Students from the University of Rijeka’s Faculty of Engineering, alongside their colleagues from the Faculty of Maritime Studies, the Academy of Applied Arts, and students from the Salesian Classical Gymnasium and the Technical School in Rijeka, have achieved an outstanding success at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.
The Rijeka team – organized through the Association for Applied Technical Sciences (UPTZ), which made this success possible – marked its sixth appearance at this annual event organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco. The seven-day competition brings together student and research-and-development teams from around the world, all focused on sustainable, energy-efficient, and autonomous vessels.
The team competed under the name Adria Racing in the Energy Class, and as Adria Autonomous Boat in the AI Class.
Competing against 21 international teams in the Energy Class, they secured fourth place overall. However, the team achieved its top result in the AI Class by winning first place in all four disciplines:
• AI Docking
• AI Fleet
• AI Figure 8
• AI Slalom
By scoring the maximum 1,800 points, the team claimed first place among the ten competing teams.
The Faculty of Engineering was represented by Computing and Naval Architecture students: Vid Štimac, Nolan Ilisić, Marko Kozlov, Erik Percan, Bojan Ivanović, Bruno Bezjak, Tin Brletić, and Roko Stazić.
Joining them from the Faculty of Maritime Studies were Martin Mozetič, Aleksandar Banjanin, Ante Vrkić, and Lara Žigo; Ilona Suplina represented the Academy of Applied Arts, while students Maro Bratonja and Ricardo Juretić joined from the Salesian Classical Gymnasium and Technical School.
The team’s mentors were Ljubomir Pozder (head of the Association for Applied Technical Sciences), Prof. Kristijan Lenac (Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka), and industry representative Jakov Mozetič.
The students from the Faculty of Engineering involved in the autonomous vessel’s development are also active within the RAST Team (RITEH Autonomous Systems Team) – specifically its Marine Section, which focuses on autonomous marine systems – as well as the RITEH Web Team.
Congratulations to all team members and mentors on this success. This result reflects our students’ expertise, dedication, and ability to develop practical, innovative solutions that stand out on the global stage. We also thank the Association of Applied Technical Sciences (UPTZ) for providing the organizational and technical framework that gives students the opportunity to work on such demanding, interdisciplinary projects.
