The University of Westminster recently hosted a Mini-Hackathon event as the final phase of the University’s Next-Gen Business Leaders: Empowering Students through Engagement and Experience project. Funded by the Quintin Hogg Trust (QHT), the initiative aims to enhance student engagement through experiential learning, leadership development and industry collaboration.
The Mini-Hackathon took place on 11 June at the University’s Marylebone Campus. The event was organised by Nwe Zin Shaung, Lecturer in Management and Marketing, and co-created with postgraduate Student Co-creators from the School of Management and Marketing, providing a platform for applied, experiential learning. It was further supported by Dr Carla Gibbes, Senior Lecturer in Management and Marketing, whose vital contributions behind the scenes were instrumental to the smooth delivery and overall success of the event.
Participants were guided by Dr John Mahoney-Phillips, a seasoned business innovator and mentor with extensive experience across leadership development, corporate transformation and high-growth ventures. With a track record of helping organisations shape future-ready leaders, Dr Mahoney-Phillips brought practical insight, creative energy and real-world expertise to the session.
During the event, four groups of students had the chance to tackle a real-world case study for Serpentine Accounting, focused on today’s business world challenges, including technological advancement. After 90 minutes devising their solutions, each group had seven minutes to pitch their innovative ideas to a judging panel.
All groups presented well-developed ideas and delivered strong pitches, with two teams winning prizes of £100 per member. One team of three members, Liana Ibrahimi, Mehdi Abedin and Thanh Nguyen, secured the John and Faculty's Choice Award, which recognises the most outstanding presentation based on the judging panel's expert assessment of its innovation, leadership and potential impact. Their business idea SCALED is a leadership development programme designed to prepare future leaders at Serpentine Accounting for the fast-changing business world. It uses tools like Artificial Intelligence coaching, virtual reality and peer learning to help build self-awareness, ethical decision-making and strategic thinking. The programme is closely tied to Serpentine’s values and aims to support a more resilient and inclusive workforce.
Another team, made up of Prameeth Kumar, Muhammad Adeel, Sharath Sista and Matthew Aroh, earned the Students' Choice Award, which celebrates the team whose ideas and pitch resonated most strongly with their fellow students. Their business concept was a 12-month leadership programme for Serpentine Accounting, with each month focusing on key themes, including strategic thinking, inclusive leadership and cyber awareness. The programme is designed to build a strong, long-term leadership culture supported by regular feedback and clear goals.
This event is the final phase of the QHT-funded project Next-Gen Business Leaders: Empowering Students through Engagement and Experience. By integrating student-led activities such as this, the project provided valuable opportunities for students at Westminster Business School to develop critical skills in teamwork, problem-solving and strategic thinking.
Nwe Zin Shaung said: “The Mini-Hackathon was a tremendous success, truly bridging the gap between academia and industry by connecting ambitious students with business experts like Dr John Mahoney-Phillips. It provided an invaluable platform for students to gain real-world insights, build essential professional networks and emerge with a renewed sense of purpose and motivation for their careers. The enthusiastic feedback from participants highlights how these brain-activating activities set new standards for engaged learning, empowering students to believe in themselves and apply newfound knowledge to future projects.”
One participating Digital Marketing BA Honours student Liana Ibrahimi said: “I’d like to thank the team of organisers on behalf of all of us for hosting and creating such a wonderful event. It was something we’ve never done before and they’ve really set the standards and we appreciate the time and effort that they had put into this Hackathon. We hope to look forward to more of these brain-activating activities!”
Another participant, Management MA student Matthew Aroh, added: “Thank you so much to the team for the gift voucher. I truly appreciate the encouragement and support. It was a great experience participating in the Mini-Hackathon. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my team and learning through the process. Thank you for the opportunity and for the encouragement throughout. I am grateful for the kind words and look forward to applying what I’ve learned in future projects.”
One of the Student Co-creators, Management MA student Viacheslav Efremov, added: “It was a real pleasure working with Nwe Shaung on the Mini-Hackathon. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with the team and contributing to such a dynamic and engaging event.”
The event directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 4: Quality Education. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
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