UMS Student’s Work Voted Favorite at NEO 2025

A student of the Physiotherapy Departement at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), Selvi Restiyani achieved national recognition after making it into the National Top 50 and receiving the Favorite Work title at the 2025 National Essay Olympiad (NEO). The competition was organized by the Indonesian Youth Inventors Forum (IYIF) and held online from early June to mid-July 2025.

NEO is a national essay competition that challenges students to develop written ideas that are applicable and capable of offering solutions to national issues. This year’s competition categories were based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Selvi chose to focus on Goal 4: Quality Education, with an emphasis on environmental education from an early age.

“My essay is titled ‘ECOLEARN: Nature-Based Educational Innovation to Increase Environmental Awareness in Children from an Early Age,’” explained Selvi during an interview on Saturday (2/8/2025).

In her essay, she proposed an educational approach based on nature, technology, and community that is fun and easy to implement for children aged 7–12.

The awards given in this competition ranged from national champions (1st–3rd place), best paper, top 10, and top 50 national, with additional honors such as favorite work. Selvi noted that participants came from junior high schools, senior high schools, and universities, both public and private, across Indonesia.

The competition process was conducted entirely online. Selected entries were added to a special group, and the results were announced through NEO’s official social media channels and sent via email to each participant.

Selvi said her interest in joining the competition emerged after attending the Festival Pelajar Unggulan 2 at the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), National Library (Perpusnas), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) in November last year.

“I met many inspiring figures and felt encouraged to contribute through meaningful work,” she shared.

Her essay was selected as the Favorite Work based on the jury’s assessment, not through a voting system. The contextual approach, issue relevance, and spirit of cross-sector collaboration in her essay were the strong points that caught the judges' attention.

She acknowledged that the main challenge in joining the competition was structuring her ideas scientifically and systematically within a limited timeframe. However, her drive to create change kept her going. She aims to introduce an educational approach that is not only theoretical but also touches the hearts and behavior of children.

Selvi Restiyani guiding children from YPAC (Yayasan Pembinaan Anak Cacat) Surakarta in making jumputan batik. 

The inspiration for writing her essay also came from her volunteer experience in various children's activities, including at foundations for people with disabilities, orphanages, and community service programs. She understands the importance of early promotive approaches in shaping environmentally conscious children.

This work is intended for children, teachers, parents, and policymakers in environmental education. Selvi hopes her idea will transform how children learn, making it more exploratory and meaningful, and help foster a generation that loves the Earth.

In response to her achievement, Selvi expressed gratitude and a renewed spirit to go further. She is currently planning to develop EcoLearn into an educational board game and a community-based platform that can be widely implemented in schools.

“This platform will give space for young people to voice solutions to national issues. I want to turn awareness into real action,” she concluded.

Writer: Yusuf Ismail

Editor: Maysali Sudarwati

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid