Winners of Best Digital Bank at the AIB Build a Bank Challenge 2015 - Central Perk Bank

The winners of the ‘Best Digital Bank’ at the AIB Build a Bank Challenge 2015, were the impressive Central Perl Bank from Scoil Mhuire, Cork. With amazing help from both their teachers and through working great together as a team, the girls incorporated many different aspects that really made them stand out from the competition.

What set Central Perk Bank apart
The most impressive element was their use of an Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset traditionally used for 3D gaming. Central Perk Bank used this to provide the judges with a virtual 360 degree experience of their bank showing each member of the team performing their tasks in the bank itself ranging from welcoming customers to giving demos on how to use internet banking.

Central Perk Bank created a website and utilised every social media platform you could think of from creating Vines, posting on Instagram and Tweeting. This use of Social Media and other online channels raised awareness and increased the number of students that were using their bank.

Another techy feature the guys used was their very own app which provided links and updates to their customers. This also allowed the users of the app to contact them and included their very own game. This was created using a scratch programme which they learned about in a coding module they took as part of their Transition Year curriculum and was a huge interest point for first year students.

The most enjoyable part of the day
The most enjoyable experience for Central Perk Bank on the day was seeing what the other entries had to offer, meeting other schools from around the country and partaking in some of the great games and other forms of entertainment on offer in the RDS. They felt the dance and performance of HomeTown, the latest band to be managed by Louis Walsh, got everyone involved and was great fun.

Best part of the overall experience
The best part of the overall experience for the team was getting to know everyone on their team and seeing all their hard work come together for the big day. Another key part was the satisfaction of working hard, seeing the rewards come and appreciating what you can do when you work together as a team. Central Perk Bank felt the competition was something that everyone could take something different from and would absolutely recommend it to any students think about taking part next year.

Lessons and new skills learned
The team learned strong communication skills and perfected the ability to work well together with others in a team. This included being able to listen as well as lead in different situations while being organised. The members of the Central Perk Bank team also acquired new business skills such as digital marketing.

Advice for students thinking of taking part next year
The team feels that a number one priority any school competing in the AIB Build a Bank Challenge should have is to first of all, get to know the other members of your team very well. This enables you to work better together and set clearer goals and objectives.

To learn more about the AIB Build a Bank Challenge, visit our website here.