Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

The undergraduate student team from the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada University (FEB UGM), consisting of Giacinta Betralda Anin Pradita (Accounting 2021), Hans Mangatur Pakpahan (Accounting 2021), and Raihan Mufid Rufiano (Accounting 2021), won 3rd place in the competition student paper in the East Economic Forum Call for Paper (EJAVEC CP) 2023. This competition is part of a series of activities for The 10^th East Java Eonomic (EJAVEC) Forum 2023 with the theme "Encouraging Inclusive and Sustainable East Java Economic Resilience Amidst Increasing Global Uncertainty", collaboration between the East Java Province Bank Indonesia Representative Office and the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Airlangga (FEB UNAIR) and ISEI East Java Coordinator's Surabaya Branch which was held on July 26 2023 at Universitas Airlangga.

The competition began with preliminary selection held in March 2023. Participants were asked to submit papers on various optional topics at this stage. "We chose the theme of implementing a green economy for East Java. We proposed implementing a carbon tax to the East Java government by calculating its potential and recommending what actions the provincial government should take to maximize the revenue from the carbon tax," said Raihan.

They had to compete with 50 other teams from various regions. Then, in July 2023, six teams from the general student paper category were announced to advance to the final round held in Surabaya. The final round consisted of a 20-minute Q&A session and a 15-minute presentation. Eventually, they managed to secure third place in this competition. In the preparation process, Raihan revealed that they received a lot of guidance and input from Muhammad Ryan Sanjaya, S.E., M.Int.Dev.Ec., Ph.D., a lecturer in the Department of Economics, FEB UGM.

Despite their success, Raihan also shared his team's challenges during the competition. "We chose the theme of the potential carbon tax, which the Ministry of Finance has not implemented yet. We had to explore and make our calculation projections. It could be said that there were few benchmarks," he concluded. They applied the carbon tax benchmark from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for tax revenue sources in East Java. They focused on the transportation sector (motor vehicle tax) and the industrial sector (tax from steam power plants).

In conclusion, Raihan provided tips for FEB students who want to participate in paper competitions. According to him, one should frequently update themselves with the latest news, jot down ideas that come to mind, create a clear paper structure, and have good teamwork. He then offered advice, encouraging us not to be afraid of participating in various available competitions. Once again, congratulations on the achieved accomplishment!

Reportage: Rizal Farizi 
Important link: Universitas Airlangga Official Website (unair.ac.id)