The Industrial Engineering Department at BINUS University proudly congratulates Louis Hartanto Utomo, who represented BINUS University as part of Team Starship Consultant, on the team’s achievement of securing First Place in the International MSS Consulting Case Challenge 2026, organized by the Management Student Society (MSS), Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia. The achievement highlights the team’s ability to apply analytical thinking, strategic problem-solving, and collaborative decision-making to address a real-world business challenge.

The competition brought together more than 170 teams and 385 participants representing 10 countries, creating a highly competitive environment for participants to demonstrate their consulting and strategic thinking capabilities. For the competition, teams were challenged to develop a commercially grounded growth strategy for Garuda Indonesia, with a focus on strengthening the airline’s relevance and consideration among the next generation of travelers without relying primarily on price competition.

Representing BINUS University in Team Starship Consultant was Louis Hartanto Utomo, who competed alongside Ade Ferdian and Anastasia. Throughout the competition, the team developed its recommendations through a combination of rigorous analysis, evidence-based decision-making, financial feasibility assessment, and practical implementation considerations. Rather than focusing solely on generating creative ideas, the team emphasized building a strategy that could be supported by clear assumptions, relevant evidence, and realistic execution.

The competition also challenged the team to communicate and defend its strategic recommendations under pressure. Each stage required the members to continuously refine their ideas, evaluate different perspectives, and ensure that their proposed strategy remained commercially relevant. This process strengthened the team’s ability to collaborate while connecting analytical insights with practical business considerations.

In the final round, Team Starship Consultant presented its strategy to a panel of industry judges from Garuda Indonesia and KPMG Indonesia. The final presentation provided the team with an opportunity to demonstrate the rationale behind its recommendations while responding to questions related to marketing, financial risk, and the feasibility of implementation. The feedback from the judges also offered valuable industry perspectives on how strategic recommendations can be evaluated from both business and financial viewpoints.

The achievement reflects the importance of combining analytical capabilities with teamwork, communication, and strategic thinking when addressing complex business challenges. For Industrial Engineering students, experiences such as this provide an opportunity to apply academic knowledge beyond the classroom and develop skills that are relevant to real-world industry problems.

The Industrial Engineering Department celebrates Team Starship Consultant’s achievement and hopes that their success will inspire more students to participate in national and international competitions. By bringing together knowledge, evidence, collaboration, and practical action, students can continue to explore new opportunities to create meaningful solutions for industry and society.