A team comprising two Year 4 FinTech students, one Year 3 FinTech student, and one Year 3 Economics and Finance student from Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU) advanced to the final nine teams out of 147 competing teams in the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Ideathon: AI, FinTech and Financial Literacy, and won a HK$5,000 cash prize after participating in the Final Pitch Fest.

The competition, co-organized by the Center for Technology and Business Ecosystem of the HKUST Business School, the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) and Cyberport, brought together tertiary students from across Hong Kong to explore innovative solutions in Web3, artificial intelligence, financial technology, and financial literacy. The event aimed to encourage students to address real-world financial challenges through creativity, technology application, and entrepreneurial thinking.

Facing strong competition from teams across local tertiary institutions, the HKSYU team stood out with their innovative ideas and successfully progressed through the selection process to become one of the top nine finalists. At the Final Pitch Fest, the students presented their proposal before the judging panel and demonstrated both their technical understanding and their ability to apply emerging technologies to practical financial scenarios. Their achievement was further recognized with a HK$5,000 prize, marking an encouraging milestone in their academic and entrepreneurial journey.

Dr. Philip Lee, who guided the team throughout the competition, commended the students for their dedication, teamwork and perseverance. He noted that competitions of this kind provide valuable opportunities for students to strengthen their problem-solving, presentation and entrepreneurial skills, while gaining exposure to the fast-evolving fields of Web3 and FinTech. He also emphasized that such experiences help students broaden their perspectives and prepare for future challenges in the digital economy.

The team’s success reflects HKSYU students’ growing capabilities in interdisciplinary innovation and their readiness to engage with emerging developments in finance and technology. Their accomplishment at the Web3 Ideathon demonstrates not only their hard work and talent, but also the University’s continuing efforts to nurture students with creativity, resilience and practical vision in the fintech and business sectors.