An outing so rewarding: The national champions posing for a group photo with their mentors (standing, second from left) Woo and (standing, fourth from left) Lim. With them is FBF Dean (standing, middle) Prof Choong Chee Keong.
A team of six UTAR students from the Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) edged out three other finalist teams to emerge as champion of the inaugural National Financial Planning Quiz Tournament 2013 which was held at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Main Campus in Kedah from 1 to 2 July 2013.
The team comprising Beh Kwang Teik, Ivan Lee Poo Chun, Khew Chien Xing, Lee Soon Siong, Teoh Kian Tat and Voon Soon Yoong, who was mentored by UTAR lecturers Woo Kok Hoong and Lim Chong Heng, walked away with cash prizes worth RM6,000, trophies and certificates of appreciation.
“It was a remarkable and stimulating tournament,” recalled Beh, a year-three Entrepreneurship student. He added, “There were many other teams who vied for the title, and I am glad that our efforts prevailed and we won in the end. I hope that our win will inspire more UTAR students to fight for honour for our university.”
Beh’s teammate, Lee, a third-year Financial Economics student, said, “That was the first time I took part in a national-level tournament and I was stunned by the win. It was truly an eye-opener as we have learnt the power of teamwork and value of competition.” He added, “We are grateful to our mentors because without their guidance, it would be impossible for us to secure this win.”
Woo, a FBF lecturer who supervised the team, said, “The tournament served as platform for students to further explore and develop their knowledge in the field of financial planning. It was a great opportunity for them to apply the knowledge learnt in classroom in real-life situations. Practical and theoretical skills should go hand-in-hand.”
Woo furthered, “The team consisted of students from different Business programmes such as Financial Economics, Finance, and Entrepreneurship, which ultimately gave them the edge over their competitors. Their diverse knowledge and abilities enabled them to cover the whole segments of the quiz smoothly.”
A total of 15 universities from all over Malaysia responded and took part in the tournament. Apart from UTAR, other institutions that took part are UUM, International Islamic University Malaysia, Multimedia University, TAR University College, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, INTI International University, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.
The National Financial Planning Quiz Tournament 2013 which aims to promote financial planning among undergraduates was organised by the Malaysia Financial Planning Council in collaboration with UUM and Securities Commission Malaysia.
