Research Marine Technology (RMT) Diponegoro University (Undip) Solar Boat Team has recorded achievements in an international competition, the 2023 Monaco Energy Boat Challenge. The team representing Indonesia proudly won the Special Prize: Upcycling for the Ocean held by the Yacht Club de Monaco on July 3-8, 2023, in Monaco. This glorious achievement brought pride to Indonesia on behalf of Diponegoro University (Undip) because RMT Undip successfully competed with 50 teams from 31 universities and 25 countries.
RMT Undip, Indonesia’s representative in the Solar Boat category, is a team of students from various faculties at Undip who are united in the same spirit to contribute renewable solutions in the maritime field, chaired by Rico Ade Putra (Naval Engineering).
RMT Undip is an Undip-level research team directly guided by Prof. Budi Setiyono, S.Sos., M.Pol.Admin., Ph.D. In this competition, RMT Undip succeeded in demonstrating their technological and research excellence with an innovative solar boat, which combines the upcycling principle of using mask waste which is recycled in such a way as to become a mixed material for the hull of the DIPONEGORO 1.0 solar boat. The RMT Undip team integrated this technology into their ship design, proving that waste can be turned into valuable items.
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Undip, Prof. Ir. Mochamad Agung Wibowo, M.M., M.Sc., Ph.D., would like to thank all those who have contributed to the 2023 Monaco Energy Boat Challenge International competition and admit that he was proud of the achievements of the RMT Undip team.
“We would like to thank the University, alumni, lecturers, and partners who have jointly contributed their thoughts, energy, facilities, and infrastructure to help these young students to do the training and participate in the competition,” said Prof. Agung.
The achievement of the RMT Undip team is extraordinary and is the success of the research initiated several years earlier. “RMT Undip is something extraordinary for us. This achievement can inform the public that Undip also has Naval Engineering Study Program. This success also came from research carried out by the senior students and continued again,” added Prof. Agung.
Rico Ade Putra, the Head of RMT Undip, was very proud of this achievement and stated that his team’s dedication and hard work had produced extraordinary results. He also thanked all parties, both sponsors and Diponegoro University, who had provided full support in preparing for this competition, including workshop facilities which played an essential role in developing this solar boat.
“There are so many people who appreciate what we do. When I presented it, many people were amazed by what we did. During the awarding night, there was even a special session about what we have done and our team’s plans for the future. Many teams from other universities such as Cambridge University, TU Delf, Twente University, and the University of Bologna personally came to us to express how amazed they were and did not expect us to be able to bring the innovation utilizing mask waste,” said Rico Ade Putra.
RMT Undip is committed to conducting ongoing research to produce better results and compete with teams from developed countries worldwide, especially in the Solar Boat field. This technology can be applied to create innovative and sustainable solutions in a zero-emission-based industrial world.
