UNS – A team of students from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta won first place in the Essay Competition organized by UPN “Veteran” Jakarta. The FEB UNS team, led by Kenan Safara Nugroho from the Digital Business undergraduate program, included members Oryza Sativa Heavenia (Digital Business) and Aulia Herawati Rahma Putri (Accounting). The team excelled against nine other finalists with their essay on the topic “Empowerment Movement of Surakarta City: Gen Z’s Initiative with Darikita.Surakarta Towards Sustainable Policies.”

The FEB UNS team outperformed strong competitors, including two teams from UPN Veteran Jakarta, two teams from Universitas Indonesia (UI), and teams from Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Universitas Brawijaya, and the State Finance Polytechnic STAN. The competition, held on October 27, 2024, with the winners announced on November 2, 2024, aimed to inspire young people, especially Gen Z, to be more aware and proactive in addressing public issues.

The competition’s theme, “Proactive Participation of Gen Z in Public Policy Formation,” encouraged students to express their ideas, critiques, and constructive suggestions through essays. This theme was particularly relevant as it challenged Gen Z students to engage with public policy issues, which are often perceived as distant from their daily lives.

“The main reason behind our chosen topic was to highlight the active role of Gen Z in shaping policies. Our team focused on the idea that before creating a policy, concrete actions are needed. Thus, we selected the theme of real actions through the Darikita.Surakarta movement, combined with existing empowerment policies in Surakarta,” Aulia explained, as reported by feb.uns.ac.id on Wednesday (13/11/2024).

The FEB UNS team felt confident about their chances of winning, as their approach was based on real, actionable ideas rather than theoretical concepts. The three members had firsthand experience and an in-depth understanding of the issues at hand, having directly engaged with the problems they were addressing.

In preparation for the competition, the team conducted thorough research on public policies, especially those relevant to Gen Z. They held small discussions to brainstorm and refine ideas for their essay. Additionally, they extensively read literature and kept up with the latest policy issues in the media to enrich their references.

“One of the most memorable moments was during our presentation in front of the judges. We felt nervous, but when we successfully conveyed our ideas clearly and received positive feedback from the judges, it was an incredible feeling. Alhamdulillah, we were able to bring pride to FEB UNS by winning first place,” Kenan Safara Nugroho shared.

Kenan and his team also encouraged fellow students not to hesitate in participating in competitions like this, as they can open up new opportunities, expand knowledge, and build connections with peers from various universities. “Take advantage of every opportunity, and don’t be afraid to give it a try,” he advised. HUMAS UNS