St Benedict’s, Fatima lead the way in virtual stock market game

Published by CN Admin at February 16, 2024

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By Raysha M Purcell

Project Manager, Catholic Education Board of Management

The Virtual Stock Market Game (VSMG) Competition 6th Cycle Award’s Ceremony was held on February 4 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain under the theme Striving for Excellence through Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century.

The event was a joint initiative between WizdomCRM Caribbean Ltd and the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM) for the top 152 performing students. Scotiabank Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago, sponsors of the CEBM selected secondary schools, had students qualifying in the top 20 ranks. Five St Benedict’s College, La Romaine students finished in the top 10 positions (see list). Presentation College, San Fernando, St Francis College, Belmont and Matelot Community College, Matelot were also listed among the top performing 152 students.

Emcees were television personality Hans De Vignes and Chloé Joseph, School Communication Manager, WizdomCRM.

In her feature address, Sharon Mangroo, CEO, CEBM, expressed how proud the organisation is of the diocesan schools, especially St Benedict’s College, with the considerable number of students consistently participating, and the increased participation at St Francis College and Presentation College.

Mangroo is hopeful that there will be an increased participation from other diocesan schools in Cycle 7 to commence in April 2024.

She highlighted that the planners of the National Development Strategy for Trinidad and Tobago have identified the necessity to “Nurture citizens who are more creative, innovative and entrepreneurial, beginning with investment in education”.

She said, “As we step-up the use of technology in education, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education is no longer a futuristic concept; it is our present reality.”

AI should be viewed as a powerful tool to enhance learning experiences. It has the capability to tailor education to individual needs, providing personalised learning paths that cater to diverse learning styles and paces.

As educators, it is our responsibility to leverage AI to create dynamic and engaging environments that empower students to reach their full potential.

It is now recognisable that WizdomCRM Caribbean Ltd has emerged as leaders on this technological platform through AI and gamification for financial management and literacy.

Feedback from students, parents

Students expressed the various ways the VSMG benefited them. Some shared that before the Game, they knew absolutely nothing about stocks. They were impressed by how user–friendly the platform was and to them, the amount of learning that was gained while gaming was phenomenal.

One student loved how risk free the platform was and enjoyed watching their equity grow exponentially. Students developed better time management skills because they then had to find innovative ways to manage their time between school work and trading on the stock market game. Some even saw it as a stress reliever from all the chaotic life events that was taking place in their personal lives.

Parents expressed the changes that were seen in their children – which rapidly transitioned from simply gaming excitement to an excitement for the trading of stocks.

The enthusiam and determination to succeed among the students were astounding. Some parents shared that their children were up as early as 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning reading stock news.

A parent commented that the VSMG was building up the children’s confidence for trading in the real stock market game. Parents appreciated that the competition was equitable where all students started off at the same level and were given the opportunity to build their platform.

Prize-Giving

Students were ranked from a pool of 2875 students from among eight educational districts in T&T with diverse socioeconomic background from Cycle 6: September – December 2023.

Students were commissioned by co-host, Hans De Vignes, to become “Ambassadors of financial literacy in their communities”. As St Benedict’s received an award for the ‘Most Active Students on the Platform’, De Vignes referred to them as “The Lions of La Romaine” for their impactful performance.

The CEBM received a ‘Challenge Trophy for Winning Sponsors.’

Charielle Plowden, Country Manager, WizdomCRM remembered how WizdomCRM had transformed from starting with just ten users in January 2021 during the height of Covid-19 and blossomed to 2875 secondary students in T&T, 600 university students in T&T and 50 students in Guyana from two secondary schools by 2024.

To date, WizdomCRM has expanded to Jamaica and Guyana with the VSMG and the launch of the AI Tutor Platform and more still to come.

WizdomCRM had partnered with the CEBM and Scotiabank who sponsored 500 students across five CEBM managed schools where 46 students at St Benedict’s placed in the top ranks and had an overall of 60 placements.

Deon Da Silva, Foundation Officer and Cindy Mohammed, General Manager of the Scotiabank Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago were thanked for their contributions and the partnership of Scotia Foundation with CEBM and WizdomCRM.

The CEBM is pleased with its extended partnership with WizdomCRM beyond the VSMG to facilitate the introduction of the AI Tutor Platform targeted towards primary schools. WizdomCRM will sponsor 300 students from among ten CEBM schools as a pilot programme during the second school term to participate in the AI Tutor Platform.

Top ten performers