ITS Rector, Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng, was awarded the Innovation Award for 2020 Curtin University Alumni Achievement Awards

ITS Campus, ITS News – Responding to the various impacts caused by the pandemic, a number of innovations and efforts were successfully spawned by Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) tin coming up with solutions. In appreciation of this, Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng, as the Rector of ITS, someone who played a very big role in organizing the business and innovation, received an Innovation Award for the 2020 Curtin University Alumni Achievement from Curtin University, Australia, Thursday (29/10).

According to this rector who is familiarly called Ashari, this annual award is an appreciation of Curtin University to the campus’ alumni who are spread all over the world. Incidentally, Ashari is also an alumnus of Curtin University. Each year, there are six award recipients based on the six categories, namely Business and Law, Humanity, Health Science, Science Engineering, Global Impact, and Innovation. “Each category has different assessment criteria,” he said.

Ashari continued that all the effort he did with ITS were innovations that had and will continue to have a huge impact. Together with the parties behind the efforts, ITS was able to fully actualize its potential in designing, producing, and distributing various related products during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, more than 170,000 face shields, 4,500 liters of hand sanitizer, 1,500 hazmat suits, and 12 units of ITS-Unair Robot Medical Assistant (RAISA) were already produced by ITS during this pandemic.

This contribution, explained Ashari, cannot be separated from the three visions of the national contribution launched by ITS, namely creating superior human resources (HR), solving impactful community challenges, and improving the welfare of society. “Back when Covid-19 entered early March, we (Indonesia, red) were not ready. There was a scarcity of masks, no face shields, especially the lack of preparedness of the medical sector. This is what moved us (ITS, red) to make this contribution,” expressed this lecturer of the ITS Electrical Engineering Department sincerely. 

Until finally, continued Ashari, a number of teams were formed to work on their respective products, such as the ITS Product Design Department (Despro) lecturers with the assignment of designing the face shield. While a number of lecturers from the ITS Chemistry Department, ITS Chemical Engineering Department, and ITS Environmental Engineering Department produced hand sanitizers. Until ITS students as well as alumni who contributed in hazmat suits, and even the researchers, the ITS robot team, and personnel of the UNAIR Medical Hospital’s effort in the RAISA robots. “Everything is a big challenge because time is short,” quoted this man who was born in Sidoarjo. 

ITS Rector, Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng, photographed together with the RAISA robot, one of ITS innovations in collaboration with UNAIR with the aim to help treat COVID-19 patients

As the Rector, Ashari mentioned that he played a role in organizing, developing, directing, and mobilizing all teams to run optimally. Thus, the potential possessed by ITS can be realized into real work that produces results. “Alhamdulillah, finally it (ITS’ contributions) can be felt by the community massively. Because if it is not mobilized, the great potential will not result in anything,” he expressed gratefully.

Regarding the Innovation Award for the 2020 Curtin University Alumni Achievement Awards, Ashari presented it to the people who were behind every contribution made under ITS during this pandemic. He hoped that in the future, ITS contributions can develop even more. “Hopefully, ITS’ actions will be more known by the public, as well as the researchers who will also come to the surface,” he concluded. (mad/ory/ITS Public Relations)