A Total of 49 Student Teams Pitch Startup Ideas at the 2026 IPB PRIME STeP Hackathon, Competing for a Rp50 Million Grant
A business idea isn’t enough if it’s just interesting on paper. The idea must be able to address problems, offer solutions, and have the potential to be realized. Building on this process, IPB University, through the Institute for Agromaritime Development and Innopreneurship Acceleration (LPA2I), organized the PRIME STeP 2026 Hackathon series to prepare students to develop innovations into prototypes and business models.
A total of 49 student teams from various universities participated in the Hackathon program themed “Innovate Today, Impact Tomorrow”, which took place at the Startup Center Building on the IPB Taman Kencana Campus in Bogor. Out of 75 submitted proposals, 49 teams advanced to the coaching and Pitching Battle stages. The top 35 teams will have the opportunity to receive a grant of up to Rp50 million to bring their business ideas to life.
The coaching sessions equipped participants with knowledge on business model design, design thinking, and prototyping, as well as strategies for creating pitch decks. The sessions were led by Ivan Taufiq Nugraha, CEO of PT Sutan Vet Medika; Febri Aditya Pratama Arista Gabe, CEO of PT Inovasi Tiada Batas (Raigine); and Al Fiqie, CEO of PT Export Tani Nusantara.
The Chairman of LPA2I at IPB University, Dr Handian Purwawangsa, encouraged students to take advantage of this program to build networks and develop innovation based business ideas. “IPB has built an end to end business ecosystem integrated with a research and innovation ecosystem,” he said.
After receiving the training, participants took part in the Pitching Battle the following day. Deputy Head of LPA2I for Business Incubation and Industry Partnerships, Prof Rokhani Hasbullah, noted that participants needed to convince the judges of the prospects and feasibility of their proposed ideas.
During the evaluation process, participants presented the problems they aimed to solve, their solutions, prototype plans, business models, as well as market potential and strategies. Public speaking skills were also among the aspects evaluated.
The hackathon was attended by students from IPB University, Pakuan University, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ibn Khaldun University, Nusa Bangsa University, Nusa Putra University, and Muhammadiyah University Jakarta.
To evaluate the participants’ ideas, the event featured a review panel consisting of Prof Rokhani Hasbullah; Deva Primadia Almada, SPi, MSi, Assistant for Business Incubation; Mhd Hendra Wibowo, MM, Assistant for Industry Partnerships; Luluk Annisa, SPi, Teaching Industry Supervisor; Dr Burhanuddin, an Agribusiness lecturer at IPB; and Dr Asep Taryana, a lecturer at the IPB School of Business.
Through a series of coaching sessions and Pitching Battles, the PRIME STeP program encourages students not only to be idea generators but also to become innopreneurs capable of delivering solutions and making a tangible impact on society.
With the spirit of “Innovate Today, Impact Tomorrow,” this event is part of IPB University’s efforts to strengthen the student innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and foster the emergence of innovation-based startups that are competitive and sustainable. (*/Rz) (IAAS/WSG)
