Innovation by top talents in the finance world

Amsterdam - May 20th 2011, Last Friday, the Duisenberg school of finance took its focus on innovation, with regards to financial issues in the finance sector. 100 talented students were pre-selected by companies, in order to participate in the International Finance Battle, which is organized by StudentStock, part of StudentsMedia. The students worked in multidisciplinary teams consisting out of 5 members, on different cases, varying from pension risk monitoring, sustainable banking and International tax law. At the end of the day each team had the opportunity to impress the judges by presenting their expertise and innovative ideas in a three minute ‘pitch'. The judge, consisting of CEO's/CFO's and board of directors from companies as Robeco, PwC, SNS Bank, APG, ING Bank and Duisenberg school of finance, assessed the pitches based on the American patent concept of: utility, non- obvious of character and novelty.

18 teams competed, in order to win a place in the final round and the prize of the winner of the day. In the end, the judges based their judgements on the plan and presentation of the case and selected 5 teams. PGGM worked with two different teams on a case, concerning the risks of currencies in countries outside Europe. One of the multidisciplinary teams created a solution by investing in a stable and young continent of Australia and in a highly risky, but fast developing country, India. The jury was highly surprised by this solution and decided to honor this PGGM team as the winner of the day. The prize is a fully arranged Masterclass by Duisenberg school of finance. Four other teams were selected for the final round, including ING Bank, a case about the major role of cloud computing in  operational efficiency; two teams of Duisenberg school of finance, concerning sustainable banking in other continents and Accon avm related with an international fiscal case.

An extra aspect of the International Finance Battle was the scholarship of Duisenberg school of finance worth €26.000,-. The scholarship is rewarded to the very talented Daniel Christiansen. Due to the many talents that were present that day, Duisenberg school of
finance nominated three other students as runner-up, which awards them with half a scholarship worth €13.000,- which will start in September 2011.

After a day of brainstorming and pitching, the successful swimming coach of the Dutch Olympic team, Jacco Verhaeren, held a presentation about talent in sports and the business world. With his experience in sports, his main focus was on talent development in sports and how this is related to talent strategies in the business environment, an interesting topic, highly associated with the International Finance Battle. The International Finance Battle is for many companies a great opportunity to create innovative ideas and to meet young talents. The battle gives students the occasion to gain experience, to present themselves and to broaden their network. Overall, a win-win situation for both, companies as well as students in de finance world. - JS