Universitas Indonesia Team Wins Global Ambassador Status at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
Indonesian academia has once again achieved remarkable recognition on the international stage. The Labmino team from the University of Indonesia has been selected as one of ten Global Ambassadors at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow (SFT).
The announcement and Global Ambassador designation ceremony was held at the Smart City Lab in Milan, Italy, coinciding with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics preparations on 8–10 February 2026. This programme is an international innovation initiative that positions young talent as solvers of real-world problems using technology.
The innovation from Labmino UI team members is called RunSight—artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses designed to help people with visual disabilities run independently and safely. This wearable device utilises sensors and AI processing to read the environment in real time, providing route guidance and obstacle warnings whilst considering comfort and energy efficiency in its design.
The success of the Labmino team is not merely a competitive achievement, but concrete evidence of how campus collaboration, faculty mentorship, and support from the innovation ecosystem can produce solutions with genuine social impact.
According to media reports and official Samsung announcements, Labmino is the Indonesian delegation that has successfully broken into the Global Ambassador ranks of SFT for the first time. This also makes Indonesia one of only two countries in the Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEAO) region to achieve this distinction in 2025/2026.
This achievement demonstrates the advancement in learning quality, applied research, and the capability of Indonesian students in the technology field for social good.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology welcomed this achievement as part of its mission to strengthen impactful higher education.
“We are proud that the innovation of Indonesia’s young generation can compete at the global level. The Labmino team’s achievement shows that campus support for experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration can produce tangible benefits for society. The government will continue to encourage campus–industry partnerships and the commercialisation of innovation so that solutions like RunSight can be utilised more widely,” said Director General of Higher Education Khairul Munadi on Saturday (14 March).
The Labmino team’s journey to Milan began with the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow national selection which commenced in 2025. This proceeded through the national semifinal and final stages, before advancing to the Southeast Asia and Oceania regional selection and ultimately the Global Selection. In Milan, the SFT activities included an ambassador designation ceremony, innovative solutions exhibition, and international networking events bringing together talent, investors, and potential partners.
The Labmino team’s presence at this event opened opportunities for research collaboration, pilot projects, and access to a wider industry network. From an academic perspective, this exemplifies the implementation of a curriculum combining technical competencies (artificial intelligence, hardware, IoT) with a user-centred design approach.
“Innovations like RunSight demonstrate not only the technical capability of students, but also their concern for inclusivity and access for people with disabilities. We hope this achievement will inspire more students across various higher education institutions,” said Director of Learning and Student Affairs Benny Bandanadjadja.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology hopes this achievement will trigger more similar initiatives across other higher education institutions, where students are encouraged to innovate not merely for awards, but to address societal issues with solutions that can be replicated and accessed, thereby delivering genuine benefits for improving citizens’ wellbeing. The hopes and forward steps to create such social impact have begun today with the student team ‘Labmino’ from the University of Indonesia.