EduAsiaNews, Bangka — The International Student Competition (ISC) 2026, organized by Universitas Bangka Belitung (UBB), has attracted students from around the world. By the registration and submission deadline of 11:59 p.m. Western Indonesian Time on Friday (Oct. 16, 2026), a total of 270 participants from 27 countries had registered for the international competition. This achievement reflects the expanding reach of UBB’s academic initiatives while providing students worldwide with a platform to present ideas and innovations addressing global challenges.
Under the theme “Youth-Led Resilience: Turning Crisis into Creative, Inclusive Innovation,” ISC 2026 encourages young people to turn crises into opportunities through creative, inclusive and sustainable innovation. The competition’s motto, “Innovate • Collaborate • Inspire the Future,” reinforces its commitment to encouraging students to think critically, build partnerships and propose solutions to real-world problems.
The competition’s appeal is reflected in the diversity of participants’ countries of origin, including Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Taiwan, Uzbekistan and the United States. Students from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds make ISC 2026 a platform for exchanging knowledge and perspectives on shared challenges.
To accommodate this range of interests and expertise, ISC 2026 features four competition categories: Essay, Tool Design, Business Plan and Scientific Research Paper. The Essay category attracted the most participants, with 146 entrants (54.07 percent), followed by Scientific Research Paper with 63 (23.33 percent), Tool Design with 33 (12.22 percent), and Business Plan with 28 (10.37 percent).
Through these four categories, participants are encouraged to develop critical ideas, design technology-based solutions, introduce business innovations and produce scientific research relevant to community needs. For the organizers, however, the value of ISC 2026 lies not only in competition but also in the experience and learning participants gain throughout the process.
ISC 2026 organizing committee chair Dr. Ir. Firlya Rosa, S.S.T., M.T., emphasized that the competition was designed to help students develop their academic abilities while applying the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies.
“ISC is more than just a competition. It is a platform for students from around the world to test and develop their academic and practical skills. Through this competition, students are expected to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-world challenges while building international networks,” Firlya said.
She added that interacting with students from different countries could broaden participants’ perspectives and help prepare them for professional careers.
“We hope ISC will become a shared learning space where students exchange ideas, broaden their horizons and prepare for the professional world. It is not just about winning a title, but also about the experience and knowledge gained through participating in the competition,” she added.
The enthusiasm for learning and competing is also evident among UBB students. Of the 270 registered participants, 69 came from UBB, making it the university with the highest number of entrants in ISC 2026.
UBB students are represented in all four categories. The university recorded the highest number of participants in Essay, with 32 entrants, and Scientific Research Paper, with 28. UBB ranked second in Tool Design, with five participants, and Business Plan, with four.
Enthusiasm has extended beyond UBB, as reflected in the distribution of participants across Indonesia. The Bangka Belitung Islands recorded 38 participants in Essay and 29 in Scientific Research Paper. West Java contributed the largest number of participants in Tool Design, with 16, while Jakarta led the Business Plan category with six participants.
This broad national and international participation provides UBB with a valuable foundation for bringing together diverse ideas, academic approaches and innovations. In addition to expanding academic networks, ISC 2026 forms part of UBB’s efforts to strengthen its role in developing an open higher education ecosystem with global competitiveness.
Following the official close of registration and submissions, ISC 2026 will proceed to the Grand Final on Oct. 29, 2026, at the UBB campus. The final round will give selected finalists the opportunity to showcase the quality of their work and innovations while bringing together outstanding ideas from different countries and academic backgrounds.
With 270 participants from 27 countries, ISC 2026 marks another step in UBB’s efforts to bring its spirit of “Excellence in Building Civilization” to the international academic arena. Attention now turns to the Grand Final on Oct. 29, when the UBB campus will host finalists demonstrating how creativity and knowledge can be transformed into solutions for future challenges.
(UBB Public Relations)
