Conjuring bricks, bytes and bold ideas, Deakin Business School postgraduate students took on the brief to accelerate digital transformation in the property industry in the Bowater Business Challenge.
There’s no better test of business acumen than a real-world challenge, a ticking clock, and a fiercely competitive field. That’s exactly what this year’s Bowater Postgraduate Business Challenge delivered, calling on Deakin Business School’s brightest minds to find solutions at the cutting edge of digital transformation.
Now in its 16th year, the Bowater Challenge has always pushed competitors to go beyond the textbook, requiring them to pitch innovative, feasible solutions to real business problems in a pressure-cooker environment. This isn’t just theory – it’s work-ready learning in full flight.
The Brief: Reimagine Real Estate with Emerging Tech
For the 2025 edition, the challenge zeroed in on a huge business sector in the midst of digital transformation: real estate. Thirty teams of four students each were tasked with assessing how emerging technologies like VR, AR, automation, AI, and smart data could revolutionise real estate business models. Their mission? Propose tech stacks and streamlined processes that would futureproof operations and elevate customer experience.
Competitors cemented their understanding of the challenge with a briefing from industry and DBS experts Dr Alessio Bonti, Professor Joshua Newton and Dr Ha Vu.
In the first round, students selected major real estate businesses for analysis and developed their tech-savvy recommendations. Their proposals demonstrated that these postgrads were thinking big, bold, and brilliantly.
The Final Face-Off
After two days of dynamic pitching, judges Associate Professor Christine Contessotto and Leanne Bilinski faced the difficult job of choosing just four finalist teams.
Selections made, the final teams were each paired with a Deakin academic mentor and, with stakes high and innovation in the air, they refined their solutions for the live showdown at the Deakin Burwood Corporate Centre.
Hosted by Dr Anne Kershaw, Associate Head of School, Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate), the final event brought together students, mentors and faculty leaders to witness the competition. The judging panel – Dr Wendy Webber, Bowater Trust Board Member / Bachelor of Business Course Director, Tom Keel, Lecturer Property and Real Estate, and Emily Chin, Customer Success Architect Manager at IBM and a proud Deakin alum – praised the creativity and strategic thinking on display.
And the Winners Are…
🎉 First Place – $3,000: Team Brick by Byte
Mentored by Dr Jason Li
Anugam Chakra, Shivani Balasubramaniam, Amit Nair, Pranav Nair (with Emily Chin, left)
🥈 Second Place – $2,000: Team #404 Not Found
Mentored by Dr Ruby Ma
Kanksha Aroraa, Rithu Thotungal, Sandali Horanapathirana, Radhini Mendis (with Emily Chin, left)
🥉 Third Place – $1,500: Team 7
Mentored by Alfred Deakin Professor Michael Polonsky
Pollyanna Hoang, Tanya Menghani, Kathakali Mondal, Chhenghoy Hiep (with Emily Chin, left)
🏅 Fourth Place – $1,000: Team Deakin Analysts
Mentored by Dr Eka Tan
Kabir Chhabra, Avaneesh Joshi, Tanvi Achyut, Praveena Jayawardena (with Emily Chin, left)
A Celebration of Curiosity, Creativity and Capability
Congratulations to all the finalists, whose innovative solutions showed exactly why Deakin business graduates are in high demand. More than a competition, this challenge was a launchpad for future changemakers.
Special thanks to the Bowater Trust for their continued support and generous prizes, our esteemed judges, academic mentors, briefing presenters, students and our Peer Support and Transition team – Alison Cossey, Mohammad Faisal and Xin Weng – for bringing this experience to life.
Here’s to the power of collaboration, courage and competitive spirit. Same time next year?
Want to provide a business challenge?
Please contact Alison Cossey at BL Peer Support and Transition at bl-se@deakin.edu.au
