A collaborative project led by students from the Faculty of Engineering and Vocational College Universitas Gadjah Mada named GELORA recently won the Most Impact Award for the 2026 Universitas 21 (U21) Real Impact on Society and Environment (RISE) Awards.
Led by Amir Fren Afrizal, Rahma Alya Nabila Damayanti, Fa’iq Al-Baihaqi, Muhammad Lathif Adani and Muhammad Zulfa Azizi, the GELORA project created an eco-friendly, portable household incinerator which uses a closed combustion system and activated carbon filtration to burn domestic waste safely without emitting harmful pollutants.
“We are honoured that GELORA has been named winner of the ‘Most Impact’ Award in the U21 RISE competition,” said Amir. “This project is a practical response to Indonesia’s growing domestic waste challenge. Our goal is clear: accessible, sustainable waste management within reach of every household.”
As winners, the students will be awarded US $2,000 in seed funding through the 2026 U21 RISE Awards to fund their project. “This recognition, and the accompanying seed funding, will help us expand the impact of our project, refine the product for durability and safety, and explore partnerships for community-scale production,” Amir added.
Aside from UGM, another three outstanding student-led projects from across the U21 network have been selected as winners in 2026 U21 RISE Awards: Most Potential Award for Potastic from University of Birmingham, Most Collaborative Award for La Raiz from UC Chile, and People’s Choice for Innovation for Craftscape HK from the University of Hong Kong. These awards intend to recognise innovative ideas that are already making a difference within their university, for people in their communities and wider society.
Selected from an impressive range of projects, the winning teams demonstrated the power of student innovation to drive meaningful change on a local and global level. Three awards were selected by an international panel of judges from across the network, while the People’s Choice for Innovation award, introduced this year, attracted more than 6,000 public votes.
Since launching in 2019, the U21 RISE Awards have showcased the ingenuity of students developing practical solutions to some of society’s most pressing global challenges. From improving healthcare access and advancing environmental sustainability to strengthening communities through social innovation, the awards help accelerate the scale and impact of student-led projects, supporting student innovation and nurturing the next generation of sustainability leaders.
U21 or Universitas 21 is a diverse, global network that brings together world-leading, research-intensive universities across six continents. As of 2026, 31 universities including UGM have joined U21 as part of an effort to nurture well-informed, highly educated, globally responsive citizens and leaders of the future.
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