The competition organized by Asian Institute of Low Carbon Design (AILCD) is a part of the student exchange series where Ivan participated in. The program was initiated by Kitakyushu University. “This series have many parts, including conference and workshop regarding Low Carbon. The competition is included in the series,” said Ivan.

The aim of the conference and workshop is to gather brilliant ideas from academicians in solving problems around Kitakyushu District. In line with the theme of the competition, Ivan and other team members carry Happy Sunday 7 – “A Virtual Planning Project of Sunday for the Elderly”. In the competition, Ivan and his team competed with other teams coming from various countries in Asia.

“It might sound peculiar. We actually see that pollution cannot be solved by adding more systems which will eventually add to more pollution,” explained Ivan who also acted as the team leader.

He thinks that other competing teams thought “too big” and proposed projects that demand many systems, people, and additional infrastructures. Ivan’s team, however, thought that Wakamatsu and Tobata already have low carbon emission, and see problems emerge from its low population and high percentage of elderly population.

“Therefore, we want the elders in these cities, which are energetic apparently, to be empowered without involving any complex system and additional population from outside of the city. Therefore, we are sure that the carbon emission will remain low or will even decrease,” he said.

The team believe their idea will keep population under control and lead to environmental friendly urban activities with less carbon-fueled vehicles. “The activities designed by our team are education, exercise, garden weeks, and other activities. We also designed the activity by making use of quiet town gardens to keep it preserved,” he explained. This idea, Ivan admitted, impressed the jury. They never thought this out of the box idea will be presented.

“I was initially unsure (about winning) when we see other teams who look better. But, the jury gave positive response. They think the idea is contextual, realistic, and unique,” Ivan said when asked about his optimism during the competition. To Ivan, winning is not a target. He believes there are many other important things other than obsession for winning. In the competition, he got the chance to learn from many people about regions, languages, and cultures. “My advice is, when participating in a competition, do not be so “serious”. Find amusing and creative ideas as long as it is contextual. It is a competition, a place where luck also counts,” concluded Ivan.

Reporter: Ferio Brahmana (Engineering Physics 2017)