What an Incredible Day: Global Impact Challenge 2026 Wrap-Up
What an incredible day.
Last week, we wrapped up the Global Impact Challenge, delivered by Venture UWA and UWA Global Engagement as part of Global Engagement Month. The room was full of ideas, energy and connection as students worked in multicultural teams to tackle real-world challenges connected to China, Indonesia, Singapore, Bhutan and Australia/India.
From First Presentations to Final Pitches
The day moved fast. Challenge presentations kicked things off in the morning, giving teams their brief and their first look at the market they'd be working with. By the afternoon, those same teams were standing in front of a judging panel delivering final pitches — a full day of ideas, energy and no shortage of hard questions in between.
Direct Access to Four Chambers and an International Business
What made this day genuinely different from a standard case competition was who students got to work alongside. Rather than solving a hypothetical problem, teams connected directly with representatives from four Chambers of Commerce and an international business, gaining a first-hand look at real markets, cultures and perspectives.
Thank You to Our Challenge Partners
This event doesn't happen without the organisations who brought real challenges to the table:
WA Chinese Chamber of Commerce — Louise Clunies-Ross
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce Western Australia — Indah Melindasari, with Agata Dharma representing the Chamber
WASBC – WA Singapore Business Council — David Huang, with Brian Liau representing the Council
The Bhutan Chamber of Commerce WA — Karma Wangchuk
SavvyWise — Drew Pflaum
The Industry Professionals Who Made the Day Richer
Throughout the day, students had the chance to work with and learn from an incredible group of industry professionals: Usha Raman, David Wijaya, Gry Stene, Lily Chen & Associates, Ben Tampubolon, David Sawyer, Tom Bielski, Ajay Doorzii, Rae Prameswari and Marilyn Garbin.
Alongside them, our own Venture UWA mentors and facilitators kept every team moving in the right direction: Nathan Wipane, Roberto Lujan Rocha, Paul Bez, James Le and Dylan Panetta.
A Judging Panel Full of Global Perspective
Final pitches were judged by a genuinely remarkable panel, bringing together international, business, career and cultural expertise from across the board:
Cema Santos — Career Strategist & Culture Specialist, Founder of Cema Santos Career & Culture
Hannah Vu — Global Engagement Manager, UWA & Founder and President of the Australia-Vietnam Talent Network
Puan Nur Eliza Jemal Zaina — Consul General of Malaysia in Perth
Phil Turtle — Managing Director, Engenesis Consulting & President of the Australia Indonesia Business Council
Ingrid Ursua — Founder & CEO, Australian Academies Group
Thank You
A huge thank you to Patty Canapi, our MC for the day, for bringing the energy from start to finish and keeping the whole room engaged.
And a special thank you to Agata Dharma, whose energy and ability to bring people together played such an important part in making the connections behind this event happen. Days like this don't come together without someone doing exactly that work behind the scenes.
What We Loved Most
We loved seeing what students could do when given the opportunity to think globally, collaborate across cultures, and turn real challenges into new ideas.
That's the whole point of Global Engagement Month, and it's the whole point of Venture UWA: put students in the room with people who see the world differently, hand them a real problem, and watch what they build.
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