THE SCAPEX TEAM, REPRESENTING VIETNAM, SHINES IN THE 2025 ASIA-PACIFIC REGION CHAMPIONSHIP

Recently, the SCApex team, composed of students Nguyễn Phạm Quý Dương, Lê Trúc Anh, Lâm Nhật Huy, Trần Bình Phương Huyền, and Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh Trâm – junior and senior students from the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at the International University – achieved impressive results at the SESC 2024 competition. SCApex won First Prize in the Public Speaking category, Third Prize in the ERPsim Game category at the national ERPsim competition, and had the honor of becoming one of the four teams representing Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific regional round.

The Communications Department of the International University (IU) had a conversation with the five young men and women from the School of Industrial Engineering and Management.

The SCApex team includes 5 students from the School of Industrial Engineering and Management.

BTT: Why did you form the team?

SCApex: Last year, our university also participated in the competition and achieved great results, so this year, Quý Dương took the initiative to find like-minded teammates, form a group, and ultimately decided to register for the competition. The process of gathering team members was not as difficult as Dương initially imagined- it was quite smooth because the junior students in the group, though younger, had excellent skills. Moreover, most of them had prior competition experience, having participated in at least a few previous contests, which made forming the team much easier.

BTT: So what are those advantages?

SCApex: The team believes that the key factors contributing to SCApex’s impressive results are, first and foremost, the knowledge they gained from their professors at IU’s Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Management over the years. The specialized knowledge that the team applied to real-world scenarios helped them visualize how everything unfolded, and thanks to this foundational knowledge, the members were well equipped with essential information to develop their strategy during the competition. Secondly, the team benefited from the strong chemistry among its five members. The junior students in SCApex had previously competed together in several other contests, so they were already familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Most notably, the team had Quý Dương, a student who not only had the ability to lead but also possessed strong technical expertise. The team was also very honored to receive support throughout the competition process from Dr. Trần Đức Vỹ, a lecturer from the IEM department.

BTT: Besides advantages, are there any difficulties for the group?

SCApex: Although there were a few minor setbacks, overall, the team found everything go quite smoothly. The most important thing was that everyone understood each other’s intentions, always shared, supported, and worked together throughout the process.

The biggest challenge for the team was that they had never participated in this competition before. It was completely new to everyone, so at first, they were unsure of what to do. Fortunately, the team received support from professors and senior students who had previous experience.

Another challenge was the process of developing a strategy, which was most difficult in the initial stages. In addition, during the competition, there were inevitable disagreements among the five members because the market was constantly changing, and the team needed to quickly adapt and adjust their strategy. This led to differing opinions. However, in the end, they successfully worked as a team by discussing and selecting the best approach.

SCApex won First Prize in the Public Speaking category, Third Prize in the ERPsim Game category at the national ERPsim competition.

BTT: Winning the competition and also representing Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific Round, how do you feel?

SCApex: The team is very happy because, even though they have won several competitions before and each member has earned certain awards, this competition provides them with valuable new experiences in strategy development. After the competition, the team learns how to effectively collaborate between departments and how to manage a simulated company over a span of 80 days.

When participating in the competition, the team faced certain pressures. First, there was the pressure of time because the period for forming the team and preparing for the competition coincided with midterm exams. As a result, the members had to make adjustments to find enough time. Everyone worked hard to schedule meetings with each other, with Professor Vỹ, with Ms. Thư – a senior with experience from last year’s competition – and with other students who had competed previously, to exchange ideas and learn from them. At that time, the team’s intention was to participate in order to gain skills and knowledge, rather than focusing on winning a prize.

In April 2025, the team will represent Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific Round.

Throughout this journey, the team learned how to work together professionally. This competition required each team member to take on a different role, representing five different departments within a company. Each person had to collaborate with the others to make final decisions for the company, helping it achieve its goals and maximize profits.

The second key skill the team developed was the ability to read and analyze data in order to make the right decisions for the company.

The joy didn’t stop at winning a high-ranking prize; the team also had the opportunity to represent Vietnam in the International Asia-Pacific Regional Round of the competition next April. The team hopes to achieve even greater success in 2025.