Henkel Innovative Challenge 7
?Let?s travel the world together!? that was what I said to my friend in late November of 2013, and it became the start of our journey with Henkel Innovative Challenge 7. In the late February, I ,Kasama Jatejarungwong (BBA19), and my friend Jidapa Ratanaprapat (Communication Design, CU) traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a representative of Thailand in the South East Asia (SEA) Round of the competition.
Henkel is a German industrial and consumer products company who owns numerous brands; namely Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel Innovative Challenge is an international innovation competition with more than 30 countries participating every year; this year?s theme is an innovative and sustainable product for one of Henkel?s brands in the year 2050. The winning prize is air tickets to any destination in the world value 10,000 Euros.Our team was one of the three teams selected to present in Thailand round. We were very excited since the competition was actually geared toward engineering field and, thus, not in our expertise. The presentation was held at Henkel?s headquarter in Central World Office, and the judges were Henkel management team including the country president of Thailand, Mr. Surachet Tanwongsval. After hours of hard work, we were chosen to be the winning team of Thailand and to represent Thailand at the SEA round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Our journey in Malaysia was brief yet memorable. The teams participating included the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. The event was highly publicized, with several media representatives attending the competition including local TV channels and newspaper. We were interviewed more than once for the idea of our product. The honorable judges were high ranked Henkel management team as well as successful business entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Although, we did not win, we gained lifelong experience as well as valuable friendship. Despite the short time spent together, all participants from every country forged a strong bond toward one another. At our last moments, we parted as if we had known each other for years not days.
All in all, participating in Henkel Innovative Challenge, not only we had a chance to turn our ideas and imaginations into actual real life product, but also a chance to meet lifelong friends from various countries. I would like to express my deepest gratitude toward Henkel for this unforgettable opportunity as well as BBA Thammasat Program for their continual support throughout my academic years.
