BENGKALIS — Students of the Undergraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sumatera Utara (FT USU), participated in the final round of the Indonesian Ship Contest (KKI) 2026. The competition's final round took place on September 13–17, 2026, at Politeknik Negeri Bengkalis, Riau, and was attended by 129 teams from 52 higher education institutions in Indonesia.

The team consisted of Arif Maulana as manager; Anselmus Tarigan, Ruben Marpahala Siregar, and M. Vikry Prasetyo in the mechanical division; Rico Rifaldo Pransius Tarigan in the electrical division; and Callysta Aprilla Chandra and Aprita Sifa Geminastiti as videographers/editors. The team was supervised by Seniman, S.Kom., M.Kom., from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, USU.

The FT USU team participated in the Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) division, which focuses on the development of autonomous water surface vessels. Participation in this division required collaboration in mechanical design, electrical systems, operation, and activity documentation.

Participation at the national level provided students with experience in connecting Electrical Engineering learning with design, testing, problem-solving, and team coordination processes.

This activity primarily supports SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure through the development and testing of autonomous vessel technology. The strengthening of student competencies is related to SDG 4 – Quality Education, while cross-faculty supervision supports SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.

FT USU is committed to supporting students in developing engineering competencies through project-based learning and competitions. This experience is expected to serve as a foundation for strengthening innovation, testing discipline, and cross-disciplinary collaboration skills in the development of maritime technology.