Exploring the Idea of Innovative Digital Products through Ideation ICON 2019
A total of 175 participants attended to explore various digital product ideas in the 2019 Ideation IPB Informatics Competition (ICON) at the Dramaga IPB Campus, Bogor. This activity was held by the Computer Science Student Association (Himalkom), IPB University. This activity received support and funding from the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) and the Directorate of Student Affairs and Career Development of IPB.
According to Rizky Syawal, Chairperson, this activity was designed differently from the competition in general. In addition to looking for the best work, this competition is intended to increase the capacity of competition participants. Before competing, each participant was asked to explore as many ideas as possible and choose the best ideas to be made real. After that, they will be met with experienced mentors to direct them to design the best work. Technical support, for the team making the application, will also be provided through hackathon activities. After going through all these activities, the team will be assessed by the judges. “With such a design, we hope the team will develop and produce mature, innovative and high-value works,” Rizky said.
This activity is also a commitment of Himalkom IPB to create a collaborative climate in IPB. According to M. Alif Nurrofli, Deputy Chairperson of Himalkom IPB, this year Himalkom made collaboration with other organizations its main concern. Alif said that what was achieved when students between study programs collaborated with each other would be far greater than if they progressed respectively.
This activity received a very positive reception from the Chairperson of the Department of Computer Science, Prof. Agus Buono, as well as Director of Student Affairs and Career Development of IPB, Dr. Alim Setiawan Slamet. Prof. Agus emphasized the importance of the process and the struggle to produce maximum results, “Even though we have a small number of students, thanks to the maximum and genuine process our students (IPB Computer Science Department) can compete and even excel in various fields.” Dr. Alim also appreciates Himalkom’s efforts as the best professional association in IPB in 2018, which celebrated this activity. Dr. Alim said that he hoped the spirit of collaboration could improve IPB’s achievements and reputation in the field of information and communication technology (ICT).
Before sharpening ideas by mentors, participants first follow the presentation of three selected speakers to provide insight into the process of creating innovation. The first speaker, Ifnu Bima, was an alumni of the Department of Computer Science of IPB who currently has a career as Head of Product in Black Berry Messenger (BBM). Ifnu gives a presentation entitled structured innovation. He introduced differences in creativity with innovation, types and levels of innovation, examples of innovation, and structured methods to produce innovation.
The second speaker was Samiaji Prasetya Adisasmito, Chief Operating Officer of Jojonomic who presented the theme Kickstart Your Ideas To Reality. Aji introduced a process called sprint design that was popularized by Google Venture and has been tested as a process of creating new products. With five stages: map, sketch, decide, prototype, and test, which is carried out within five days, an organization will be able to explore solutions and test them in a fast time.
The last speaker was Abdur Rabbi (Aif), alumni of the Vocational School of IPB who successfully launched the Cupslice photo editor application. Aif gave many lessons that he gained from launching an application on Google Play to become one of the best photo editor applications and covered by various media. He conveyed the things that should be avoided when making a product, including scaling to soon, partnering, pitching instead of prototyping, thinking of venture capital can add values, and focus on development.
This activity invited 25 mentors who had high flight hours in the categories they built. For example, Arga Putra Panatagama, a National Achievement Student who won a gold medal in Gemastik X, Guntur Putra Pratama who had experience in pioneering several startups, Dwi Yoga who is now a Product Manager at Warung Pintar, Saeful, Adi, and Kevin, students who won gold medals in the Gemastik data mining branch and is able to compete professionally in Finhacks BC, Armi, Ardhi, and Daka activities which have participated in several national level robot contests, Ihsan Fahmi and Rachmat Wildan who have pioneered business with Falaah, Gilang and Rodhi who are branch finalists business at Gemastik last year. Also attending were Rizky and Ike who were finalists in the selection of outstanding students at the IPB level. There are still many other mentors who also participate in this activity and are committed to lowering their knowledge and guiding the team to produce the best work. (* / ris)
