For the sixth year in a row, The University of Technology, Sydney, Property Economics students have retained their crown as the Australian Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Moot Court champions, a mock court trial which imitates a real-life scenario.

The Moot Court Challenge is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to give expert evidence and successfully articulate what they have learnt in the area of valuation.

Students Godfrey Dinh, Claire Zouroudis, David Su, Daniel Nguyen, Ryan Fung and Samuel Burke defeated Queensland University of Technology in arguing the hypothetical scenario of the Commonwealth acquiring property for the purpose of extending Sydney's Mascot airport.

Godfrey Dinh, who acted as one of the legal councils, said they approached every issue as a team, discussing interpretation, assessment and application of valuation methodology and case law surrounding the scenario.

"Employing all of what we have learnt combined with logical reasoning and some practical property experience, we were able to approach the scenario with a critical perspective and assess compensation payable to all affected parties," said Dinh.

The UTS students were deemed winners by the court for their accurate account of the assessment of compensation of all interest acquired by the commonwealth in the land.

"The win reinforced to me the quality of the teaching staff and students involved with the course. The experience of participating in the moot and working in such a close team with great group of people was a prize in itself." Dinh said.

According to Property Economics lecturer, Vince Mangioni, winning for six consecutive years is a testament to the quality of the Property Economics course at UTS.

"This win continued to demonstrate student commitment to the course. As participating is not compulsory, students spend personal time preparing and reviewing the case and they are always well prepared," Mangioni said.

This year was also awarded the 2006 Investec Bank Prize for Most Outstanding All Round student and the 2006 Property Council of Australia Award.