Students from the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM) have once again achieved outstanding success in an international event. At the Industrial Spectrum 2025 White Paper Competition, Devita Ananda Pohan (Accounting, 2023), who was part of the FiNiX team, won first place and the Best Team Presentation award.
The competition, organised by the UGM Industrial Engineering Student Association, was participated in by 66 teams from various universities in Indonesia. They competed by submitting their best ideas in a scientific paper on the theme of Green Mining Downstream. The competition occurred on 14 September 2025 at the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UGM.
Devita explained that the competition consisted of a series of selection stages. In the initial stage, namely the preliminary round, each team had to submit an abstract of their paper. Then, in the semi-final stage, each team was asked to submit its complete paper. Finally, in the final round, participants were challenged to complete a case study on the circular economy for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Indonesia. At this stage, each team must draft a new white paper within one week and prepare a presentation deck in just four days.
Devita, along with her two teammates from the FiNiX team, Viola Kretapradana (Industrial Engineering, 2023) and Hanna Aria Widiatma (Industrial Engineering, 2023), submitted a paper entitled ‘NiLestari: Building a Circular Economy in Indonesia’s Nickel Industry Through Tech-Integrated Waste Management.’
Devita admitted that participating in this competition was a valuable experience and opportunity for her and the team to delve into a topic they had not studied much before. During the preliminary round, she and her team were challenged to solve problems related to waste management in the nickel mining industry, focusing on eastern Indonesia, such as Sulawesi and Papua. The approach used was a circular economy model, in which nickel reserves are utilised to support the EV battery industry, given that Indonesia contributed more than 50% of the world’s nickel supply in 2023.
“The challenge in the final round was very relevant to our research idea, which was to design a circular economy model for EV batteries in Indonesia. We offered a model and supply chain management and included policy recommendations so that EV battery management could be sustainable,” she explained on Friday (26/09/2025).
Devita admitted that she initially found it challenging because this was her first white paper competition. Also, the competition topic was unfamiliar to her as an accounting student. However, this situation motivated her to learn new things and gain new insights into the transition to green mining and Indonesia’s electric vehicle supply chain.
“I am very grateful for this achievement. From this competition, I also learned to be dynamic in a competitive environment with new people and learn many new things,” she concluded.
Report by: Orie Priscylla Mapeda Lumalan
Editor: Kurnia Ekaptiningrum
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