Aurel Diyah Agustin, an undergraduate student of Accounting at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), class of 2022, has won first place at the national competition Next-Gen Science Technopreneur Battle 2025.
She earned this achievement with her innovative business idea, a Smart Digital Ticketing platform based on facial recognition technology.
Competing as part of Team Fighter with fellow 2022 student Dita Ristyani from the Health Sciences Program, Agustin presented the platform “Tixless,” which carries the slogan “One Face, One Ticket.”
The application is designed to simplify event access for visitors by replacing physical tickets with face recognition.
Through the app, entry can be made without queues or physical tickets, relying solely on facial verification.
“Tixless addresses various challenges in the event industry, such as long queues, ticket forgery, discrepancies between visitor numbers and tickets sold, and reliance on paper tickets that are less environmentally friendly,” Agustin said at FEB UGM on Friday (Aug. 15).
She explained that compared to existing digital solutions, Tixless offers several advantages. These include enhanced security through Face ID, instant access, automatic visitor counting, and additional features for organizers such as real-time reporting and sponsorship integration.
According to Agustin, the business plan began with in-depth research. The team conducted interviews with both event organizers and participants, and developed a business model strategy covering technology flow and monetization plans.
“I also created an interactive visual presentation to make the idea easier to understand and more engaging for the judges,” she added.
The journey was not without challenges. One of the biggest hurdles was ensuring that the Face ID integration could operate securely, quickly, and efficiently, while still being affordable for event organizers.
“I learned that a good business idea must solve real problems and have a sustainable business model,” she said.
From this competition, Agustin gained valuable experience. As an Accounting student, she found the process highly beneficial in honing her skills, particularly in preparing financial projections, conducting cost-benefit analyses, and calculating revenue streams.
She now plans to further develop a prototype of Tixless by seeking strategic partners in the event industry to conduct small-scale trials before expanding further.
With this experience, Agustin encouraged other students not to hesitate to venture into innovation and entrepreneurship.
“By doing so, we can contribute to creating technology-based solutions that bring real impact to society. Start from truly relevant problems, design solutions that are practical yet innovative, and sharpen communication skills so that ideas can be delivered effectively,” the winner concluded.
Reporter: FEB UGM/Kurnia Ekaptiningrum
Author: Agung Nugroho