On 9th-14th August 2015, Prasetiya Mulya Business School hosted the final of its BIZCamp Challenge 2015 scholarship competition featuring 16 of Indonesia’s most talented young minds. The competition is well-known for its success in identifying the brightest students with the potential to become future business leaders. Featuring graduates from various colleges and a diverse range of majors, the 16 finalists were selected from an initial list of 784 individuals who registered. During this last phase, participants were presented with the task of developing the most innovative proposals for business, social and environmental projects to win a full scholarship to attend PMBS’ Master of Business Innovation program.
Mr Iwan Kahfi, MBA, Program Director of Information and Communications at PMBS, stated that through the BIZCamp Challenge, his institution is making an effort to find as many outstanding talents in order to further nurture them as business leaders with strong characters. As such, he explained, “We have scoured various universities and colleges in Indonesia since February 2015 and held selection tests in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Malang and Makassar.” The advanced aptitude of participants in the BIZCamp Challenge is ensured by a multilayered application process encompassing an academic potential test, interview, and focus group discussion. The 16 individuals who made it to the competition’s 2015 finals are therefore considered to be representative of candidates with the talent, mental endurance and motivation to succeed when faced with highly demanding tasks.
During the competition, participants were subjected to a series of arduous challenges deliberately designed to reflect actual conditions experienced during business and social project scenarios. Finalists were asked to provide solutions for a series of case studies put forth by the event’s corporate sponsors, which include leading companies such as PT Pertamina Retail, 3M Indonesia, Zoetis Indonesia and the Body Shop Indonesia. Through this method, PMBS seeks to develop the participants’ capacity in designing business and marketing strategies to complement their skillset as future professionals and entrepreneurs.
In striving towards this objective, PMBS also incorporated opportunities to enhance business knowledge and communication soft skills by combining the competition process with mentoring and workshop activities delivered by industry practitioners and the college’s own faculty members. Among the esteemed names contributing by providing insights into the business sector were Mr Budiman Sophian as Director of Government Relations and Policy at Samirana Group, and Mr Hadi Wenas as CEO of MatahariMall.com.
Upon the completion of the six-day event, the jury determined that Ms Maryam Afifah, an alumnus of Universitas Indonesia, was the worthy winner, followed by Mr Adithia Dwi Saputra and Mr Dody Iswandi Maulidiawan, both graduates of Universitas Gajah Mada, in second and third place respectively. Together, these individuals comprise the fifth set of scholarship recipients since the competition began in 2011.