RMIT 2026RMIT 2026
Hack-A-VentureHack-A-Venture
Organized by RMIT Vietnam FinTech Club, Hack-A-Venture is a hackathon-style innovation competition for Business and Technology students nationwide, encouraging them to leverage technologies to address real-world challenges in Vietnam’s financial system.
RMIT 2026
Hack-A-Venture
The Scale Up: Bigger & Bolder
Following our explosive debut, Hack-A-Venture 2025 set new records. We expanded our reach, bringing together 358 talented students across 94 teams from 32 universities nationwide and beyond. The competition elevated from concept pitches to rigorous prototype building, pushing the boundaries of how technology intersects with real-world business applications.
Supported by a massive network of 11 sponsors, 14 industry mentors, and 17 esteemed judges, the 2025 season solidified our position as one of the most anticipated student-led innovation arenas in Vietnam.
The Grand Finale
Competition Organizer
FinTech Club
We are the first-ever student-led Financial Technology initiative in Vietnam. Founded in early 2020, RMIT FinTech Club is dedicated to bridging the gap between business, finance, and technology. By uniting students across diverse disciplines, we create opportunities to learn, innovate, and build together through workshops, events, training programs, and competitions. Through a wide range of initiatives, we empower our members with the necessary skills and mindset to shape the future of the fast-growing FinTech industry and make a meaningful impact in the community.
Our Core Activities
Our Key Metrics
Our Previous Activities
Our competition is open to all inspiring students who are passionate about driving innovation. While we welcome participants from any academic background, our target participants are the above. If you want to experiment with building technology-driven solutions to tackle real-world financial and sustainability challenges, this playground is for you.
Open Innovation for a Resilient and Sustainable Financial System in Vietnam
Participants are encouraged to explore and leverage any technology of their choice, including but not limited to:
Artificial Intelligence
Data Analytics
Blockchain Technology
Distributed Systems
These technologies will be used to develop products or solutions that contribute to specific challenges in the Financial System of Vietnam, while aligning with relevant ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) standards. Specific challenges will be revealed at the start of Round 1. Teams are expected to create solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also highly feasible and impactful in the real market.
Hack-A-Venture Timeline
REGISTRATION | FORM YOUR SQUAD
Requirements & Deliverables
Nationwide Students- ❖Form: Individual/Team Registration Form
- ❖Size: 3-4 members
ROUND 1 | IDEA PROPOSAL
Requirements & Deliverables
All Registered Teams- ❖Format: Microsoft Word (DOCX)
- ❖Deliverable: Idea Proposal
- ❖Word Limit: 1500 words
ROUND 2 | DOCUMENTATION
Requirements & Deliverables
Top 20-25 Teams- ❖Format: Executive Format (PDF)
- ❖Deliverables: Business & Technical Executive Report
- ❖Limit: 10 Pages of Main Content
FINAL STAGE | PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
Requirements & Deliverables
Top 5 Finalist Teams- ❖Task: Build MVP / Prototype
- ❖Support: Online Mentoring Sessions
ROUND 3 | HACKDAY & PRESENTATION
HackDay (Jan 20): Finalists must develop a minimum viable product (MVP) or prototype satisfying specific functionalities requirements released at the start of HackDay 1. Teams must develop their prototype and business plan within a 24-hour period, with live mentoring from industry experts.
Presentation (Jan 21): Finalists continue developing their prototype before submission at noon. Afterward, deliver an offline presentation and a live prototype demo, followed by a Q&A session with the Panel Judges to defend your solution architecture.
Requirements & Deliverables
Top 5 Finalist Teams- ❖Deliverables: Prototype (Soft copy) & Presentation Slide (PPTX)
- ❖Live: Demo and Presentation
- ❖Limit: Presentation (10 mins) | Demo (5 mins) | Q&A (10 mins)
To support participants, Hack-A-Venture 2026 will provide a series of exclusive training workshops.
UNDERSTANDING THE THEME: PILLARS & ESG MAPPING
Date
November 4th, 2026
Duration
1 hour
Format
Online
Guest Speaker
To be announced
You'll Learn To
- ▹Interpret the 2026 theme correctly and pinpoint a real, specific problem within one of the five pillars.
- ▹Decode what each pillar means in the Vietnamese market.
- ▹Anchor your idea to a single primary pillar and recognise a strong cross-pillar opportunity.
- ▹Link your idea to ESG standards and state an impact that can be measured.
Activities
- ▹A walkthrough of the theme and pillars with a Vietnamese example for each, followed by a pillar-matching sprint using real news headlines.
- ▹A live teardown of two weak and two strong problem statements.
- ▹A guided worksheet where each team drafts a one-sentence problem statement, tags its ESG, and shares it for instant feedback.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TECH STACK
Date
November 6th, 2026
Duration
1 hour
Format
Online
Founder & Product Builder @ Cyno Software
Thuan Phat Vu
You'll Learn To
- ▹Select and justify the technologies (AI, Blockchain, Data Analytics, etc.) that best fit your challenge.
- ▹Match technologies to the five pillars.
- ▹Build responsible innovation addressing bias, data privacy, energy efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
- ▹Assess feasibility, scalability, and user adoption across Vietnam's diverse contexts.
- ▹Weigh the trade-offs and risks of different tech choices.
Activities
- ▹A Tech Fit Canvas sprint comparing 2-3 technologies for your problem, followed by scenario-based group exercises on responsible innovation.
- ▹Mentors demo and critique real Vietnamese and ASEAN fintech examples.
- ▹A decision matrix showdown where teams defend their chosen tech stack against friendly judge questions.
BUSINESS DOCUMENTATION & EXECUTIVE BLUEPRINT
Date
December 1st, 2026
Duration
1 hour
Format
Online
Guest Speaker
To be announced
You'll Learn To
- ▹Translate your initial concept into comprehensive Business Documentation that meets Round 2's evaluation criteria.
- ▹Build a detailed market analysis, competitive overview, sustainable business model, pricing strategy, Go-to-market pipeline, and ESG impact metrics.
- ▹Document adherence to on-going financial regulations.
- ▹Plan a clear task-sharing strategy so workload is distributed efficiently.
Activities
- ▹Rapid teardowns of standard Executive Business Reports submissions, covering structure, expectations, and common mistakes.
- ▹Teams map their Round 1 concepts into structured system requirements and draft their Business Documentation with an ESG analysis.
- ▹Finalize blueprint with a Business Implementation & Feasibility plan and a Regulatory & Risk Assessment.
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION
Date
December 3rd, 2026
Duration
1 hour
Format
Online
Guest Speaker
To be announced
You'll Learn To
- ▹Translate your initial concept into comprehensive Technical Documentation.
- ▹Turn conceptual ideas into clear system architecture use-case diagrams and core functional requirements.
- ▹Build a detailed technical project execution plan and risk management analysis.
- ▹Document technical implementation roadmap, evaluation plan, alongside foreseeable constraints and data security measures.
Activities
- ▹Teams map their Round 1 concepts into structured system requirements and draft their Technical Documentation with a comprehensive, framework-based architecture.
- ▹Finalize blueprint with a Technical Implementation & Feasibility plan and a Regulatory & Risk Assessment.
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
Date
January 12th, 2027
Duration
1 hour
Format
Online
Guest Speaker
To be announced
You'll Learn To
- ▹Convert detailed documentation in Round 2 into prioritized technical feature sets for rapid development.
- ▹Implement core features leveraging AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity protocols.
- ▹Select and configure the most effective development variables (tech stack, APIs, data sources) for a 24h hackathon.
- ▹Execute critical validation and testing to meet judge expectations.
- ▹Strategize final presentation narratives, technical pitch flow, and data handling processes.
Activities
- ▹Hands-on documentation-to-feature mapping and feature prioritization workshop.
- ▹Deep-dive technology selection sessions with discussion on AI model selection, blockchain platform choices, and security implementation.
- ▹Peer review session of preliminary soft-copy architecture and receive judge-perspective feedback.
- ▹24h Hackday sprint planning and workflow management session.
PITCHING & LIVE DEMO
Date
January 20th, 2027
Duration
1 hour
Format
Offline
Guest Speaker
To be announced
You'll Learn To
- ▹Prepare finalist teams for persuasive presentation and live judging.
- ▹Master Storytelling, demo flow, and Q&A handling.
- ▹Refine narrative, value proposition, slide clarity, demo sequencing, and objection handling.
Activities
- ▹Pitch drill, demo rehearsal, mock judging panel.
- ▹Q&A practice, and feedback based on judging criteria (clarity of problem, solution logic, and feasibility).
- ▹Refine pitch narrative and demo plan.
Hack-A-Venture Prizes
Awaiting the Champions
We are finalizing a massive prize pool for the ultimate innovators.
Unveiling Soon
Hack-A-Venture Sponsors
Building a Powerful Network
We are actively collaborating with leading enterprises and academic institutions to fuel your innovation. With massive prize pools, our upcoming sponsors are bringing the ultimate resources to reward your breakthrough ideas.
Announcing Soon
Hack-A-Venture Judges
The panel of judges combines a balanced expertise between academia and industry insights. Please stay tuned for further updates.
Assoc. Prof. Huy Pham
RMIT Lecturer in Finance / RMIT FinTech-Crypto Hub Founder
Dr. Minh Nguyen
RMIT Lecturer in Digital Economy
Dr. Chung Phan
RMIT Lecturer & Researcher in Economics
Dr. Diem Vo
RMIT Lecturer in Digital Economy
Dr. Timothy McBush Hiele
RMIT Lecturer in Digital Business
Dr. Trinh Nguyen
RMIT Interim Senior Program Manager in Digital Economy
Dr. Tam Le
RMIT Lecturer in Digital Economy
Dr. Trung Nguyen
RMIT Lecturer in Finance | CEO @insAI
Dr. Chi Pham
RMIT Lecturer in Business and Technology
Dr. Anh Dao
RMIT Senior Lecturer in Finance
Dr. Tuan Chu
RMIT Senior Lecturer in Economics
Hack-A-Venture Mentors
We’re excited to introduce our competition mentors, who will provide hands-on guidance for teams that successfully enter Round 02/03. The list of mentors is growing and will be updated further.
Ha Nguyen
Director Information Security @Techcombank
Tu Nguyen
CEO & Co-founder @Kyons
Au Nguyen
Business Advisor @Startups
George Nguyen
Co-founder @10XLAB | Investor
Manroe Tran
Senior Manager @Tiki
Duc Nguyen
CEO @Gaian Network
Tony Nguyen
Product Owner @VnDirect
Quynh Nguyen
Deputy Director & Director of Training Programs @CBS
Hack-A-Venture Academic Mentors
These Academic Mentors provide advisory for The Hack-A-Venture Organizing Committee, on matters such as Problem Statement Theme, Marking Rubrics, Round 01/02/03 requirements, organization, partner referrals, and event communication.
Assoc. Prof. Huy Pham
RMIT Lecturer in Finance / RMIT FinTech-Crypto Hub Founder
Dr. Minh Nguyen
RMIT Lecturer in Digital Economy
Dr. Minh Vu
RMIT Lecturer in Information Technology
Dr. Hoang Van
RMIT Lecturer in Information Technology