettable and exhilarating experience! Unlike large corporates with rich financial resources and manpower, SMEs usually face various challenges including a shortage of experts which has deterred them from demonstrating their ESG commitments. To tailor-make the solution specifically for SMEs, we researched the characteristics of SMEs and the difficulties of integrating ESG into their business to design a unique solution that would create a win-win situation for both Citi and SMEs. We were grateful that the mentors from Citi provided guidance to our team which enabled us to gain direct insights to prepare a more comprehensive solution.”
(by Mr. Cheng King On)
“It has been an enjoyable, rewarding and invaluable journey joining this competition! I have gained a deeper understanding of how ESG is playing a significant role in the banking and finance industry. Our well-rounded and all-in-one solution allows SMEs to enhance their ESG performance strategically and sustainably, and address their needs. Particularly, I gained insights into how implementing ESG initiatives in SMEs business will mutually benefit both SMEs and Citi Bank in terms of the revenue-generating ecosystem and long-term development. Lastly, thank you to my teammates and all the people who have guided and advised us along the way!”
(by Mr. Lau Wang Shun)
PwC – Champion
“The competition had multiple tracks, and my teammate and I applied for the PwC track where we had to come up with a business idea that would disrupt current businesses, using emerging technologies (such as Blockchain, AI, APIs and Data Analytics). Throughout the competition, we spent countless hours trying to refine our slide pitch deck, which provided the readers with in-depth information about our idea. The first-round selection was done by the sponsors (i.e. PwC). In the second round, which was shortlisted to the top 5 teams from the previous round had the opportunity to refine our proposal after receiving mentoring and further suggestions from the sponsors. Only the top 3 teams were picked to deliver a 5-minute presentation in the finals (followed by a 5-minute Q&A). This whole experience of joining this competition was a great learning opportunity and at the same time proved that innovation is just around the corner. From the support and invaluable insight that was provided to us by industry leaders, to the conversations we got to engage in with them. This was a great learning opportunity to polish many of my skillsets, to learn more about this industry, to look at the applications of Emerging Technologies in various areas, and most of all to apply my knowledge and make something concrete that has the potential to give back to the society.”
(by Mr. Asimudeen Sahabudeen, Mr. Ningoo Siddhant Darpan)
NWS – Champion
“In the competition, we were asked to discover problems under the new normal and think of an innovative solution that utilises NWS business expertise. During the problem discovery stage, though we had a hard time, we managed to realise problems in our daily lives and polished our observation and design thinking skills. At the solution development stage, as we would like to suggest a solution for carbon neutrality, we did lots of first and second-hand research on carbon trading. This enhanced our knowledge of sustainability as well as the global carbon trading market.”
(by Miss Wong On Yan)
Great Eagle Group – 1st Runner Up
“Throughout the competition, we learnt about the overall hospitality industry in Hong Kong by investigating various aspects such as social trends, external threats, consumers’ demands and preferences, and potential opportunities in the industry. Considering these factors, we came up with a new business idea for expanding the revenue stream in the New Normal in 2025 (Post-COVID-19 society). It was highly challenging to develop a new strategy as the New Normal was constructed in a hypothesized condition. However, after intensive research and gathering ideas from teammates, we finally came up with a new business idea of introducing “Senior Living Community Service,” which was a strategy to reduce vulnerability to future crises in the hospitality industry. We were able to analyze potential opportunities and strategies to mitigate possible threats. In addition, we have compiled data for a return-on-investment (ROI) analysis model by calculating expected revenue and costs in the hypothesized circumstances. Not only did we develop a new business idea, but also we analyzed and evaluated the profitability and feasibility of the new strategy with practical applications and figures. It was a great opportunity for us to learn about the new field of industry and to strengthen our research skills with passionate teammates and mentors who helped us throughout the competition, giving advice and critical feedback to consistently improve our new business idea.”
(by Miss You Haewon, Mr. Jung Jaewoon, and Mr. Kim Yehun)
PwC – 1st Runner Up
“The competition was engaging and educational. It offered a few rounds of consultation sessions and networking opportunities, allowing me to gain insights into the tech consulting industry from their expertise. As opposed to just presenting, our authentic demo showing how we were playing the game that our team had created was one of the highlights. (The device we were holding could detect our gestures, and we moved our bodies following the game’s rules)”
(by Miss Wong Karen)
Sino Group – 1st Runner Up
“It was a tough, yet rewarding journey. I am glad that our team overcame all the obstacles in this challenging situation and learnt so much from one another. This competition provided me with a deep dive into the topic of sustainability, and how we could act sustainably at individual and community levels. More importantly, the constructive feedback and thoughtful questions we received from our mentor and the judges helped improve our analytical skills and gave us valuable insights on strategies for successful project execution.”
(by Miss Li Wing Sze)
Citibank – 2nd Runner-up
“This Competition is one of the largest and most prestigious case competitions in Hong Kong. The 2021 Competition consists of 6 tracks on various areas of business. We joined the Citibank track. The title of the case is “Enhancing ESG Performance for Small and Medium Enterprises”. Although ESG has been a hot phrase for larger corporations, SMEs lag behind in awareness and implementation of ESG. Citibank can leverage its expertise to assist SMEs in achieving better ESG performance by addressing their major pain points—lack of knowledge and resources.”
(by Mr. Tsang Chun Wai, and Miss Lau Ka Yiu)
DHL – 2nd Runner-up
“This competition was the first case competition our team worked together. At the beginning of the competition, we had discussions almost every day to come up with innovative solutions which DHL has not yet tried. This period was challenging, yet we were certain that it eventually helped us win the prize while becoming more communicative and collaborative with one another.
Besides teamwork skills, we gained more business knowledge such as how businesses in the logistics industry operate their supply chain and respond to society regarding rising awareness of ESG. Moreover, we developed our creativity, critical thinking skills, and research skills while working on the proposal for the case study. This precious opportunity helped us grow a lot and gave us the courage to challenge more competitions in the future. One of the most meaningful lessons we learnt through the competition was a frontier ship with no fear. Thus, we recommend everyone not to be afraid of trying something new.
Due to the pandemic, the whole process of preparing for and presenting this competition was challenging for our team. However, by encouraging one another during this six-month-long journey, we achieved such a great achievement. We were glad to participate in the final round as an HKU representative student, and regardless of the result, the process itself gave us meaningful insights and skills.”
(by Miss Kim Siyeon, Mr. Jung Hyunwoo, Mr. Kim Minkyu, Miss Lee Yuhyeon, and Miss Kim Sumin)
NWS – 2nd Runner-up
“It was a really rewarding experience and I am so honored to have such an opportunity to provide strategies and formulate concrete solutions for the local conglomerate giant – NWS. In the competition, we are required to create deliverables to convince the company’s representatives with our proposed strategies. In the meantime, mentors from the sponsor would also provide us with feedback and tips. Overall, the entire journey was so amazing that I highly encourage students who are eager to challenge themselves to sign up for this competition.”
Asian Business Case Competition (ABCC) is an international undergraduate business case competition hosted by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). It aims to gather the brightest students from business schools across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific to put their analytical thinking competencies and communication skills to the test by solving real-life business problems.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, ABCC 2022 was organised wholly virtual by NTU’s premier case club Business Solutions. Sponsored by StraitsX, the leading payments infrastructure for digital assets in Southeast Asia, this year’s theme focused on the digital asset industry and innovative solutions to solve pain points within the industry.
Award: 1st Runner-up
Team List:
Mr. Chung Muk Yan, BSc(QFin), Year 2
Mr. Fung Hok Ching Harold, BFin(AMPB), Year 2
Miss Ho Hiu Lam, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
Miss Jung Suyeon, BBA(IBGM), Year 3
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Winnie S. C. Leung, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate)
Students Sharing:
“Participating in the Asian Business Case Competition was a fun and unique experience. At the start, we found the case challenging due to its tech nature and the unfamiliar context. However, we managed to pull through in the end and came up with a strategy that we were satisfied with. Throughout this competition, I was able to hone my case cracking skills and at the same time gained practical knowledge in the digital assets field. I also seized this precious opportunity to learn from the professional judges and the teams from all around the world.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my teammates for their immense effort and unconditional support. I would not have gone this far without them. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Winnie Leung, Ms. Kit Hau and our case coach Ms. Pipin Tasdyata for their guidance and continued support in the training and feedback sessions.”
– Chung Muk Yan, BSc(QFin)
“The Asian Business Case Competition was the first time we worked together as a team, and it had been a fruitful experience. As the person in charge of the tech part of our strategy, I had learned a lot about blockchain and cryptocurrency. The case had also sharpened my research and presentation skills.
Kudos to my teammates for all the hard work and dedication. Each of us had played to our strengths, and through a clear division of labour, we were able to make it through. Furthermore, I could not be more grateful for the support from Dr. Winnie Leung and Ms. Pipin Tasdyata. We could not have done it without their guidance.”
– Fung Hok Ching Harold, BFin(AMPB)
“I was honoured to be selected as one of the representatives of HKU Business School to compete in the Asian Business Case Competition 2022. I hope to thank all members from my team – Team Bash at It, who contributed according to their diverse talents. Stablecoin was a relatively unfamiliar topic for us before the competition, but I am glad that we had a “bash at it”. We overcame this challenge in the end by conducting in-depth research and analysis into the expansion capabilities of stablecoins in ASEAN countries and real-life applications of digital assets. I realised we were able to complement each other in various aspects. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards Dr. Winnie Leung, Ms. Pipin Tasdyata and staff of HKU Business School for their guidance and support throughout the competition.”
– Ho Hiu Lam, BBA(IBGM)
“Participating in the Asian Business Case Competition 2022 had enhanced my case journey, equipping me with empowerment skills and business acumen. Mainly, I understood the vitality of building trust within the team and being open to providing honest feedback for refinement. I was lucky to have collaborated with like-minded individuals driven by curiosity, as they guided, motivated, and inspired me with diverse insights and perseverance. This competition had also enriched my understanding of the dynamic crypto world, especially the broad applications of stablecoins. All in all, we strived to sharpen our thinking skills and believe in ourselves with the immense support from Dr. Winnie Leung and Ms. Pipin Tasdyata. We had a great “bash at it!”
The 2nd edition of “Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China (CIEC)” Summer Programme was successfully completed on August 9, 2022.
Further to the inaugural CIEC programme in 2019, this year, we are happy to have brought together 43 students from different faculties in The University of Hong Kong and other top universities in Australia, Belgium, United Kingdom, and Mainland China for a virtual summer programme. Students from more than 10 nationalities, including American, Austrian, Canadian, Dutch, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Korean, Thai and Taiwanese had actively participated in the CIEC programme regardless of their geographic location. The programme was led by Mr. Joseph Chan, CIEC Programme Director, and Dr. Jing Li, CIEC Programme Co-director. Dr. Li was also the instructor of the HKU course offered in the programme.
With the support from Proactive Think Tank, we collaborated with 10 companies from different industries, including culture and event, digital media, finance, innovative technology, professional service, property development and retail to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the latest trend and business development of China’s Greater Bay Area. The programme also provided students with ample opportunities to discuss and present their innovative ideas on hot topics such as Artificial Intelligence, cultural innovation, digitization and ESG.
CIEC Programme Directors, Mr. Chan and Dr. Li, had conducted interviews with guest speakers from 10 companies before the programme began. After broadcasting the interview videos, students got the chances to interact with these industry experts in the Q&A sessions throughout the 9-day programme. These interactive sessions offered valuable opportunities for students, not only to better understand the real business landscape and development of different industries, but also to explore their own future development and planning. 12 speakers for the guest lectures included (in alphabetical order of industry partners):
Leo Liu, General Manager of Hong Kong, Macau & Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence
Dennis Choi, Managing Director, China Resources Capital Management Limited
Alan Chiu, Managing Partner, ELLALAN (Law Firm)
Jason Ho, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Yee Tsang, General Manager, Grand Field Group Holdings Limited
Kevin Lai, Angel Investor, PressLogic Limited
Ms Cherry Liu, Co-founder, PressLogic Limited
Ms Kitty Kwok, Vice President – eCommerce, Sa Sa International Holdings Limited
Kevin Wong, Vice President – eCommerce, Sa Sa International Holdings Limited
Hailong Shang, General Manager, SenseTime Hong Kong
Howie Chan, Director, SquareFaceChan Media
Franky Wong, CEO, Yello Marketing Sports Agency
Participants also had the opportunity to explore different cultural spots in Hong Kong through Storius, a start-up company that promote culture with advanced technology. Students were engaged to discuss their views towards the business model and UI/UX design of Storius and proposed directly to the company representatives for improvements.
Both Mr. Chan and Dr. Li made the closing remarks towards the end of the programme. Mr. Chan commended the programme, especially the guest video interviews and Q&A sessions, which gave a lot of insight about doing different businesses and their personal experiences, as well as how the society is being developed in Hong Kong and other cities in China’s Greater Bay Area. “This is a wonderful opportunity to not just learn from the text book about the theory, the economics and finance. It is basically a full package talking about the business model, market, the whole industry landscape, technology, and how to develop the community”.
Dr. Li added that the CIEC has gone through a big transition from a firm visit based physical programme to an innovative virtual programme which brought together different interactive elements throughout the 7-day intensive learning process. Active participation of all students made the whole programme full of interesting and exciting moments, which is the most valuable part of CIEC programme. She looked forward to seeing the development of all participants in Hong Kong or other part of the Greater Bay Area in the future.
Mr. Chan also encouraged all participants, “We need to keep ourselves flexible and use what we know in a flexible way as what you are doing now maybe different in two-month time. By doing so, you would be able to seize the opportunity, no matter what you are trying to work according to the market situation or even leading the trend.”
Background: Established in 1986, the Business Administration Paper (BA Paper) is an international case competition held annually by the Hong Kong Federation of Business Students (HKFBS). This year, over 50 teams from all around the world virtually joined the competition.
To participate in the BA Paper Case Competition, teams were required to submit a 5-page proposal and a poster to explain the crux of their ideas. Shortlisted teams had to submit a 10-page written proposal and a 10-minutes presentation. Finalist teams were selected to attend pitching workshops and mentoring sessions with industry professionals. In the finals, teams had to construct a 15-page written proposal and a 12-minutes presentation with 5-minutes of Q&A from renowned judges.
Teams with outstanding performances were awarded cash prizes, exclusive collaboration opportunities, and trophies.
Miss Lai Hiu Chi Emily, BBA(IBGM), Year 1 (3 other team members were students from other Faculties, HKU)
Students Sharing: “When we named our team as Cadence in a dimly-lit room at midnight, little did we know that it would be announced in front of a hundred participants in one of the biggest case competitions in Hong Kong.
In retrospect, this has been an unforgettable journey as I learnt a tremendous amount from my talented teammates and the case. It was indeed intellectually stimulating to learn blockchain from a computer science perspective and a law perspective. Our mentors from cybersecurity and financial technology also provided valuable insights into our initiative by pointing out problems like scalability and profitability for us to ponder upon. Their encouragement and strong belief in us also fuelled us to move forward despite obstacles.
I would have to thank our team as we wouldn’t have achieved this result without each other. We had a great team dynamic, and our diverse backgrounds and skill sets complemented each other. Our only common ground was music, as our meetings culminated in enthusiastic music-blasting sessions. When we stumbled across a Youtube video about the sufferings of musicians, we knew that we couldn’t turn a blind eye to this problem.
We are fortunate to experience the rise of ABCD technologies (AI, blockchain, cloud, data analytics) and the era of Web3. We are equipped with truly transformational tool kits to help solve social problems that we are passionate about. In fact, our solution was driven by “shared value”, which means planning for economic benefit and positively impacting social and environmental conditions. We aspire to create a profitable business while solving a thorny problem for our most favourite musicians.
In the competition, I learnt to not only create a profitable business model and financial projection, but also to conduct detailed market analysis to understand our competitive advantage. I also had hands-on experience in pitching a compelling business idea with enthusiasm and engagement to a panel of industry professionals. We were also challenged to think on the spot in response to critical questions pointed out by the judges.”
Background: The BOCHK Challenge, organized by Bank of China (Hong Kong), aims to explore the potentials , nurture talents of youngsters and create groundbreaking business models with innovative technological solutions. The theme of the challenge this year covered five of the most trending technologies in the market. By applying these technologies to the financial industry, students strived to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
This year, more than 144 teams of college students and start-ups submitted their proposals. Teams were invited to attend workshops conducted by Deloitte and Alibaba about trends in financial technology and innovation. Shortlisted teams which were mentored by BOCHK, Deloitte and Alibaba experts competed for 7 awards and the winning teams were awarded HK$ 590,000 prizes in total.
Students Sharing: “Maldin Consulting is honoured to stand out among 144 teams of college students and start-ups to win the Gold Award for Innovative Design in the “BOCHK Challenge 2021-22”. We hope that our AI financial advisor can be a breakthrough from the traditional industry framework, enhancing the operational efficiency of the bank. We aspire to provide the right service, to the right customers, at the right time.
We would like to thank the organiser, Bank of China (Hong Kong) (“BOCHK”), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Hong Kong Productivity Council, Deloitte China and Alibaba Cloud Intelligence for hosting this competition. We would also like to sincerely thank all BOCHK mentors and co-organizer experts, Garry for providing us with guidance on business innovation, financial technology applications, technology, presentation skills, etc. Thank you Gary for enlightening us with his perspective on digital solutions: “Banking is and always will be a business established by relationships. The purpose of technology in the end is to help humans serve humans better.”
Finally, I have to thank each and every one of my team members for their hard work. We would not be able to reach so far without any one of you. Your work ethic and persistence motivate me to always deliver my best.
This marks the end of our first year of undergraduate, we look forward to challenging ourselves in the years to come!”
(by Lai Hiu Chi Emily)
“My journey in the BOCHK Challenge had been extremely rewarding. I am immensely grateful for having some of the most amazing people as my teammates, Emily, Carina, Megan and CY. Their attitudes, talents and professional skills truly inspired me. We had worked days and nights striving for perfection. Even though we were only a group of year 1 students, our hard work eventually brought us success.
We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from our mentor, Garry from Alibaba Cloud. He enlightened us by sharing the latest industry trends and telling us the essence of asset management is relationship building. At the end of the day, we as humans crave to be emotionally connected. The ultimate purpose of technology in business is to establish a deep and long-lasting relationship with the customers.”
The MonsoonSIM International ERM Competition (MERMC) is an annual inter-varsity competition hosted by MonsoonSIM and its partners. The competition provides an opportunity for students to gain knowledge of how to adapt to the changing business environments, use the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, run a successful business with limited resources and manage a large business. It was designed to encourage students to understand the concept of enterprise resource management (ERM) with fun and exciting simulation games, run a virtual enterprise and compete with other virtual companies run by other students.
The MERMC consists of hundreds of fundamental business concepts applicable to trading, distribution, eCommerce, manufacturing, and service business. The concepts are brilliantly wrapped into a typical business simulation with thirteen business departments, including Finance, Retail, Warehouse, Logistics, Planning, Production, Maintenance, Service Management, Human Resources, etc.
Award(s): The Champion – Team name: RADS 1st Runner Up – Team name: Cloudburst 2nd Runner-Up – Team name: Q2fin
Awardee(s):
Team name: RADS
Mr. Ye Jiayuan, BEcon&Fin, Year 2 (3 other team members were students from BASc(FinTech) and BSc, HKU)
Team name: Cloudburst
Mr. Chiu Yi Nap, BSc(QFin), Year 1 (photo position: 1st from the left) Mr. Ng Chun Ki, BEcon&Fin, Year 1 (photo position: 2nd from the left) (3 other team members were students from the Faculty of Engineering, HKU)
Team name: Q2fin
Mr. Chan Yuk Ting, BSc(QFin), Year 2 Miss Lam Yu Yan, BSc(QFin), Year 2 Miss Shum Wing Yan , BSc(QFin), Year 2 Mr. Wang Jinbing , BSc(QFin), Year 2 Miss Yiu Sing Yi, BSc(QFin), Year 2
Students Sharing: “There are basically two things I learnt from the competition.
First we were having a bad time in some of the practice games, we had a very unsatisfied ranking. And our team had serious disagreements on some strategies. We even argued our ideas until 2 or 3 o’clock at midnight. Most importantly, the ultimate goal of our argument was our performance in the competition, all of us wanted to make ourselves better. After detailed communication and subsequent adjustments and tests, we finally found the strategy that worked best for us. And we got a satisfactory result in the end. Therefore, don’t mind the quarrel, as long as the members are for good performance, effective and calm communication will bring good results.
Second, to be honest, we never expected to win the championship. We thought we have the strength and potential to win the championship but there was a team which was killing the game. We had never seen them not take first place in all the practice games. Compared to them, we can only say that we had the strength of the top three, but our ranking was not stable in so many exercises. But we were always learning, always adjusting, always experimenting with new directions and practicing details. This allowed us to have our best status in the final and win the championship. Therefore, do not be afraid of the opponent’s strength, learn from them, and insist on strengthening yourself, nothing is impossible to cross.”
(by Ye Jiayuan)
“MonsoonSIM Enterprise Resource Management Competition (MERMC) is an annual inter-varsity event where teams simulated to run a virtual company and competed for the highest business KPI targets set on the spot. Each team needed to cooperate and handle the routine operation of nearly ten departments throughout the simulation. After 2 months of training, teams needed to compete against one another for the highest business KPI. Additionally, in the finals, teams would need to present and elaborate on their business model as well as how their tactics stay in line with ESG principles. Not only had our team received hands-on experience in applying theories in our actual operation, but we had also become much more adaptable and cooperative with one another thanks to the format of this competition. MERMC provided an opportunity for us to explore our limits with an unyielding determination to improve.” (by Chiu Yi Nap and Ng Chun Ki)
“Throughout the competition, we first learned the importance of cooperation. Everyone had different processes to monitor, and these were usually highly interdependent. Therefore, we had to communicate frequently with each other to ensure a comprehensive business strategy with an efficient resource allocation. Secondly, since there were some unexpected events like financial crises happened in the middle phase of the game, we had to make quick decisions ranging from product procurement, warehouse management, and production, which taught us to be more flexible in making company-wide decisions. Lastly, this game taught us about the trade-off of a company. The scoring matrix of the game consists of some conflicting indicators such as production and pollution, while it was impossible to achieve high scores in both categories. So, the only solution would be to give up some scores in one aspect for better performance of the others to achieve benefit maximization. Lastly, as the theme for this year’s competition is ESG, we also learned about how important the sustainable development of a business is and why companies need to fulfill them for the well-being of the whole society.” (by Chan Yuk Ting, Wang Jinbing, Shum Wing Yan, Lam Yu Yan and Yiu Sing Yi)
