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A cross-disciplinary collaboration team from UMN won three awards in the Global Innovation Sprint 2025 competition.
TANGERANG – UMN students again achieved a proud accomplishment in an international event on Saturday (July 19, 2025). The UMN interdisciplinary collaboration team won three awards in the Global Innovation Sprint 2025 competition: 2nd Place for Overall Business Plan, Gold Medal in the Agriculture Business Sub-Category, and Favorite Poster.
This interdisciplinary team consists of Audrey Aurantica (Strategic Communication 2024) as CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Peter Huang (Management 2024) as CFO (Chief Financial Officer), William Asabha (Computer Science 2024) as CTO (Chief Technology Officer), and Kelvin (Strategic Communication 2024) as CMO (Chief Marketing Officer).
Global Sprint Innovation 2025 was organized by EDUHUB in collaboration with Airlangga University and featured participants from various countries. This international competition encourages students worldwide to collaborate and generate innovative ideas in multiple forms, such as essays and business presentations. The event aims to develop an outstanding and globally competitive young generation and provide a platform for exchanging innovative ideas and solutions.
Audrey explained that her team designed a business idea called “Sor-Go!”—an innovative Food & Beverage product based on sorghum, packaged as a snack bar. Sorghum is a type of cereal crop similar to corn and wheat, known for its resilience to dry or hot conditions. This innovation is expected to address food security issues in Indonesia.
“Not only that, but we are also a business that originates from and serves the community. Sorghum is rarely discussed or even developed by the community. Therefore, we thought of packaging sorghum to make it more practical,” Audrey said.
Solid Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The formation of this team originated from Audrey’s initiative, who had previously collaborated with Elissa Dwi Lestari, S.Sos., M.S.M., a lecturer from the Management Program at UMN. Elissa, who also serves as the team’s academic advisor, noted that the team’s strength lies in the diversity of their educational backgrounds.
“This allows for collaboration and complementary competencies among team members. All team members are critical thinkers with high levels of determination. They are open to discussion, receptive to feedback, and willing to work hard,” Elissa explained.
From a student development perspective, Elissa observed significant progress. According to her, the students demonstrate a spirit of mutual sharing and learning from one another. They are willing to teach what they have mastered and an openness to learning new things they have not yet understood. Elissa said they grow together in terms of knowledge, experience, and capabilities as a team. This collaborative relationship appears to be increasingly solid as each member strengthens and complements one another.
The series of awards won by the UMN student team in the Global Innovation Sprint 2025 international event.
According to Audrey, this cross-disciplinary collaboration also strengthens the division of roles and improves teamwork effectiveness. “As CEO, I don’t need to multitask too much, but rather focus on leading the team’s workflow to avoid miscommunication,” she said.
Audrey also shared her unique leadership experience during the competition process. She admitted she couldn’t attend the pitching session in person for personal reasons and had to delegate the presentation task to the team’s COO.
“Before leaving, I mentored them on what to say during the pitching. Paying attention to the timing and words that should or shouldn’t be said. Even though I wasn’t there, I often tried to boost the team’s morale,” she said.
To create a memorable experience for the judges, Audrey made a blind box containing keychains in product packaging as an alternative to a prototype.
Peter, William, and Kelvin (left to right) pose with the UMN flag before departing for the Global Innovation Sprint 2025 international competition.
One team member, Peter Huang, the CFO, also acknowledged that this cross-disciplinary collaboration is crucial because competition in business plans requires a wide range of knowledge.
“From various disciplines with different specializations, we can develop a business strategy that thoroughly covers various aspects such as marketing, finance, and website development,” Peter added.
Elissa also hopes that this achievement can inspire other UMN students. According to her, competitions allow students to apply theoretical knowledge to solve real-world problems while expanding their networks with students outside UMN. She added that winning competitions can also be valuable to one’s portfolio to support future career prospects.
By Melinda Chang | UMN News Service
English translation by Levina Chrestella Theodora
Kuliah di Jakarta untuk jurusan program studi Informatika| Sistem Informasi | Teknik Komputer | Teknik Elektro | Teknik Fisika | Akuntansi | Manajemen| Komunikasi Strategis | Jurnalistik | Desain Komunikasi Visual | Film dan Animasi | Arsitektur | D3 Perhotelan , di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara.
