Richard Mahuze, Pioneering Renewable Energy Startup for Papua

Richard Mahuze, Pioneering Renewable Energy Startup for Papua

Richard Mahuze, this young man from Papua is one of the Inspirational Young Papuan members. He researched renewable energy to create a start-up company in this field to advance Papua. What's the story like?
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Richard completed his Bachelor's degree in Oregon Technology and his Masters at Cornell University. Early he majored in electrical engineering at the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) because he saw an NASA astronaut inauguration event.
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"At that time astronauts were introduced to their backgrounds. One of the astronauts who was read had a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. I was very impressed and thought maybe if I also had the same degree I could also be an astronaut," he told beritabaik.id
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Richard's undergraduate education in (OIT) can occur thanks to the Papua Province OTSUS scholarship given to outstanding Papuan children through Prof. Matriculation program Yohanes Surya in 2011.
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"Studying abroad was only a dream if it wasn't for the scholarship because my family was just a simple family, my mother was a civil servant and my father worked at a non-profit foundation. With this scholarship, I felt I was given the trust and responsibility to develop Papua because I used "public money to continue S1. Therefore, I will continue to fight to apply the knowledge that I can for the future progress of Papua," he explained.
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My S2 education at Cornell University was also realized because I got an LPDP East Indonesia Scholarship (BIT) scholarship. There he learned about system engineering that would be needed in various sectors in the 4.0 industrial revolution that was happening in Indonesia. According to him he became the child of Merauke or the first Papuan child to study at an Ivy League university.
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After completing his tertiary education up to S2, Richard saw that Papua needed a sustainable solution in the electricity sector because there were so many areas in Papua that the potential could be developed if there was reliable electricity access.
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"Renewable energy in Papua and Indonesia in general will develop rapidly. This un-maximized resource will provide environmentally friendly electricity in remote places. Three times a summer break during my undergraduate, I returned to Merauke and participated in various activities. Merauke Agriculture Service, "said Richard.
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At that time he visited a number of villages in Merauke, interacted with the community, lived in the homes of the community, and observed their needs and / or obstacles.
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"This is important because I believe innovation needs to provide a solution to a problem," he said.
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Armed with firsthand experience in the field, Richard returned to America and undertook a project to build an off-grid power system with my friends there. This project is intended for Papua and we get funding from the campus to design and build proof-of-concept. This system is powered by hybrids because in Papua there are mountains, islands, windy areas, cloudy areas, and foggy areas. With Papua's natural conditions quite diverse Richard wants to build something that can be widely used.
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"One obstacle we found was choosing the right type of battery. Of course, with the rapid development of batteries today, we believe our system can continue to be developed in the future. My study at Cornell learns about consumer product design and various tools that I hope can be applied in a technology-based startup that's currently being pioneered, "explained Richard.
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Richard also joined the Inspirational Youth of Papua, a community of young Papuans who have a goal of building Papua with innovation and collaboration. He joined because he wanted to participate in the progress of Papua.
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"I realize that innovation comes from collaboration and through Inspirational Youth I can meet great people who are in action to advance Papua in their fields. Of course, all backgrounds have their respective roles. I am in the field of electrical and system engineering having a role in designing innovations. technology-based that can meet a variety of unique needs in Papua, "he said.
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He hopes that Inspirational Young Papua will continue to grow and become a center for human resource development, startups, technological innovation, arts & culture, and bringing prosperity in Papua / West Papua.