Together with her Mhaerofilter teammates, Aryanis Mutia Zahra (IPB University), Hua Yajun (Dalian University of Technology China), and Miki Tatsuma (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology), Nur R. Ayukaryana came with an idea to develop a filter made of PET plastic for use in batik waste management so that it can be sold to industries for lower price.

In accordance with the theme of this year’s Hult Prize “Building Startups That Have a Positive Impact on Our Planet with Every Dollar Earned”, their idea beat other 19 teams’ and will be submitted for regional competition, Hult Prize Regional in Japan in March 2020 as part of the competition series.

Nur R. Ayukaryana or Ayu said that her participation in the competition was initially only to use her spare time as an ITB-TUAT exchange student who would soon go back to Indonesia. “There happened to be this Hult Prize competition, and I was moved to participate and immediately formed a team,” Ayu said. Initially, she proposed her study on superconductor as the idea. However, obstructed with the right business process and expensive cost estimation, the idea was changed to management of batik waste based on Aryanis Mutia Zahra’s experience and capacity in her research on aerogel.

It turned out Mhaerofilter’s move to use the idea was right. They went on earning perfect score during the judging. “The jury consisted of 12 people. They have varying expertise, but the focus is on business. There were start-up founders and professional consultant. All jury contributed to our score, and we receive 10 out of 10,” Ayu said, happily.

This achievement was unexpected, especially because the team was pessimistic in the beginning because they had to compete with students on varying levels, fellow undergrads and post-docs. “Moreover, all our team members are engineering students, and knows business almost to nothing, and that was a business competition. So, we really did not expect anything,” added Ayu. However, the team came to the competition with full believe that their product has positive impact and gives benefit to many people, and hence they kept on doing their best.

Another challenge faced by Ayu during the competition is about how to communicate science. “As a project CEO, I was required to communicate with the team and with outside of our team,” Ayu said. This forced her to have well balanced technical and non-technical communication skill when she explained their idea. “I am grateful to possess Engineering Physics knowledge that helped me do it,” said Ayu, who is active on many scientific discussion in her campus.

With the unexpected perfect score in judging process, Ayu and her Mhaerofilter teammates championed the Hult Prize OnCampus in TUAT. “I was shaking that time when I heard we won. But this win also makes me feel like I have a new responsibility. It means we are entrusted to save our water, cultural heritage, and the future with our product,” Ayu said, firmly.

Unfortunately, Ayu cannot join her Mhaerofilter teammates to regional competition in Japan. “My exchange program has ended, so I am counted as TUAT alumni and not as a student. So, according to the rule of Hult Prize, I am not eligible to participate. Nevertheless, I will still give my contribution to the team. They will need observation data and batik industrial waste, and that will be my part of job. They will focus on finishing the aerogel filter,” concluded Ayu.

Reporter: Ferio Brahmana (Engineering Physics 2017)