Meet Team Sapuangin: Pioneers in Energy Efficiency
3 min read
11 years since first entering Shell Eco-marathon, Indonesia’s ITS Team Sapuangin continue to rack up successes at the competition.
Introduction to team
A 32-member group made of students from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, ITS Sapuangin strives to build energy-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles for a greener future.
What they achieved
The biggest achievement of ITS Team Sapuangin in the 2021 season was a second place in the Autonomous Programming Competition. In addition, the team ranked third in the Virtual Tech Inspection (Urban Concept) and fourth in the global Virtual League.
What inspired the team to succeed?
After receiving worldwide recognition for winning the World Championship in London in 2018, the team was determined to ride the wave of its accomplishments at Shell Eco-marathon – and ultimately, they aspire to become the best team in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region.
What is the most important thing the team learned?
As they look back at this year’s competition, ITS Team Sapuangin have learnt that hard work and sacrifice eventually pay off and often lead to great rewards.
What is the biggest challenge the team faced and how did they overcome it?
ITS Team Sapuangin saw the Autonomous Programming Competition as the toughest challenge they faced this season. While determined to do well in it, the team initially lacked some key skills needed for it and were faced with campus restrictions due to COVID-19.
That’s why they decided to seek external help and asked their University’s ITS Robotics team and MOLINA ITS, their campus Research Center for National Electric Car Project, for support. With the help and mentoring of these programming experts throughout the project, ITS Team Sapuangin reached second place in the competition.
What advice does the team have for anyone thinking about taking part?
“Shell Eco-marathon is a great opportunity for anyone who is willing to think creatively, innovate, and apply their knowledge and skills towards achieving a more sustainable future.”
