(FEB NEWS) Surabaya, Tuesday, October 28, 2025 – Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business Universitas Airlangga (FEB UNAIR) have once again achieved a proud achievement. The Kesatria Muda team consisting of Muhammad Maulana (Accounting 2023), Nur Sofwatun Nisak (Accounting 2023), and Farellinda Nadhif (Industrial Engineering 2024) won 1st place in the RISE! Business Case Competition 2025 organized by PT Telkomsel Tbk in collaboration with the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS).
They officially received the award on Sunday, October 26, 2025, coinciding with the Grand Final and Pitching Presentation session at the ITS Information Systems Department and Luminor Hotel Jemursari Surabaya.
This prestigious competition attracted over 150 student teams from across Indonesia, who were then selected to the top 10 finalists. The event provided a platform for students to hone their business analysis skills, strategic thinking, and create innovative solutions to real-world challenges in the national telecommunications industry.
A Strategic Event that Unites the Worlds of Academia and Industry
According to Muhammad Maulana, team leader, RISE! 2025 is not just an academic competition, but a collaborative bridge between education and industry. With exclusive support from Telkomsel, this event serves as a platform for discovering young talent with strong analytical skills and the ability to adapt to modern business challenges.
"This competition has given us the understanding that innovation and digitalization are not just business concepts, but real keys to building a sustainable industrial future," said Maulana.
In addition to providing a platform for developing ideas, RISE! 2025 also provides opportunities for winners to further their experience through an internship program at PT Telkomsel Tbk, while also contributing directly to the national digital transformation.
Tight and Challenging Competition Stages
The RISE! 2025 competition was held in several stages. In the Preliminary Round, all participating teams received an official case study from Telkomsel through ise-its.com and were asked to prepare an Executive Summary containing a problem analysis, strategic solutions, and objective recommendations without identifying their institutions.
The project period runs from August 31 to September 13, 2025. Of the hundreds of participants, only the teams with the best results will advance to the semifinals and grand final. In the semifinals, participants will develop a proposal for a problem-solving strategy provided by Telkomsel. From this stage, the top 10 teams will advance to the grand final, which consists of two assessment sections:
- First Stage Grand Final (30%) – Real Time Analysis with a duration of 90 minutes, where participants work on a new case study from Telkomsel and present it online in front of a panel of professional judges on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
- Grand Final Stage Two (70%) – Pitch Desk Presentation held offline at the ITS Information Systems Department and Luminor Hotel Jemursari Surabaya on Sunday, October 26, 2025, in front of the management team of PT Telkomsel Tbk.
The panel of judges for this event consisted of professionals from Telkomsel, Unilever, FWD Insurance, and BP Consulting Group. Among them were Fitri Y. Ardiani (Principal Sustainability Management, Telkomsel), Andri Kurniawan (General Manager of Mobile Consumer, Telkomsel, East Java Region), and Ghifary Muhammad N. (Manager, BP Consulting Group).
Through hard work, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and sharp problem-solving strategies, the Kesatria Muda Team succeeded in winning 1st place and received a free internship opportunity at PT Telkomsel Tbk as a form of appreciation for their best performance.
Bringing Universitas Airlangga Good Name to the National Stage
This success was not only a personal source of pride for the team members, but also brought honor Universitas Airlangga at the national level. The Kesatria Muda team achieved a brilliant achievement, outperforming participants from various leading universities in Indonesia, such as UI, ITB, ITS, UPN, and UGM.
"We feel inspired to continue to be bold in creating change and developing impactful ideas. This competition instills the values that creativity, digitalization, and the courage to innovate are the foundation for building a more adaptive industrial ecosystem," said Maulana.
With the motto “Grow Better, Be a Winner,” this team proves that cross-disciplinary collaboration between economics and engineering students can produce concrete, relevant, and highly competitive business solutions.
Cultivating a Collaborative and Innovative Spirit
Through this achievement, the Kesatria Muda Team hopes that the RISE! Business Case Competition will continue to be a platform that paves the way for Indonesian students to develop, network, and make real contributions in the era of digital transformation.
This victory also serves as an inspiration for all FEB UNAIR students to continue innovating, collaborating across fields, and daring to demonstrate their best capacity at every opportunity.
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