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The SGX Group-NUS Sustainability Challenge 2023, Finals Presentation was held in NUS Business School on 25th February, 2023. A total of 6 teams competed in the finals, being given the opportunity to present their unique ideas, revolving around the theme of sustainability under real-world circumstances, to an esteemed panel of judges. Ultimately, Team Two Hectares took home the trophy as the champion of the SGX Group-NUS Sustainability Challenge, with Teams Earth Consult and JCFD taking the 1st and 2nd runner-up positions respectively.
A nearly 2-month hurdle for the finalists had finally come to a closure.
This competition, aimed at promoting transitions to more sustainable climate solutions amongst heavily carbon-based industries, attracted an extensive participant pool as compared to the year before. It saw an overwhelming number of sign ups from 75 teams, composed of students from NUS, NTU, SMU, all bringing forth their own distinct ideas to the table, tackling the issue of sustainable transitioning. After retrospecting and critiquing the executive summaries and presentation slides during the preliminary rounds, 12 teams were shortlisted for the semi-finals. With the noteworthy submissions from each team, the distinct panel of judges applauded each team for their contributions, and faced great difficulties in shortlisting the finalists.
Finally, 6 finalist teams were chosen to pitch their proposed solutions to a panel of distinguished judges – Mr Michael Tang (Executive Director, Head, Listing Policy & Product Admission of SGX Group), Mr Matt Dearth (Finance Instructor at SMU, Managing Director at Silvercrest Asset Management) and Professor Lawrence Loh (Director Centre for Governance and Sustainability at NUS Business School).
The Business Career Development Committee (BizCare) is honored to have been able to partner with Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) to host this event, giving light to the increased usage of sustainable financial practices.
Johnathon Tan, a member of the winning team Two Hectares, gave insights into how his group paved their way to success:
“I think a major contributor to our group’s success was how we worked very well together as a team. Our skillsets complemented one another and that played a huge role throughout this case competition. For example, Xin Ying is really good at research; I’m really good at finance; whilst Yi Zhen and Jann provided good recommendations and ensured our presentation came together nicely.”
Tee Xin Ying from Team Two Hectares also shared how their group came up with the winning solution:
“Our team really researched into the nature of SGX as an exchange – what it does and what it can do – to fully understand the case competition and come up with good recommendations. We have worked together on a client project and one other case competition previously. At first, our group considered two solutions, however, by combining the ideas into one solution, it allowed us to focus on what we specifically wanted to do. If we had more time, we would have wanted to go into more depth into our proposed solution and compare it across different reporting standards.”
Participating in this case competition was a brilliant opportunity for students to gain exposure to the nature of consulting. A finalist of the SGX Group-NUS Sustainability Challenge, Eunice Tay from Team FutureForward shared:
“Joining this case competition was a good learning opportunity for me as I had to step outside my comfort zone and delve into extensive research on sustainability in Singapore. Coming from a Polytechnic, I have had some experience in case competitions. However, presenting at the University level made me realize how much more depth and technical expertise is required from each group.”
Eugene Yap from Team FutureForward, also highlighted how this case competition benefited him:
“In class, we learn a lot of theory and concepts, but never really get to apply and put these knowledge to use. I joined this case competition to go beyond the classroom and apply my learning. Throughout this case competition, I began to realize the depth of information you need to have and the amount of research that must be put in to fully understand the topic of sustainability.”
All finalist teams put in tremendous effort into this competition and highly impressed the judges with their performances. Said Professor Lawrence Loh:
“The students had good knowledge, application and grasp on the concept of sustainability. There was thorough research into SGX and every group’s presentation was very impressive. This was a timely case competition organized by NUS BizCare as companies are looking to move towards more sustainable practices.”
His views were seconded by Mr Michael Tang:
“Each team’s presentation showcased their in-depth research into SGX as a company. The proposed solutions were insightful and relevant to the topic of sustainability.”
Lastly, this event would not have been such a success without the hard work put in behind the scenes by the BizCare Case Competition planning committee. They worked tirelessly months before to plan and execute the competition. Phoebe Wong, the Head of Case Competitions committee, shared her experiences:
“Planning and organizing the SGX Case Competition was an eye opening experience. Being the first physical competition in three years, I learnt a lot about the little nuances that come with planning an event of this scale. This competition has provided useful insights and innovative ideas that will definitely be beneficial to companies in the future, especially as there is a shift towards a greater focus on sustainability.”
With that, the SGX Group-NUS Sustainability Challenge 2023 has come to a harmonious end, granting both the participants and the organizing committee indispensable knowledge and a memorable experience that can be utilized for their future endeavors at the NUS Business School and in the corporate world.
On behalf of BizCare, we would like to congratulate the finalists and all other teams for their valuable time and effort that they invested into polishing their ideations and presenting them, in hopes of promoting sustainability in the financial environment.