Final Round of the NextGen Business Olympiad 2025

On the morning of January 17, 2026, the Final Round of the NextGen Business Olympiad 2025 officially concluded at the University of Finance – Marketing (UFM). Far beyond a conventional academic competition, the event became an intense intellectual arena where young talents from Vietnam and abroad showcased sharp business thinking in the digital era.

Held in the spirit of celebrating the 50th anniversary of UFM’s founding (1976–2026), NextGen Business Olympiad 2025 marked a significant leap forward in both scale and quality. A distinctive highlight of this year’s competition was its “multi-tier” participation model, connecting students from high schools to universities. Notably, the competition expanded to an international level with teams from Indonesia, Romania, and the United States. This international presence not only heightened competitiveness but also created a dynamic space for cultural exchange, affirming the stature and appeal of this academic platform initiated by UFM in the context of global integration.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Cao Tan Huy, Vice President of UFM, emphasized that the competition serves as clear evidence of the University’s application-oriented education strategy. “We aim to build an academic – innovation – practice ecosystem where students not only acquire theoretical knowledge but also apply interdisciplinary thinking to solve real-world business problems associated with social responsibility and sustainable development,” Dr. Huy stated.

In the final round, the Organizing Committee structured the competition into two segments. In Part 1, teams were required to defend their projects directly at the exhibition booths. Without any pre-prepared scripts, contestants faced direct and rigorous questioning from the judging panel on the novelty of their ideas, supporting data, and commercialization potential. Even the slightest gap in reasoning could alter the standings and impact the final rankings.

The tension reached its peak in the final showdown, where the six strongest “contenders” advanced to an English-language debate round. The atmosphere in the auditorium on the 7th floor was electrifying, as the audience witnessed sharp rebuttals and the composed demeanor of the competing teams. In this decisive stage, logical thinking and problem-solving skills were pushed to their limits, transforming abstract concepts into compelling business solutions and holding the attention of more than 600 spectators.

Outperforming formidable opponents, the Hội Bàn Zuông team from UFM claimed the overall First Prize. Their victory stemmed from a well-structured line of argument, confident presentation, and incisive responses to challenging questions from the expert panel. The outcome reflected the strong overall quality of the competition, demonstrating that the decisive factor lay not in the originality of ideas alone, but in execution capability and problem-solving mindset.

Hong Nuong