Jakarta, 2025 – A team of students from the Industrial Engineering Department won 2nd Place at the international ISEEC UI 2025 Mini Case Competition. This prestigious competition brought together students from various universities to present innovative solutions to real-world challenges in the energy and logistics industry.

The team, led by Louis Hartanto Utomo with members Bangkit Pramesta Yulianto and Venda Patricia Djunaidi, showcased strong research and presentation skills throughout the competition.

In the preliminary stage, the team submitted an executive summary that included problem identification, root cause analysis, solution recommendations, financial analysis, and strategic conclusions. The document highlighted bottlenecks at the port and their impact on the supply chain, supported by an analysis of operational constraints and underlying causes of distribution delays.

The proposed solution combined technical and digital options to reduce risks and improve throughput. The financial analysis applied a cost–benefit approach and provided a general outlook on potential returns on investment. The executive summary concluded with prioritized steps that could be implemented in practice.

Based on this submission, the team advanced to the Top 5 Finalists and presented their pitch deck directly to the judges. All preparations, from research to presentation rehearsals, were carried out independently without external supervision.

The research behind the competition focused on Paraxylene export logistics at a refinery unit. The team collected operational data, reviewed internal documents, conducted process observations, and held discussions to map the distribution flow and critical points. Further analysis included capacity modeling, scenario simulations, cost–benefit evaluation, and risk assessment. To ensure relevance, the team also benchmarked best practices from port operators and oil companies.

“Our motivation was simple—we wanted to apply academic knowledge to real industry problems while learning from the competition process. We also wanted to prove that students can contribute useful ideas to national energy logistics challenges”

Winning 2nd Place was seen as recognition of the team’s collective effort, as each member contributed to research, slide preparation, and presentation training.

“We feel relieved and proud, but also humbled. For us, this achievement is not the end but the beginning of further developing our ideas so they are more mature and ready for implementation”

The team also shared a message for fellow students to take part in similar competitions. “Start early, ensure your data and assumptions are clear, practice presenting until you can explain complex ideas in simple language, and be ready to accept criticism as input for improvement. Teamwork and humility are essential, because the best results usually come from organized and open collaboration,” they emphasized.

Through this achievement, the team hopes that their experience will serve as a valuable foundation for future academic and professional journeys, while also inspiring other students to keep striving, collaborating, and consistently learning from the process.

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