Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) retained its overall championship title at the 2026 National Student Competition in Business, Management, and Finance (KBMK), winning two gold medals and one bronze medal. The competition was held from September 28 to October 2, 2026, at Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) in Purwokerto, Central Java. The grand final, organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek), brought together 25 teams from 19 universities. This achievement extended UGM’s winning streak to three consecutive years as the competition’s overall champion.
UGM participants entered multiple competition categories. Three teams earned awards: Team Siwan placed in Investment Research, Team Pemula in Investigative Auditing, and Team Pajak Ditanggung Pemenang in Taxation.
Team Siwan comprised Ibnu Zidan Alfarij and Satrio Dwi Arisetyo from the Accounting Study Program and Naufal Razan Aqilah from the Economics Study Program. Team Pemula consisted of Keyra Audrey Christian, Nayla Phui Amazona, and Tiffany Aida Puspa Ashri, all from the Accounting Study Program. Meanwhile, Team Pajak Ditanggung Pemenang comprised Sabiq Muhammad Al Ghozi from the Economics Study Program and Bitha Cahya Rumansya from the Public Sector Accounting Study Program.
These achievements were supported by a preparation process led by the UGM Business Laboratory community. The process began with an internal university selection to identify the strongest teams from the proposals submitted. Once selected, each team received guidance tailored to its competition category.
The mentoring program, called Bukalapak, was conducted over nine sessions, covering the preliminary rounds through the national final. Faculty advisors and industry practitioners provided feedback based on each team’s needs. Their guidance helped students develop their ideas, refine their materials, and prepare to defend their proposals before the judges.
Each team faced different challenges depending on its competition category. Ahead of the national final, participants underwent intensive preparation to refine their work. Despite fatigue and the lengthy preparation period, the students remained committed to delivering their best performances and bringing home awards for UGM.
UGM’s third consecutive overall championship was also supported by continuous, cross-generational mentoring. According to Almaylana from the UGM Business Laboratory community, maintaining this achievement requires a mentoring system that allows previous participants to pass on their experience to students competing in subsequent years.
“One of the key factors in maintaining achievements is continuity in mentoring,” Almayla said on Monday (Oct. 12).
Students who had previously represented UGM also helped mentor the next cohort of participants. Their competition experience served as a basis for evaluating and improving the preparation process, allowing subsequent teams to build on the existing foundation while developing their own strengths.
“Mentoring does not end when the competition is over. Instead, it becomes an ongoing process within the UGM student community,” Almaylana said.
Winning two gold medals and one bronze medal is a source of pride and an incentive to expand opportunities for students to develop their skills.
“Looking ahead, the UGM Business Laboratory community hopes to continue strengthening the student development ecosystem in business, management, and finance through mentoring, collaboration with faculty members and industry practitioners, and intergenerational knowledge transfer,” Almaylana said.
The UGM Business Laboratory community also hopes that more students will have opportunities to develop ideas, test their abilities, and contribute through KBMK. In addition to maintaining its achievements in categories where UGM has established strengths, students are encouraged to explore other categories, such as Business Planning and Appropriate Technology Research Commercialization. Broader participation is expected to create more opportunities for UGM students to develop innovative ideas and contribute to national competitions in business, management, and finance.
Author: Adinda Putri Rahma
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Zabrina Kumara
Photo: Team documentation