Students forge themselves through competitions

Although they failed to become the national champions of the L’Oreal Brandstorm competition last year, the three young women who joined Team Maya did not give up. They participated again in the international competition in 2024 and led them to represent Indonesia to compete with other finalists from 65 countries in London, England in June 2024.

“We got to know each other by forming a team to participate in a competition. Of course, we want to be the winner. We are looking for more than just a championship title, but also a rapid self-development through participation in various competitions,” said Clara in Jakarta on Thursday, April 4th, 2024.

L’Oreal Brandstorm is an international innovation competition for young people to become innovators in the beauty industry. This year, L’Oreal Brandstorm focuses on the theme of “Reinvent the Future of Professional Beauty through Tech”.

In the competition, each team is challenged to come up with technology-based innovations that can provide new solutions and experiences for customers in the hair and beauty industry.

Also read: Competency is increasingly needed, no longer an educational degree

Maya team was selected as the national champion from 10 finalists that were determined. The enthusiasm of students from various universities participating in this annual competition is evident from 5,600 registrants, which is three times higher than in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Maya Team brings an innovation titled ‘FolliGenix’ which presents a solution to non-invasively overcome hair loss problems. They created a hair care device called the ‘FolliGenix Device’ equipped with ultrasound technology and nano technology.

The technology is meant to enhance optimal serum absorption according to the condition of a consumer’s hair follicle without invasive medical procedures. The technology developed by the Maya team helps tackle hair loss issues with deeper and more targeted treatments.

Priscilla said that the three of them have the same spirit to try again. They carefully studied the case provided by the committee. Through a series of interviews with consumers and practitioners at salons, as well as experts, they discovered that hair loss is a problem experienced by many people.

Hair loss is one of the main issues faced by salon clients, according to hair care professionals in Indonesia. Maya’s team has also introduced the ‘Genix App’, an application that can track hair care processes through electronic devices.

“Our teamwork has brought sweet results. We are grateful for our achievement in the national final round. We hope to give our best in the international final round in London and bring home the winner’s trophy of the 2024 L’Oréal Brandstorm International Final,” said Saskia, from ITB’s management program.

Responding to challenges

L’Oreal Indonesia’s President Director Junaid Murtaza stated that the L’Oréal Brandstorm event is an effort to help develop young innovators so that they can improve their skills in responding to the challenges of the modern industry era.

Technology has become a necessity in the hairdressing beauty industry to answer consumer needs through personalization. As an illustration, the professional salon industry has the potential to reach IDR 11 trillion, with 100,000 salons and 5,000 barber shops spread throughout Indonesia.

In addition, technology in the beauty and hairdressing industry can help consumers perform treatments at home, maximizing the results of salon treatments.

Also read: Southeast Asian Job Market Begins to Require Artificial Intelligence Skills

Yenita Oktora, the Chief Human Resource Officer of L’Oreal Indonesia, stated that since its global launch in 1992, L’Oreal Brandstorm has helped shape the mindset, provided a platform for self-development, as well as the beginning of a career path for participants, which until now has reached more than 700,000 young talents.

“Indonesia has participated since 2009 and succeeded in winning the title three times in the international finals,” said Yenita.

In addition, L’Oreal Brandstorm bridges young Indonesian talents with business needs. So, young talents in Indonesia have the opportunity to develop themselves through technical and non-technical skills. This is a provision for them to face industry challenges.

Before competing in the International finals, the Maya team will undergo a series of training and coaching sessions from L’Oreal Indonesia team and experts in the field to prepare them for the International finals in London, UK, in July 2024.

Melanie Masriel, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Engagement, and Sustainability at L’Oreal Indonesia, stated that their company is working to move the world through beauty and to recreate the future of beauty through science and technology.

“The commitment is realized through L’Oréal Brandstorm, to empower the younger generation to innovate by incorporating important drivers of social and environmental transition for a better future,” he said.

Therefore, in addition to technological aspects, sustainability and ethics become important factors in determining the winner of the competition. Technological innovation is needed to realize the beauty industry’s vision, which is increasingly inclusive of diverse people’s needs and desires, through beauty technology innovation.

Self-development

Clara, a student of the ITB information system program, says that participating in a competition has an impact on personal growth from various aspects, making her more prepared to enter the workforce after graduating.

“I never imagined I could become the national champion. But, this is proof that perseverance and not giving up will bear fruit. This is a joint effort supported by many parties,” said Clara.

We are grateful that our efforts have not been in vain. Going forward, we will try to find other competitions to better hone our analytical skills.

Forty teams of students from several universities participated in the Deloitte Tax Challenge 2024 competition in mid-February 2024 at the Deloitte Indonesia office, forging themselves through various competitive events in the field of taxation.

A team of accounting students from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), namely Marcheline Natasya Santoso, Jasmine Iliyya, Evan Timothy Hotan Togatorop, and Patero Krinara Sitiael, successfully achieved third place.

Also read: The world of work increasingly needs young talents who are ready to work

Marcheline stated that she and her team gained a lot of experience by participating in this competition as it sharpened their thinking and analytical skills, specifically in the field of taxation.

“We are grateful that our efforts have not been in vain. Going forward, we will try to find other competitions to further sharpen our analytical skills,” he said.

In this taxation competition, the FEB team had to go through a series of rigorous selections. In the initial stage, the selection was carried out by assessing a video sent by each team containing the community’s priorities, promises, and expectations related to taxation in the 2024 Presidential Election.

After passing the best of the top 16 and advancing to the semifinals, they were given the challenge of solving three cases, including the implementation of the sugar tax (taxation of food and drinks with excessive sugar content). , then present it online.

The six best teams advanced to the final round and were asked to answer two cases provided by Deloitte. Each team is asked to answer cases related to problems and requirements for implementing transfer pricing or company policy in determining the transfer price of a transaction.

Separately, the Director of Learning and Student Affairs at the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), Sri Suning Kusumawardani, stated that the development of students’ talents and interests needs to be supported.

The Ministry of Education and Culture also holds various events student competitions at the national level and supports them at the international level as well as providing college scholarship awards for outstanding students.

Suning said that students’ readiness to enter real life and the world of work is not only forged on campus. Through the Independent Learning Independent Campus (MBKM) program, students have the right to study outside campus which can be converted into up to 20 semester credit units (SKS ).

Thus, students are increasingly able to shape themselves to remain relevant with the challenges of changing times, including through competitions to produce creative and innovative talents that meet the needs of the job market and industry.