Three students of the Faculty of Engineering USU, namely Muhammad Rafli Arrayan from the Undergraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, as well as Shintia Florensia Silaban and Hikmatul Ushwa Dalimunthe from the Undergraduate Program in Chemical Engineering, accompanied by their supervisor, Prof. Dr. Ir. Renita Manurung, M.T., IPM., ASEAN Eng., participated in the 12th UTU Awards International, held on September 21–23, 2026, in Meulaboh, West Aceh, Aceh Province.

At the event, the FT USU students won 3rd Place in the Business Plan category with the title “ARTUGUARD: Eco-Friendly Protective Packaging From Sugar Palm Frond Waste With Clove Leaves Extract For Sustainable E-Commerce Solutions”. The competition received 230 proposals from 78 higher education institutions and five countries, namely Malaysia, Kenya, Taiwan, Rwanda, and Indonesia. This achievement demonstrates the participation of FT USU students in a competitive forum that brings together various business ideas and innovations from national and international higher education institutions.

The competition experience can serve as a means of strengthening students' abilities to formulate ideas, present solutions, and develop an orientation toward innovation and entrepreneurship.

This activity primarily supports SDG 4 – Quality Education through the development of student competencies through competition-based learning. SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth is relevant through strengthening entrepreneurship insights, while SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure is related to the development of ideas, research, and innovation.

FT USU continues to encourage students to develop their academic and non-academic competencies through participation in competitive forums at the national and international levels.