PETALING JAYA- FIRST CITY University College emerged the Co-National Champion at the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Malaysia Ethics Challenge 2019 held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21st.

The team representing First City UC comprised Faculty of Business, Hospitality and Communication (FBHC) students Edmond Yap Kam-Yuan, Ryan Chin Kit Hoe, Ong Zhi Ee and Alaa Adil Ahmed Elbaz. With the exception of Ms. Ong who is a BA (Hons) Marketing student, the others are students of the BSc (Hons) Accounting & Finance programme.

“We met each other through a student event back in 2018. Despite being from different academic years and study programmes, our common interest in financial topics led us to keep in touch with each other,” explained Mr. Edmond, who added that he assembled the team on short notice after being informed of the competition.

The competition saw the participation of ten teams from various leading public and private universities in Malaysia. Divided into two separate groups, the teams were given one and a half hours to analyse several case studies concerning Ethics and Finance using the ICAR (Identify, Consider, Act and Reflect) framework and devise viable solutions. They were then allocated eight minutes to present their findings before the judges.

Knowing that they would face a stiff challenge from other competitors, Mr. Edmond decided on an intensive practice strategy during the week leading up to the competition. The grueling sessions allowed Edmond’s team to familiarise themselves with a remarkable number of case studies within a short period of time. However, the team had another secret behind their success- the excellent chemistry between each member-which created the ideal environment

to perfect their winning strategy. Ms. Alaa, an international student from Sudan, observed that each of her team mates was assigned to be either a speaker or researcher. As such, the strengths of both roles worked to complement one another during the competition itself.

Mr. Ryan recalled the nerve-wrecking experience as his team watched their competitors present their respective case studies one by one. “Since our team was the first to present, we were allowed to observe the other teams. There was one team in particular that gave us a run for our money with their exceptional presentation” he shared. However, in the end, the judges selected First City UC to be the Co-National Champion.

Following their success in becoming the Co-National Champion, the First City UC team is gearing up to participate in the Regional Round to be held at Singapore in October. Despite foreseeing tougher challenges from the competing Malaysian (the other Co-National Champion) and Singaporean teams, they are more motivated than ever to raise their performance level.

On the other hand, Ms. Ong brought up the importance of having fun in the midst of the high-pressure environment. “My goal has always been to learn and build a strong network with students from other universities. Of course, we will be working doubly hard to maximise our chances of winning during the Regionals,” she said.

Over its 29 years of history, First City UC can attest to having produced excellent students in both academics and co-curricular activities. This is attributed to university college’s industry-relevant curricula and highly active student sports clubs.

Students with a desire to achieve their own success story are encouraged to drop by First City UC at Petaling Jaya, Selangor for a course enquiry session. Those who quickly sign up for the October Diploma intake are entitled to a 50% incentive off their tuition fee.