Universitas Ciputra X UniKL – Multicultural Creativity and AI for Entrepreneurial Impact

 

How can we develop practical skills needed by modern entrepreneurs in a multicultural setting?

 

Between the 15th to 17th of December 2025, Universitas Ciputra welcomed students from Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Surabaya in order to participate in activities ranging from community service, city tour, campus tour, and technology-based workshops to develop students’ skills in visual storytelling, design thinking, and AI tools. These offline activities will be followed by a 2-day virtual session in January. 

 

Welcome to Surabaya, UniKL students!

 

On the 15th of December 2025, a welcoming session was held in Weby restaurant, Citraland Surabaya. In the restaurant, the students of UniKL had the opportunity to get a taste of Indonesian cuisine and were introduced to the team from Collaboration and Global Engagement and Universitas Ciputra International Community (UCIC) who will accompany them during their visit to Surabaya. 

 

Photography and Videography Workshop from VCD Universitas Ciputra

 

On the 16th of December 2025, the UniKL students had the opportunity to explore Surabaya’s rich history through a city tour to De Javasche Bank, Rumah Abu Han, and Rumah Abu The. 

 

Before the city tour, a workshop was held in collaboration with the Visual Communication Design program of Universitas Ciputra, covering the topic of Photography and Videography. The session began with opening remarks from Ms. Yoseva Maria Pujirahayu Sumaji, S.E., M.M., MBA., CWM., CFRM. as the Head of the Collaboration and Global Engagement department in Universitas Ciputra) and Mr. Stevanus Christian Anggrianto, S.Sn, M.M., Ph.D as the Head of the Visual Communication Design program of Universitas Ciputra. The workshop itself was led by Mr. Junaidi Wirawan, S.Sn., M.Ds from the VCD program in Universitas Ciputra. During the workshop, the students got a glimpse of the history of Surabaya, information on the historical sites that they will visit during the city tour, photography techniques they can use for their content, and videography techniques they can integrate to make their content engaging to the audience. 

 

Capturing Multiculturalism in Surabaya’s Old Town

 

After the workshop, it was time to do the city tour. The first location of the city tour was De Javasche Bank, a bank turned museum situated in Surabaya’s Old Town. In the museum, the UniKL students had the opportunity to learn about the history of the Indonesian Rupiah and discover how banks operated in the past. On their way to the second destination, the UniKL students visited Taman Sejara, a park built to commemorate a historical event where Brigadier Mallaby was murdered. Afterwards, the UniKL students made their way to the second destination, which was Rumah Abu Han, the ancestral home of the Han family. What made the site unique is the architecture of the home, where the ceiling was inspired by Javanese culture, the floor was inspired by European culture, and the furniture of the home was inspired by Chinese culture – a true celebration of multiculturalism. The third destination of the city tour was Rumah Abu The, an ancestral home dedicated for The family. Similar to the previous home, a Chinese altar is placed in the center of the home and is used to pray to the ancestors. In this location, the Chinese influence can be seen from the lion sculpture placed in the entrance of the home, Chinese characters placed by the door, and a small museum dedicated to explain the history of the family in the house’s backyard area. 

 

The city tour aims to give an idea of Surabaya’s past as well as the rich culture of the people living in the city, and the UniKL students’ enthusiasm remained throughout the day as they captured the unique things they saw throughout the city tour. 

 

AI Powered Entrepreneurship: Using AI to Create Innovative Business Ideas

 

On the 17th of December 2025, the students make their way to Universitas Ciputra to join a workshop provided by the School of Information Technology department of Universitas Ciputra. 

 

Before the workshop, the UniKL students visited Apple Academy of Universitas Ciputra to discover how technology is used to provide an innovative learning experience. Afterwards, the workshop began with some opening remarks given by Dr. Adi Suryaputra Paramita., S.Kom., M.Kom., as the Dean of the School of Information Technology department of Universitas Ciputra. Afterwards, the UniKL students were introduced to the team of lecturers from SIFT who will guide them for the day. The team consisted of Mr. Yustus Eko Oktian, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D, Ms. Theresia Ratih Dewi Saputri, and Ms. Indra Maryati, S.Kom., M.Kom. 

 

During the workshop, the students gained a better understanding of how AI should be utilized to enhance their ideas as an entrepreneur.  Additionally, the UniKL students had the opportunity to try using Google’s Teachable Machine to create machine learning models and Lean Canvas Generator, an AI-powered tool created to help business owners to map their business idea.

 

After the lunch break, the UniKL students were divided into groups to apply what they learned by developing a Lean Canvas for their business idea in order to be presented to the team of lecturers from SIFT. Each group aimed to solve different problems with their unique business ideas, ranging from an AI Student Buddy, AI-Powered Food Waste Reduction System, Smart Bottle Cap, and Smart Moo. Following the presentation, each group did a Q&A session and received feedback from the SIFT lecturers. After the presentation, an awarding session was held where it was announced that Buddybot became the winner of the AI-Powered Entrepreneurship Workshop and Group 2 became the winner of the Photography and Videography Workshop. Following this, the UniKL students continued their campus tour by visiting the International Hub, UC Fikom, and the entrepreneur statue where they captured some pictures and bid farewell to the team at Universitas Ciputra. 

 

To sum up, this program was an opportunity for the students of Universitas Ciputra and Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to exchange cultures, discover the historical sites of Surabaya, and take part in creative workshops where they applied what they learned during the program in developing their unique business idea. By the end of the program, students are equipped with the necessary skills needed to become innovative entrepreneurs in the future.