Nicholas Marcelino, Management Student of UBM, Won Favorite Award at the EcoGREEN Hackathon International Competition 2024
On December 4-6th, 2024, Nicholas Marcelino and Jason Christian, students from the Management Study Program at UBM Serpong Campus, participated in the International EcoGREEN Hackathon 2024 held at Universitas Atma Jaya (UAJ). This three-day event was attended by around 70 students from various universities, grouped into 10 teams. The participating universities included Universitas Bunda Mulia, UNPAR, UBAYA, Trisakti, UNWAHAS, Universitas Katolik Soegijapranata Semarang, and PPM University. The competition was international in scale, attended by universities from Belgium, Hasselt University, and the Netherlands, Wageningen University. In this competition, Nicholas Marcelino, who was part of Group 7, successfully won the Favorite Award.
On the first day, all participants of the EcoGREEN Hackathon 2024 were required to register based on their university starting at 08.30 a.m. The Opening Ceremony began with remarks from the leaders of Universitas Atma Jaya and Wageningen University. The event continued with an introduction of group members to their facilitators or academic advisors. The first exercise session was the “Photovoice Exercise,” which involved finding an object that represented sustainability through a photo, followed by an explanation of its meaning. Representatives from local SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) were assigned to each group, and all participants were given the opportunity to deeply analyze the issues faced by these SMEs.
Group Session 1, titled “Stakeholder Analysis,” discussed the various stakeholders of SMEs, followed by a classification of stakeholder values into four categories: Keep Satisfied, Manage Closely, Monitor, and Keep Informed. In Group Session 2, “Defining Value from the Viewpoint of Stakeholders.” The first day of the EcoGREEN Hackathon concluded with Group Session 3, “Ideation Collage,” where each group created a collage using old magazines to represent several alternative solutions to the problems faced by their assigned SMEs. The Hackathon organizers provided feedback on the collages of all the groups and closed the day’s activities at 5 p.m.
The second day of the EcoGREEN Hackathon 2024 began with registration for all participants at 09.30 a.m., followed by Group Session 4, “Devil’s Advocate,” in which each group was tasked with providing opposing arguments to the proposed solutions to the SMEs’ issues. After a coffee break, the event continued with Group Session 5, “Risk Analysis,” which covered The Golden Circle as a method to analyze the core of a business, enabling effective risk management. At 12 p.m., lunch was served to all participants, followed by a “Workshop on Storytelling,” which explained how storytelling techniques can change an audience’s perspective on a business, highlighting the importance of this skill in supporting the success of SMEs.
All groups were instructed to create a poster using recycled materials that had been prepared beforehand. The poster included the SME’s profile, the products or services offered, the challenges faced by the SME, and the proposed solutions for consideration. Additionally, each group was given time to rehearse their pitching and presentation on the poster. The second day concluded with a Gala Dinner, featuring a variety of traditional Indonesian dishes. The Gala Dinner also included cultural performances, such as traditional Balinese dances, regional Indonesian songs, and a bonding session with all participants and organizers. The Gala Dinner ended at 8 p.m.
The third day of the EcoGREEN Hackathon 2024 began with registration at 08:30 a.m., followed by the presentation or pitching session, where each group presented their poster to the judging panel. Each group was given 5 minutes for their pitch, which included an introduction to the SME, an explanation of the challenges the SME faced, and the solutions developed by the group. The judging panel was given 5 minutes after each presentation to ask questions and deepen the discussion on the proposed solutions.
After the presentation session, all participants were given time for a coffee break while the judges discussed and determined the winners of the competition. After the coffee break, all participants and judges returned to the main room to announce the winners, which included 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, and the Favorite Award. In this competition, Nicholas Marcelino, a third-semester student from the Management Study Program at the UBM Serpong, won the Favorite Award. Nicholas and his group created a poster about EcoPlast, an SME, and presented it very well, earning them the Favorite Award.
EcoPlast is an SME with several innovations, such as food containers made from rice straw as an alternative to styrofoam, plant containers made from rice straw as a substitute for plastic polybags, and shredded straw fillers for hampers as an eco-friendly alternative to bubble wrap. One of their products, Eco Foam, is a food container made from rice straw that serves as an environmentally friendly alternative to styrofoam. The product is biodegradable, which means it can be composted after use, reducing environmental pollution. The event concluded with closing remarks from the organizers and a group photo as a farewell to the EcoGREEN Hackathon 2024.
