The Gadjah Mada Building and Bridge (GMBB) community team once again achieved remarkable success in the field of civil engineering competitions at the national level. This time, the Digdaya and Prancang Brotoseno teams won top prizes in the National Bridge Design Competition at the Civil Engineering Festival 2025, themed “Bridge Design and Innovation Strategies for Future Resiliency,” held by the State Polytechnic of Jakarta on Aug. 30, 2025.
In this competition, the Digdaya team, comprising Muhammad Afifuddin Noufal, Muhammad Auguzt Riansyah, and Radaeva Errisya Syam, supervised by Dr. Angga Trisna Yudhistira, won first place.
Meanwhile, the Prancang Brotoseno team, consisting of Emmanuelle Levy Haryanto, Rizki Haikal Pradana, and Aryasuta Al Mustofa, supervised by Dr. Akhmad Aminullah, secured second place.
“We (both teams) underwent a rigorous selection process, from bridge design and proposal drafting to presenting the final design, ultimately outperforming 21 other teams from universities across Indonesia,” said Noufal in an interview on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2026..
Noufal, a member of the Digdaya team, explained that from the design stage onward, tasks were divided into three parts.
This division of work, he added, mirrors how the Civil Engineering study program manages real-world projects.
“One member worked on the proposal, another focused on modeling or detailed engineering drawings, and the third handled the structural aspect, including bridge design in the Structural Analysis Program (SAP2000),” he explained.
For the competition, the Digdaya team presented the Aksa Samodra Bridge, a concept showcasing strategic innovations for future resiliency.
The bridge design features a non-prismatic profile in its arch structure with an inward inclination angle of 12 degrees, an innovation aimed at reducing structural weight to meet carbon emission reduction goals.
In addition, Noufal noted that the design process utilized Building Information Modelling (BIM) from 3D to 7D dimensions.
The Aksa Samodra Bridge is also equipped with a Structural Health Monitoring System (SHMS), optimized using the Lagrange numerical method.
The SHMS is planned to be integrated with 7D BIM through the Digdaya Bridge Health system to support future maintenance and operations.
Planned for construction in Bireuen, Aceh, the bridge also incorporates traditional Acehnese decorative motifs to preserve local wisdom.
The bridge is envisioned not only as an efficient and optimal connector but also as a symbolic link between the past, present, and future.
Regarding the choice of the name Aksa Samodra, Noufal explained that it was inspired by the competition brief, which specified Aceh Province as the location of the bridge.
The name Aksa Samodra was chosen to reflect the historical ties to the Samudera Pasai Kingdom.
“We hope that the name and the bridge’s presence will become a symbol linking Aceh’s past through its history, the present through development, and the future through sustainability,” he said.
Not to be outdone, the Prancang Brotoseno team developed the Tamiang Agam Bridge, designed to be optimum, smart, and resilient.
The bridge utilizes an orthotropic steel deck system, which effectively reduces its weight compared to conventional concrete slabs.
For the structural design, the team applied the finite element method using ABAQUS-CAE and IDEA StatiCa to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
The Tamiang Agam Bridge also uses BIM from 3D to 7D dimensions with Revit and Navisworks, and it is equipped with smart sensors integrated with a cloud-based SHMS system to provide damage data for future maintenance.
Noufal further noted that this competition had been one of their national-level targets.
The Digdaya team itself was formed prior to this event.
“In fact, Digdaya was established during a previous competition we joined, where we also won first place at the Ecive ITN Malang event. However, since it was held online, the achievement was not widely publicized,” he said.
When announced as first-place winners, Noufal expressed his pride.
That pride grew even stronger when the second-place award also went to a team from UGM within the GMBB community.
“The pride we felt was not only for Digdaya’s achievement but also for the success of our friends. Although we competed as rivals, the outcome brought shared glory to UGM. For me, this moment marks a resurgence of UGM’s strength in bridge engineering competitions, both nationally and, hopefully, internationally,” he remarked.
The innovations developed by both teams reflect their solid teamwork, strong determination, and consistency.
Their success is expected to inspire other students to continue advancing knowledge and technology, fostering innovation, and bringing pride to UGM at both national and international levels.
Author: Lintang Andwyna
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Photograph: GMBB Team