Industry collaboration demystifies financial literacy

Industry collaboration demystifies financial literacy

RMIT University’s College of Business and Law has partnered with Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand to inspire student-led innovations to improve financial literacy.

The collaboration aims to help Australians – specifically young people and vulnerable groups – build their financial literacy. 

More than 1,000 Bachelor of Business students recently completed a project to develop a solution for young people to take control of their financial wellbeing. 

The top 20 students were invited to Good Shepherd’s head office to pitch their ideas to senior executives, where they impressed the team with their creativity and quality work. 

Some of these projects are being considered by Good Shepherd for investment and further development. 

With rising cost-of-living pressures, it’s important for people to be able to manage their household budgets and plan for the future with confidence – but a significant proportion of Australians lack basic understanding of financial concepts. 

The partnership with Good Shepherd is grounded in bringing real-world industry experience and skills-based learning into the classroom, challenging students to develop solutions to Australia’s financial literacy crisis. 

Ty Newton, Executive Officer at Good Shepherd ANZ, said the organisation is proud to drive meaningful change through this partnership with RMIT. 

“Our partnership combines deep community insight and sector expertise with focused academic knowledge to create meaningful, scalable solutions for real-world issues such as financial literacy for young people,” he said. 

“Through our trusted collaboration, innovation finds its purpose and impact becomes both tangible and enduring.” 

15 September 2025

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Screenshot of students' presentation about their podcast prototype

An innovative podcast for young people

For their industry project, students Elissa Haidar and Sienna Armstrong came up with a podcast called ‘Money Made Simple’, which aims to make financial literacy more interesting and accessible for young people. 

The students wanted to create something that felt authentic to their peers and provided practical, actionable advice on topics like budgeting, saving and managing financial stress.

“We wanted this podcast to be approachable for young people, cutting through the jargon used by other finance podcasts that can be intimidating for people who don’t have prior knowledge of the topic,” said Haidar. 

“The podcast seeks to boost young people’s confidence and empower them in managing their finances,” added Armstrong.

Good Shepherd worked closely with students throughout the semester, using their expertise as a not-for-profit organisation focused on women to provide valuable feedback and guidance on community needs.

“With Good Shepherd's support, we’ve been able to bring the idea closer to reality and hopefully make a genuine impact in financial literacy,” said Armstrong.

“I think this product is something that is currently missing for young Australians, especially young women. I definitely see it being a podcast on Spotify, with real-life storytelling and industry guests,” said Haidar.

RMIT academic and course coordinator, Jessica Helmi, said the work undertaken by students in this course exemplifies the value of integrating industry projects into the classroom. 

“This collaboration has been especially valuable for students, as it allowed them to engage with a real and socially impactful problem that many communities in Australia face while applying design thinking and business frameworks learned in the course,” said Helmi.

People sitting in chairs taking part in panel discussion

Supporting women’s financial health

Earlier this month, the College of Business and Law and Good Shepherd teamed up for an event called ‘Walk with Her’, which raised over $1000 in support of women’s financial wellbeing.

The event included a panel discussion with Good Shepherd staff, RMIT academics and Armstrong, which emphasised the importance of financial literacy in enabling independence.

Armstrong said the scope goes beyond money management, with an emphasis on “creating confidence and fostering independence.” 

“For young women in particular, having the awareness and skills to make informed financial choices can create avenues for more opportunities and independence,” she said.

The event concluded with a 3.5km walk through the heart of the city.

Group of people outside Parliament of Victoria

Madelaine Sandall, General Manager College of Business and Law at RMIT, said industry collaborations like these are the lifeblood of the College and RMIT more broadly.

“We were thrilled to take our partnership with Good Shepherd to the next level with this joint initiative, raising funds that will help sustain their impactful work to improve the wellbeing of women, girls and families facing disadvantage and crisis,” said Sandall.

Find out more about industry engagement in the College of Business and Law.

 

Story: Keely Tzoukos

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15 September 2025

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