Community Organizing for Student Capacity Building in Business Case Competition: The Liaison Officer’s Role in Facilitating Mentoring and Participation

Abstract

This community development article documents the organizing and facilitation work carried out during a Business Case Competition in Indonesia. Serving as a Liaison Officer (LO), the program focused on enabling student participation and capacity building through structured communication, coordinated mentoring with banking professionals (as the sponsor provider), and logistical support across a wholly online event. Methods included group mobilization via messaging platforms, scheduling and hosting twice‑weekly mentoring sessions, and stewarding competition day presentation flows. Results highlight improved student readiness, more effective mentor–team collaboration, and smooth execution of pre‑event workshops and staged rounds culminating in finalist selection. Reflections discuss challenges typical to virtual community work—responsiveness and connectivity—and the strategies used to mitigate them. The initiative demonstrates how an LO’s community organizing approach can strengthen student engagement ecosystems and contribute to talent development pathways in higher education.