NUS MSBA Students Clinches First Runner Up at FinTech80 Chengdu Hackathon
9 November 2023
2 November 2023 – Team NUS Finovaters, made up of 5 NUS Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) students and 1 NUS Computer Science undergraduate, has clinched first runner-up at the esteemed Chengdu FinTech80 Competition! NUS Finovaters comprises 5 NUS MSBA students – Yixin Sun, Kang Jie Ang, Shane Yuhe Xin, Anshumaan Phukan, Venkata Durga Akhil Anna, and 1 NUS Computer Science undergraduate – Yin Joe Ng. The NUS team is mentored by Associate Professor James Pang Yan, co-director of the NUS Business Analytics Centre, during the competition.
FINTECH80 CHENGDU HACKATHON (Fintech80 for short), is a global top-level Fintech competition jointly organized by Southwestern University of Finance and Economics(SWUFE) and Chengdu Jiaozi Financial Holding Group. Fintech80 requires participants to design their financial instruments prototypes within 80 hours based on the Fintech application scenarios given by the organizers, using open-source technologies, machine learning, blockchain, UX design, financial engineering and full-stack software development techniques. The Committee will score the product prototypes for innovation, effectiveness, complexity and user experience and select the winning team.
Team NUS Finovaters clinched a RMB 30,000 cash prize for their outstanding work in developing a groundbreaking solution. Named NUSight, their innovative creation is custom-tailored to meet the unique needs of both buy and sell-side financial analysts, aiming to combat the challenge of information overload through the delivery of impartial, data-driven news analysis. To ensure ease of use, they have thoughtfully categorized news content into macroeconomic trends, industry-specific updates, and company-specific insights, aligning with the work styles of their users.
Leveraging the capabilities of Advanced Large Language Models, NUSight provides comprehensive news summaries, sentiment analysis, and additional features, including time series, multi-angle, and impact assessments for each news event. Furthermore, the team introduced a proprietary risk index, a fusion of news data and essential company information, delivering users a holistic and quantitative perspective on risk. This remarkable product also streamlines the generation of news analysis reports, significantly boosting the efficiency of financial analysts in their decision-making processes.
Competing against top universities from Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong and China, NUS Finovaters’ winning solution, NUSight, redefined the landscape of financial analysis. Anshumaan Phukan mentioned that the team’s strategy was to merge technical expertise with business acumen, “We knew that a successful fintech solution isn't just about sophisticated technology; it's about creating value in the marketplace. Therefore, we combined our coding and AI skills with a deep understanding of financial markets to develop a solution that was technically feasible and commercially viable.”
Venkata Durga Akhil Anna shared that his experience in the Chengdu Fintech competition has been wonderful, stating that “I have learned many new things about technology and business. The most challenging aspect of the competition is time management, where you need to develop numerous features in a short period.”
As the product manager, Shane Yuhe Xin focused on the user experience, function design, and most importantly, maintaining smooth communication with the technology team members. Shane Yuhe Xin shared “We learned the essence of agility and user-focused design in fintech, quickly adapting to overcome challenges. I believe our quick iteration to a user-centric solution and product storyline were our key winning points.”
Sun Yi Xin shared “During the 80 hours of intense competition, I constantly optimized my product design ideas and gradually learned to control my emotions and communicate well with team members. I think what made us stand out was that we not only focused on the technology and models, but also skillfully recognized business use cases and combined them into our design. I will never forget the precious competition experience and the happy trip in Chengdu with my team members.”
After receiving news that NUSight clinched first runner-up, Kang Jie Ang attributed their win to various reasons, “The diversity and synergy between our business and technical teams played a pivotal role in our success. We also received guidance from our seniors to focus more on the business aspects of selling the solution, rather than technical details. Everyone played a crucial part for our great results.”
The business team (Yixin, Shane) brilliantly packaged the NUSight prototype as an engaging user story and even incorporated a monetization strategy, mirroring a startup. They understood the tech team's work and developed an impressive solution architecture diagram that impressed the judges. The technical team's (Akhil, Anshumaan, Yin Joe, Kang Jie) deep knowledge of LLMs enabled NUS Finovaters to hit the ground running on day one, coding out innovative use cases with confidence.
Yin Joe Ng shared “Chengdu80 was an amazing competition and great learning experience. For our team, the main challenge was to communicate and combine our different expertise. I’m really proud of winning, especially when our competitors made really strong pitches. What I think is our winning point is we had a storyline and focused strongly on user persona and experience.”
We are immensely proud of NUS Finovaters for their exceptional achievement, dedication, and innovative spirit. Their success at the Chengdu FinTech80 Competition exemplifies the brilliance and creativity of NUS students on the global stage. Congratulations once again to NUS Finovaters!