Connecting Students with Global Industry Through Technology

Victor Borg is an Industry Fellow in the School of Accounting. He is also the Course Coordinator for Accounting Business Design 2, which supports students through developing design solutions for real world business problems. 

Riipen is the name of the platform Victor uses to help connect students with real world industry challenges. The course has a profile on the platform that outlines what the students can do for companies, usually from the US or Canada, who are facing a business problem. Businesses will then approach them to assist or, they can apply to solve a problem that the company has listed on the platform. 

Victor says that the students usually approach the course with a “mixture of anxiety and excitement at the same time. It gives them the confidence to think creatively about coming up with a solution to a problem for which there is not a ready-made solution for it. That is probably one of the biggest benefits these students are getting out of working on these projects, that interaction and that scalability problem.”

“And we mentor them throughout the whole journey. To make sure that they are working cohesively throughout the semester and that they are coming up with something that is useful for our challenge sponsor.”

Victor says that you need more than a textbook in order to get the authenticity students need to prepare for the real world. “To get authenticity you need to experience the emotional and cultural challenges that go hand in hand with coming up with a business problem. That’s what makes it unique…and I guess they can enjoy the journey in developing something from zero to something that’s tangible.”