BINUS International’s Hackathon with Overseas University to Support Cross-Culture Innovation

Realizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require collaboration from various stakeholders. As students who will carry on the legacy of future leaders, they too can contribute to sustainable development. BINUS International understands this. Hence, collaborating with Ngee Ann Polytechnic Singapore and the Center for Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Research (CIDER) BINUS International, BINUS International organized The Sandbox Global Startup Hackathon at CIDER Room, BINUS University @ JWC Campus Senayan on March 9, 10, and 16, 2024.

What Is the Global Startup Hackathon?

Essentially, the Global Startup Hackathon is an event organized by Ngee Ann Polytechnic Singapore and The Reactor Sandbox organization in parallel across various countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Ngee Ann Polytechnic partnered with BINUS International to host the Indonesia edition.

The event aims to gather creative business ideas from students from diverse cultural backgrounds. To develop these business ideas, participants must collaborate in groups and receive guidance from assigned mentors. Subsequently, they will pitch their business ideas to venture capitalists and industry experts. Ultimately, all winning participants from each country will enter the final round to compete with champions from other nations.

Therefore, true to its name, these business ideas must be developed into startup companies that address the questions and problem formulations within its annual theme, as elaborated in the following section.

Global Startup Hackathon 2024 Theme

The Global Startup Hackathon adopts a theme related to the UN’s SDGs for 2024. However, instead of focusing on all the critical points of the SDGs, it highlights only three main aspects as follows:

• Fourth SDG, Quality Education: How can all stakeholders create an inclusive and relevant educational curriculum to accommodate various learning styles of students in Southeast Asia? What strategies ensure equal access to education, regardless of their economic background?
• Fourth SDG, Quality Education: How can all stakeholders create an inclusive and relevant educational curriculum to accommodate various learning styles of students in Southeast Asia? What strategies ensure equal access to education, regardless of their economic background?
• Thirteenth SDG, Climate Action: How can stakeholders empower local communities to preserve the environment, whether by reducing carbon emissions, strengthening education on climate issues, or enhancing the country’s resilience to climate crises?

Image by @cider_binus on Instagram

Fostering International Collaboration

Since the Global Startup Hackathon is held in various countries and invites many international students, this competition will involve collaboration among participants from diverse cultural backgrounds.

For instance, for the competition held at BINUS University JWC Campus @ Senayan, Ngee Ann Polytechnic students interning in Jakarta will team up with students from BINUS International, BINUS Kemanggisan, BINUS University Bandung, and Universitas Katolik Atma Jaya.

This setup aims to provide them with the necessary context of Indonesia’s environmental, social, and cultural aspects to address the issues in the Global Startup Hackathon theme, as their solutions must be relevant to Indonesian society.

BINUS International’s Hopes for the Global Startup Hackathon

BINUS International hopes the Global Startup Hackathon competition will help participating students expand their networks to support their future career success with fellow international students and their respective group mentors.

Additionally, formulating solutions and presenting them directly to venture capitalists and industry experts is expected to provide an unforgettable experience for the participants. Thus, when they have to pitch business ideas after graduation, they can apply the knowledge they have gained.

BINUS International understands that realizing the SDGs requires contributions from various parties, including students. That is why BINUS International collaborates with Ngee Ann Polytechnic to host the Global Startup Hackathon event held in Jakarta, specifically, at CIDER Room, BINUS University @ JWC Campus Senayan on March 9, 10, and 16, 2024. The existence of this competition is expected to build a professional network and provide valuable knowledge for students’ career success.