Welcome back to the weekend edition of your Miscellany. Today, we bring you the story of the 2024 Indonesian Boat Contest (KKI), which was successfully held at the Surabaya PPNS State Polytechnic of Shipbuilding from October 23 to 27, 2024. A total of 101 teams, comprising more than 500 students from 45 universities across Indonesia, competed to showcase their best designs, innovations, and technologies on the prototype boats they had created.
The participants fiercely competed for the prestigious title in this national contest organized by the Indonesian Talent Development Center and the National Achievement Center of the Ministry of Education. A total of six categories were contested, including two main categories: design and prototype performance.
As the host, the polytechnic provided various supporting facilities to ensure the competition was conducted properly and transparently. This included live streaming for nearly all competition categories, making it easier for participants to monitor their respective prototypes. In his closing remarks, Acting Director-General of Vocational Education, Tatang Muttaqim, Ph.D., expressed his appreciation to the polytechnic for its excellent organization of the 2024 event, as well as to all participants for their outstanding performances. He emphasized that, as a maritime country, Indonesia prioritizes the blue economy, which is closely tied to water-based economic activities.
There are several aspects that made the 2024 Indonesian Boat Contest particularly special. First, there was an increase in the number of participating universities this year. Second, the competition underwent a rebranding, with its new name now the National Unmanned Fast Boat Contest (KKCTBN), along with the addition of a new category: Design Innovation.
At the 2024 Indonesian Boat Contest, the research team from the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) emerged as the Overall Champion, successfully bringing home four champion trophies from this year’s event.