A well-rounded year for RMIT students

Tiếng Việt

A well-rounded year for RMIT students

Being an RMIT Vietnam student is about more than just attaining an international qualification. RMIT students are prepared for the world of work, generous towards the community, and adept at managing their own wellbeing and success. As they begin their first semester of 2019, we reflect on some key achievements from last year.

Remarkable presence in many competitions

RMIT Vietnam’s student team was awarded the first runner-up in the final round of the world’s largest business case competition for undergraduate students -- HSBC/HKU Asia Pacific Business Case Competition in Hong Kong.

In June 2018, a team of four undergraduate students – Nguyen Hoang Yen Khanh, Luu Thai Quang Khai, Tran Vo Thanh Tu and Rahul Ravindranath – were awarded the first runner-up in the final round of the world’s largest business case competition for undergraduate students, the HSBC/HKU Asia Pacific Business Case Competition in Hong Kong. In under three hours, the team successfully prepared and analysed a real business case and proposed a strategic plan to address the issues, which was then presented to a panel of judges in a 20-minute presentation.

Three months later, two teams of business students from RMIT Vietnam secured the first and second places in the national round of the ASEAN Data Science Explorers competition. Nguyen Van Thuan and Mai Thanh Tung, who make up the winning team Pangolin, then competed at the regional round and received third-place from Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information for their project, Conquering the Waves of Global Trade. These students got an opportunity not only to enrich their experience and critical thinking skills through data analytics during the event, but also to raise their awareness about the importance of data analytics in the digital age.

RMIT Vietnam students also achieved impressive results for creative thinking and social awareness.

Two teams from the University took home gold and silver in the Integrated category, Student League of the Young Spikes 2018 competition. The teams The Mothers (made up of Le Hong Nhung and Luong Thu Trang) and Lemonade (consisting of Nguyen Hoang Chau Anh and Duong Bao Ngoc) created integrated campaigns to encourage parents to support their children in sports and physical activities.

In the national round of the 48 Hour Film Project, the short film titled Vọng (created by an RMIT Vietnam team named Dementia) won second place and four additional prizes, including Best Poster Design, Audience Award, Best VFX and Best Direction. The 48 Hour Film Project was established in 2001 by Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston in the USA, and brought to Vietnam by Australian event producer Ross Stewart in 2010. Since then, RMIT Vietnam students have continuously entered this competition – which has been described as one of the most creative and challenging competitions in the country – and brought home many awards which has helped them to develop high profiles in the industry.

Giving back and connecting with the community

Organising a charity concert as a gesture of giving back to the community has become a tradition of RMIT Vietnam’s Current Media student club during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year). After two successful events two years in a row, the club organised a fundraising event entitled Tết Không Làm Gì? (‘I do nothing at Tet?’) to support underprivileged children at the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi.

“Through this event, we wanted to remind young people about the traditional values of Tet, and that those ‘ordinary’ things we do with our families during Tet are actually precious,” Nguyen Nhat Anh, a member of Current Media, explained.

The music concert raised 25 million VND for ten young patients who suffer from diabetes, chronic hepatitis, malnutrition and other conditions.

Mai Duc Hieu, Bamboo Builders’ co-founder and RMIT Vietnam graduate, spoke about his project to Binh Duong TV Station.

RMIT Vietnam’s Bachelor of International Business graduate Mai Duc Hieu, chose to give back to the broader community in a more sustainable way.

After taking a gap year to co-found a social initiative, Bamboo Builders, RMIT Vietnam’s 2017 President’s Award recipient took to the seas to share his experiences with youth from all over Southeast Asia and Japan. On behalf of the SSEAYP Vietnam team and one other delegate, Hieu presented the project and its vision to more than 300 participants in the Youth Programme. The Bamboo Builders’ values, impact and purpose – to “create future generations of future change makers as well as leaders who are empowered to create social change” – inspired other participants to question how they could bring the initiative to their own country. Shortly after its establishment, the project trained and mentored more than 70 young adults from Singapore, Australia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Landing high flying jobs

Skilful and ambitious students at RMIT Vietnam tend to step out of their comfort zones to find new ways to improve themselves personally and professionally.

The 2018 President’s Award recipient Nguyen Dang Quang, believes that pursuing personal passion without the fear of failure is necessary in order to achieve your goals.

In his speech at the 2018 Graduation ceremony in Hanoi, International Business graduate and RMIT Vietnam’s President Award winner Nguyen Dang Quang, touched the hearts of his fellow graduates and guests with the story of his journey to pursue his passion without fear of failure.

Quang said that while he loved working in tourism and hospitality management, and the logistics and supply chain management industry, there was no such program at the time he started at RMIT Vietnam (2014). After completing his degree in early 2018, Quang decided to study the programs that he loved online, earning certifications from Stanford University and the University of Munich, before looking for work. Although he was rejected by most hotels he applied to due to his certification being online-only, Quang did not give up. Five months after his interview with the Procurement Manager at JW Marriott Hanoi Hotel, he secured his current position as a Procurement Supervisor in the Finance Department at this well-established hotel.

RMIT Vietnam commerce graduate Vu Hong Chi also landed her dream job at Google after her tireless efforts applying for job after job.

Chi’s experience showed her that during the recruitment process, Google look for much more than knowledge and skills. They also assess an individual’s “Googliness”, which refers to their compatibility with the company’s culture: a natural curiosity, a willingness to learn and try new things, an open and excited approach to helping people, and a well-intentioned motivation. Chi also demonstrated her perseverance to them, through the 21 interviews she attended (to get her current position at this organisation).

“Getting into tech companies like Google and Facebook can be really hard, but if it’s something you see for yourself, you just have to keep going for it,” said Chi. “Don’t think that you’re not good enough - you just need to keep trying.”

Story: Ha Hoang