Netwealth relaunches advice workshop for students

The short course run alongside Swinburne University and design studio MASS is a design sprint, a framework to test new ideas and figure out large challenges, Netwealth said in a statement.

This year, students will be tasked with improving customer experience for Australians using financial advisers.

Half of Australians have said they would like to receive financial advice but aren’t currently, according to the Investment Trends 2018 Financial Advice Report.

“We feel this is an important challenge to innovate for, as increasingly service providers such as Netflix, Amazon and Facebook are changing consumer expectations and advice businesses need to keep up or they risk leaving clients frustrated,” Matt Heine, joint managing director of Netwealth, said.

Associate professor Nicki Wragg, course director of communication design (honours) at Swinburne University, said collaborating with industry experts on real world challenges provides opportunities for students, moving them into areas beyond their specific area of study.

“Not only do they learn new ways to approach problem solving, the design sprint challenge also enables them to immerse themselves in fintech and develop their financial literacy,” Ms Wragg said.

Mr Heine added, “We believe that over these five days, students can make a meaningful difference to the take-up, retention and referral of professional financial advice. We can’t wait to see the results.”

The design sprint will take place between 26 June and 2 July at Swinburne University.