Four UP students emerged victorious among Southeast Asia’s best industrial engineering and engineering management students at the 7th Industrial Engineering Competition (IECOM) that took place in Bandung, Indonesia from January 9 to 17.
Daniel Roi Agustin, James Renier Domingo, Dominic Aily Ecat, and Arizza Ann Nocum of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (DIEOR) of the University of the Philippines in Diliman were handpicked by DIEOR to compete for IECOM. Out of 78 teams from Southeast Asia, only 15 teams passed the initial online selection stage to proceed to the semi-finals in Indonesia.
During the semi-finals, teams went through an intensive 3-day challenge composed of a quiz bee, an amazing race, and a simulation case challenge provided by a company. The semi-finals culminated in a presentation to a board of judges from the business world and the academe.
Only five teams moved on to the finals. Aside from the UP team, other teams were from Universitas Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Chulalongkorn University, and Universitas Gadjah Mada.
The final stage of the competition required not only theoretical knowledge but also analysis and creativity in coming up with solutions.
“We were given four days to study and solve the problems of two of the biggest Indonesian companies – Unilever Indonesia and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia. We visited their plants and were oriented on the main problems they face, then we were given two 12-hour work days to come up with a presentation outlining our solution for each company,” said Domingo, the team captain.
On the last day, the five finalists presented their solutions to the executives and management of the two companies. Each presentation was followed by a question and answer portion.
The results placed the UP team first, while two teams from Indonesia placed second and third.
“I think that one of the main drivers of our victory was our commitment to the solution. We told ourselves that the main reason we were doing this was not because we wanted to win but because we wanted to help these companies succeed by finding the solution that fit their needs and vision best,” Agustin said.
When asked how their UP education set them apart, Ecat answered, “We were taught the right tools, but ultimately what made us win was our ‘diskarte’ approach – our ability to think outside the box.”
Aside from a trophy, the team was awarded $3500. The winnings will be used to support UP’s industrial engineering student contestants in future competitions. The team was guided by their coach, DIEOR instructor Simon Lorenzo.
IECOM was organized by Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), the oldest technology-oriented university in Indonesia. Prominent graduates of ITB include Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia.
