A student team from Kraków has won the inaugural Kraków Solar Boat Challenge, an international competition in which teams raced solar-powered boats on the city’s Bagry Reservoir.
The AGH Solar Boat Team, representing AGH University of Science and Technology, finished first in the overall standings after three days of competition.
The host team was followed by the KSTO KORAB GT Solar Boat Team, an interdisciplinary student team from Gdańsk University of Technology. Hungary’s BME Solar Boat Team, representing the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, finished third, while the Pannon Solar Boat Team from the University of Pannonia took fourth place.
The teams competed in four events testing different aspects of their boats: Speed, a maximum-speed test; Endurance, an endurance race; Slalom, testing precision and manoeuvrability; and Match Race, a direct boat-versus-boat contest.
The competition was organised by the AGH Solar Boat Student Research Club at AGH University of Science and Technology.
Barbara Hajduk, a representative of the club, said the competition gave students an opportunity to present their own designs and demonstrate technologies based on renewable energy sources.
According to Hajduk, the Kraków Solar Boat Challenge is the first competition of its kind in Poland. The event aims to promote innovative technologies and practical engineering education while encouraging the development of zero-emission water transport. (PAP)
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