Four HSU Students Win Digital Shark Up 2025 with AutoRoom

The final round of Digital Shark Up 2025 took place on December 27 at HSU, concluding an energetic competition that gathered over 120 students nationwide. Demonstrating creativity and strategic thinking, the ALT team, four female Digital Marketing students from HSU, impressively won first place with AutoRoom, an innovative smart room rental management solution.

Digital Shark Up 2025 – A Real-World Digital Startup Playground

Digital Shark Up is a nationwide digital business and startup competition for students, organized and operated by students from the E-commerce and Digital Marketing programs at Hoa Sen University (HSU).

What distinguishes Digital Shark Up is its evaluation criteria, which focus on practical applicability. Rather than stopping at academic concepts, competing teams are required to develop products that are operational, commercially viable, and scalable in real business environments.

Starting in September 2025, the competition attracted 30+ teams with over 120 participants from universities including: HSU, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, University of Transportation University in HCMC, Hanoi University of Business and Technology, …

After rigorous screening, five standout projects advanced to the Finals, reflecting a variety of digital transformation approaches aligned with today’s market needs.

Outstanding projects in the Final Round

The projects competing in the Digital Shark Up 2025 Finals include:

1. DEALDAY – A smart deal hunting app;
2. FLOWERA – A specialized e-commerce platform for flowers;
3. VFit – An augmented reality (AR) solution for experiencing jewelry;
4. Virtual Fitting Room – A virtual fitting room personalizing the fashion shopping experience; and,
5. AutoRoom – A smart rental room management application.

Every project aimed to solve a market problem, with a clear focus on users, a plan for revenue, and commercial potential.

AutoRoom – Turning a real-life problem into a digital startup solution

During the final round, the teams showcased their products and business models, engaging in a live Q&A session with a judging panel of business leaders and association representatives from the technology, marketing, and e-commerce sectors.

Thanks to their practical approach, comprehensive product, and clear development plan, the ALT team of HSU Digital Marketing students impressed the judges and secured the Digital Shark Up 2025 championship.

Furthermore, the DEALDAY team from HSU’s E-commerce program won second prize, and the Rise & Shine team received third prize with their VFit project.

Gaining career insights from classrooms

Beyond the competition rounds, Digital Shark Up 2025 contestants attended four specialized workshops, gaining direct instructions from seasoned lecturers and industry experts.

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Tan, Marketing Director of Haravan Technology Corporation and a member of the judging panel, Digital Shark Up created a safe yet realistic challenge that allowed students to gain market experience and deepen their knowledge during their studies.

Notably, the entire competition was organized as a practical project led by the students themselves. Forty-three students from the Faculty of Logistics – International Trade and the Faculty of Marketing – Communication at HSU took full responsibility for all steps, including idea generation, website and chatbot development, multi-platform communication implementation, contestant support, business engagement, and organizing the Finals.

Guided by faculty members, HSU students had a chance to gain practical experience by organizing a nationwide competition and assuming the role of project managers, handling operational pressures, coordinating teams, and collaborating directly with businesses, aligned with HSU’s practice-focused training approach.