Their extraordinary experience in the competition provided valuable lessons that could inspire other Civil Engineering students, particularly those currently in their fourth and sixth semesters.

The team competed against 21 other teams from six countries, including Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, Thailand, and host country Vietnam. One of their most notable achievements was successfully constructing a bridge that could withstand a load of up to 350 kg without collapsing, surpassing teams from prestigious universities such as Gifu University and Yokohama National University.

Maxvallecia Frikandy, one of the team members, shared insights into the challenges they faced during the competition, which took place from August 26 to 29, 2024.
“The biggest challenge was aligning our bridge design with the highly detailed regulations, particularly regarding deflection and weight. Additionally, sourcing high-quality rigid steel materials and coordinating logistics for shipping to Vietnam required extra effort,” Maxvallecia said, as quoted from ft.uns.ac.id on Friday (17/1/2025).

Despite the challenges, they were proud to represent UNS on the international stage, thanks to the unwavering support of their team and mentor. Their success was the result of meticulous preparation conducted well in advance of the competition. Starting with an initial design using software like SAP2000 to predict deflection and structural strength, the team overcame limited access to specialized laboratories by transforming a local workshop into a “mini-lab” for regular testing. “Every weekend, we refined our design until we were confident it was ready for the competition,” Maxvallecia added.

Their standout strategy was optimizing the bridge’s strength with lightweight rigid steel, supported by machine learning analysis and studies of competitors’ designs. Effective time management was another key factor in their success. They divided tasks and held regular meetings to ensure everything progressed as planned. Open communication and teamwork free of conflict helped them perform cohesively as a solid unit.

Guidance and Support from Supervisor

Dr. Eng. Ir. Halwan Alfisa Saifullah, S.T., M.T., played a crucial role as the team’s mentor, providing technical and mental guidance. Strong collaboration among team members, with clearly defined roles, fostered a synergy that carried them through the judging stage. The Asia Bridge Competition taught valuable lessons in hard work, collaboration, and innovation.

This competition also highlighted that civil engineering goes beyond design and construction. It is also about innovation and creating impactful solutions. For fourth- and sixth-semester students aspiring to follow in their footsteps, the team recommended mastering software such as SAP2000, Revit, and ETABS, and understanding Building Information Modeling (BIM) concepts.

International competitions like the Asia Bridge Competition offer significant opportunities to enhance portfolios, expand professional networks, and prepare for future careers. The UNS FT team hopes their experience will inspire the next generation to continue bringing pride to the university on the global stage through innovative achievements.

HUMAS UNS

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The Civilweek International Seminar was organized by the Civil Engineering students of the Faculty of Engineering (FT) at UNS, under the Civil Engineering Student Association (HMS). Opening the event, Prof. Dr. Ir. Eko Surojo, S.T., M.T., Vice Dean for Academics and Research of FT UNS, emphasized that urban public transportation has become a critical element in driving economic growth and improving the quality of life in rapidly urbanizing areas. He noted that public transportation not only facilitates mobility but also serves as a key driver for inclusive and sustainable economic development.

The seminar featured prominent national and international experts as speakers. The discussions were moderated by Prof. Ir. Ary Setyawan, M.Sc., Ph.D., a faculty member at FT UNS, and the Director of UNS’s Directorate of Information and Communication Technology. Key speakers included Prof. Akimasa Fujiwara, President of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS); Tory Damantoro, B.A.Sc., MPMM., M.Sc., Chairperson of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI); and Ir. Budi Yulianto, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., a Civil Engineering lecturer at UNS.

Seminar participants engaged in the discussion in person and online via Zoom Cloud Meeting. During his presentation, Prof. Akimasa Fujiwara highlighted the cultural phenomenon of commuting amidst traffic congestion. He explained how the development of railway facilities in suburban areas enables low-income communities to access urban centers more easily. The growth of a city often integrates intermodal transit facilities and transit zones, with areas surrounding transit points becoming prime locations for urban development. This is closely tied to the enhanced accessibility provided by transit facilities in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas.

“In this phenomenon, TOD leads to the development of new cities along railway lines. The culture of commuting from the suburbs to the city center has deeply rooted itself,” Prof. Akimasa Fujiwara said.

The progress of the times has driven the evolution of TOD into Mobility-Oriented Development (MOD). Prof. Akimasa Fujiwara explained that this is an innovative urban development approach for the new mobility era, advancing 20th-century TOD by utilizing new mobility services, such as coordinated and integrated transportation solutions.

“MOD aims to manage urban areas that adapt to fluctuating demands through a ‘system-of-systems’ platform that is more focused on the population. This includes the implementation of infrastructure systems such as data-community-facility integration and public-private partnerships for applications,” he added.

In his session, Tory Damantoro discussed the topic “Public Transport and Urban Economy in Indonesia.” This material served as a comparison to the findings presented by Prof. Akimasa Fujiwara from Japan. The presence of MTI (Indonesian Transportation Society) has become a think tank for the development of sustainable transportation in Indonesia. MTI has become a key partner of the government and stakeholders in the formulation, implementation, and dialogue of transportation policies based on research. They also play a leading role in public awareness campaigns on this matter.

“MTI involves transportation professionals to address Indonesia’s transportation challenges sustainably through research, policy dialogue, and public awareness campaigns, both at the national and international levels,” Tory said.

Representing MTI, Tory delivered recommendations on enhancing the role of public transportation in urban economies. Affordable, accessible, and integrated public transport would reduce transportation costs and increase household spending for more productive investments. Efficient public transport reduces the need for new road construction or parking facilities, creating more space for investment in other sectors, thus lowering the Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR). Improved access to transportation enhances labor productivity and supports economic growth in urban areas.

As the final speaker, Ir. Budi Yulianto, an academic, emphasized that transportation in urban areas is a vital sector for supporting population mobility and economic activities. The challenges in the transportation sector, particularly in Indonesia, include transportation management systems and space for transportation infrastructure. Both of these aspects are crucial in creating an effective system.

Following the seminar, the winners of various competitions held during Civilweek UNS 2024 were announced. These included categories such as the Bridge Modeling Competition, Building Design Competition, National Geotechnics Competition, National Tender Competition, International Concrete Competition, and National Paper Competition, concluding the week-long celebration of engineering excellence and innovation. Humas UNS

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“We designed a housing complex with three superior concepts, smart, innovative, and friendly. Smart in this design refers to the implementation of the skylight and automatic remote-controlled bathroom lights that can minimize electricity usage. We also designed a flood-resistant housing, with biopore and rooftop drainage cells integrated to a harvest rain mechanism, to minimize flood likelihood,” explained Ramadhan Widy as the Team leader, Monday (6/6/2022).

Ramadhan Widy, who also known as Rama, added that this housing model is built using selected materials to make the prospective residents feel very safe and comfortable when staying in the house. Through this building model, the team succeeded in surpassing other contending teams from universities all across Indonesia. “In this competition, our team is tasked to create a housing design based on certain existing problems. We also calculated the construction budget and created an animation model to attract people to the model. After the selection process, five finalists were selected to go on final stage presentation,” he added.

The team did not expect the outcome when announced as the winner of the competition. “On the announcement, we were surprised and thankful, since all of our hard work for preparing for this competition has paid off with glorious achievement. Hopefully, our housing design can inspire people who wish to build their dream house and to further motivate us in our studies as well as all UNS fellow students to keep on trying and not give up. Never let your fear stop you from participating in a competition,” concluded Rama. Humas UNS

Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
 

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Yuan Efano Sofyan, Adam’s colleague, also pointed out that the outcome of this project will be the village masterplan design. The design provides the public facilities needed by the village residents.

After the presentation held in February 2022, the project was continued by the students of the Civil Engineering Study Program. Their role involves the calculation of the building structures. This student collaboration, according to Yuan, is very helpful in calculating the stadium structure and the multi-purpose buildings that were previously designed by the Architectural students. “Previously, there was an idea to collaborate the Architectural with Civil Engineering students. That is to measure the stadium structure and the multi-purpose buildings we designed. Hence, we can know whether the design can be implemented or not. That’s how it goes,” Yuan explained.

There are numerous expectations for this MBKM project. The design that has been made is expected to be useful for many parties. UNS students can also gain hands-on experience to apply their knowledge. The students reveal that they are happy if the designs that have been made can be realized in the future.

In addition, according to Adam, scientific collaborations can also be applied to other projects. Indeed, it must be applied in an effective and efficient way in order to get quality results.

“This MBKM program is highly helpful. The problem is that Architectural engineering needs more experience, such as a presentation in front of lecturers is different from a presentation made in front of public agencies. It feels very different. So there is the experience (through this project),” Yuan said. Humas UNS

Reporter: Rangga Pangestu Adji
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

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Civil Arch was developed based on Rafi’s interest to start a consultancy business for architecture and civil engineering services. The idea was prepared on April 2021 and was submitted to UNS Innovation Hub Semesta by Rafi’s group that consisted of students from a diverse educational backgrounds such as engineering, developer, and business management. The idea aims to answer the issue regarding the lack of community knowledge concerning architectural and construction designs. “Mostly will ask their acquaintances, while others are searching in the internet or social media. While the architects have difficulty to find clients,” Rafi explained to uns.ac.id team on Saturday (29/1/2022).

The most challenging part of Civil Arch development is connecting the idea, problem solution, and creative developments for the generated idea. The marketplace form of their startup also poses another challenge for the team to retain their customers. Thus, idea validation becomes vital in the whole process. Therefore, the team did their best to obtain information from their target consumers and users.

The hard works of its founders secured significant funding for Civil Arch. The proposal secured IDR 20,000,000 funding from UNS Innovation Hub and IDR 100,000,000 funding from Achmad Zaky Foundation. Securing funding from the latter foundation was not an easy task. The team was required to have a pitching session with the Director of Achmad Zaky Foundation and solve problems and provide the best solutions before being announced as one of 30 funded startups out of 3,000 applicants.

However, their struggle did not stop there. After being selected as best 30, the team went through a mentoring session with Patamar Capital, venture capital for mass-market firms in the Southeast Asia region, between August-December 2021. During the mentoring, the team was provided with IDR 5,000,000 funds to develop a minimum viable product that brought them to win the final funding from Achmad Zaky Foundation.

Civil Arch, in a way, is a manifestation of Rafi’s way of life to benefit the community. “Hopefully, our presence (in the community) benefits others,” he concluded. Humas UNS

Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

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