A heroic moment of environmental protection in the 2015 National Defense Self-
made Raft Competition: Mr. Wilson from Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology won the third place

【The team from Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology—Mr. Wilson—participated in the 2015 National Defense Self-made Raft Competition: the team members received their prize】

The team "Mr. Wilson," formed by the Mechanical Engineering Students Society, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, won the third prize in the 2015 National Defense Self-made Raft Competition organized by the Kaohsiung City Government. The purpose of the competition was to commemorate the victory in war against Japan as well as the recovery of Taiwan for its 70 anniversary. The concept design was to create a vessel that shall be resistant to the ocean waves, while the materials had to be environmentally-friendly. Mr. Wilson designed the hull with PP corrugated board in red, blue, white, creating a dove to be the symbol of peace and a ROC flag to represent the country.

【The team from Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology—Mr. Wilson—presented their prize in the 2015 National Defense Self-made Raft Competition】

"Mr. Wilson" was formed by the student society of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and directed by Professor Rui-Yang Shaw. They drew their idea from the movie "Cast Away," where the protagonist survived the crash of his freighter and kept a “Wilson” volleyball as his only companion on a desert island. The team designed the hull through multiple consideration of environmental protection, such as adopting good stability catamaran hull to fix the ship skeleton and kitchen waste bucket together, using four bamboo poles, camping rope and a national flag to create the shape of the entire ship, and employing the abandoned volleyball, bag paper, painted handprints and white and black tape and branches to creating an icon for their never-give-up spirit.

【The team Mr. Wilson of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology practiced rowing in Anping】

Against the extraordinary strength of the players of each team in the competition, "Mr. Wilson" shows their power in finishing the trip in 1 minute 32 seconds, winning third place. In the competition, team members personally involved in the process from zero to hero and developed problem-solving skills and great teamwork.

【The finished work by the team “Mr. Wilson” of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology】