University Of Auckland Students Take Out Top Spot In MYOB Digital Challenge

University of Auckland team, ‘The Yappers’, have claimed first place in the trans-Tasman MYOB Digital Challenge for 2024 – the fourth consecutive win by New Zealand students, and the first by an all-female team.

This year’s Challenge marked a decade of the competition supporting student innovation, and approximately 300 students (across 90 teams) from Australian and New Zealand universities participated.

To showcase their talents, entrants were tasked with proposing a technology-centric solution which would address an issue that’s critical to the success and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

For the preliminary round, teams developed detailed submissions explaining their solution, the problem it addresses, and how it aligned with judging criteria focused on impact, feasibility, ingenuity and uniqueness. Six teams were then selected for the virtual trans-Tasman final, where they were required to build out a working prototype and pitch it to the judges.

After much deliberation, the 2024 judging panel consisting of MYOB Executive General Manager SME - Emma Fawcett, MYOB Chief Operating Officer - Caroline Rawlinson, and Director of Solutions Architecture ISV at Amazon Web Services - Dave Coombes, selected ‘The Yappers’ as the deserving first place winners.

Taking away the top prize of $5,000, the three team members - Caitlin Walker, Chloe Lo and Doris Dong - all met while studying business at university and saw the Digital Challenge as a unique opportunity to take part in during their semester break.

The Yappers’ winning solution is a tool that streamlines data integration across various platforms using AI-driven insights. It provides automated data synchronisation, a centralised dashboard, and actionable analytics to improve operational efficiency and decision-making for SMEs.

Of their triumph, team member Caitlin Walker says: “We’re grateful to have won the MYOB Digital Challenge, and feel really proud that the judges recognised the potential difference our solution could make for SMEs.

“Winning the Challenge helps to set us up for success as we look to start our careers, and it has given us valuable insight into the technology industry. All three of us aspire to work in finance after graduation but we are, of course, open to trying out different specialisations within this space.”

MYOB’s Emma Fawcett - one of this year’s judges - says it was terrific to see the creativity, energy and deep thinking each of the finalists brought to the table.

“Each solution presented in the final showcased significant innovation, effort, impact and alignment to MYOB’s values. However, in selecting the winning idea, we were very impressed with how The Yappers’ solution helps business owners identify how digitised their workflows are, and the time-savings that could be achieved if they implemented the recommended digital solutions,” Emma explains.

“Their idea was well-thought out, had a strong business case behind it, and the prototype was excellent. I’ll be watching out for what these talented young women do next, as they embark on their career journeys.

“Each year the MYOB Digital Challenge provides such an important platform for students to gain real-world experience, testing their abilities in developing fresh and original ideas. I’d recommend all tertiary learners with an entrepreneurial streak keep an eye out for 2025 registrations.”

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