Muhammad Fikri Ilhamdi, a student of the Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering Science, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sumatera Utara, successfully became one of the finalists in the Competition for Literature Excellence and Vigorous Review (CLEVER) 2026 organized by the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang. The final round was held on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro.

CLEVER 2026 is a competition that emphasizes participants' ability to conduct literature reviews critically and systematically. In the final round, Muhammad Fikri Ilhamdi represented Universitas Sumatera Utara alongside finalists from various higher education institutions in Indonesia, including Universitas Diponegoro, Universitas Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Telkom University, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, and several other higher education institutions. According to the list of participants determined by the committee, 15 teams advanced to the final round.

This participation is also in line with the development direction of the Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering Science at FT USU, which encourages research on resilient, smart, and sustainable infrastructure. The ability to conduct strong scientific reviews is an important part of producing doctoral research that not only makes an academic contribution but is also relevant to development needs.

In the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), scientific activities such as CLEVER 2026 are particularly related to SDG 4, Quality Education, through strengthening academic capacity and research culture in higher education. Within the field of civil engineering, the development of evidence-based studies can also support SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, particularly in producing knowledge and innovation for more sustainable infrastructure development. In addition, the exchange of ideas among students from various higher education institutions provides opportunities for academic collaboration relevant to SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals.

Reaching the final round of CLEVER 2026 is a positive achievement for students of the Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering Science at FT USU while also expanding the study program's participation in national-level scientific forums. This experience is expected to strengthen the academic culture, improve the quality of literature reviews and research conducted by doctoral students, and encourage the contribution of Civil Engineering at USU to sustainable development in Indonesia.