Sampoerna University Students Win 1st Place at TERANG 2026 International Projection Mapping Competition

Sampoerna University students Jocelyn Lim and Cliff Emmanuel from the Visual Communication Design program have won 1st Place at TERANG 2026, an international projection mapping competition held at George Town Town Hall, Malaysia.

Competing under the team name AKTU, Jocelyn and Cliff were selected as two of 20 finalists from more than 125 submissions from Southeast Asia and beyond. Their winning work, titled Mak Emak, brings the atmosphere of a traditional pasar to life through the story of a mother shopping for her son. Through animation, original music, and voice acting, the project creates a lively visual world where its characters and surroundings seem to move and breathe.

The project took 3.5 months to complete, including an unexpected setback when the team lost all of their working files after the first phase of submission. Instead of giving up, they rebuilt the work from scratch and continued to believe in the story they wanted to tell.

“After winning 2nd place last year, we left Georgetown hoping to return, and Mak Emak brought us back. Finishing our last student competition with a 1st place felt like God’s way of saying well done,” Jocelyn and Cliff shared.

For the team, the achievement is more than a competition win. It reflects the creative journey they experienced throughout their time at Sampoerna University, where students are encouraged to turn ideas from the classroom into real projects and compete on international platforms.

With its global curriculum, English-medium learning environment, industry exposure, and international-standard facilities, Sampoerna University gives students opportunities to develop both their technical skills and creative perspectives. The university’s NECHE institutional accreditation also reflects its commitment to internationally benchmarked academic quality.

For Jocelyn and Cliff, their journey with TERANG is a reminder that creating is as much about the process as it is about the final result. As they put it, they hope more artists and projection mapping teams will emerge from Sampoerna University “not to chase trophies, but to grow and love the process of creating.”