Bangladesh’s Bored Tunnelers ranks in the top three in Elon Musk’s Not-a-Boring Competition

Team Bored Tunnelers from Bangladesh became the first ever Asian team to rank in the top three in Elon Musk's "Not-a-Boring Competition" this year, and have won the "Rookie Award". 

The team was initially started by two visionaries namely Shaikh Mohammad Shithil and M Shahriar Iqbal. From two to twenty, the team has brought together more members along the way forming a cross-institutional team of students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET), Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST), BRAC University, and Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). 

After successfully making it through two online rounds involving the technical documentation, design, simulation, and testing submissions, the team flew to the Boring Company Headquarters in Texas on March 23 for the competition finals.

Day one of the finals involved a "Mining Readiness Review" presentation which carried details of the team's preparedness to go down the field and test their rig. The team then received a tour of the facilities inside The Boring Company putting an end to day two which was followed by a more exciting day three – the field test day. It started with the team doing a thorough safety check on their systems. The overall competition score was calculated based on the time needed to complete the tunnel, provide a driving surface, and have the most accurate navigation system.

The team remains grateful to their manufacturing partner Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (BITAC) for providing them with a dedicated lab with cutting-edge technology. They also thank their tech sponsor GIGABYTE AORUS and silver sponsor Super Star Group (SSG). Bored Tunnelers also expressed their gratitude to their advisors Salman Promon, Graduate Teaching and Research Fellow, University of Houston, Md Mamunur Rashid, Executive Engineer, BITAC, and Md Ashrafuzzaman, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration. The team also expressed heartfelt gratitude to their parents for all the support throughout the project and competition. 

Fatima Ashraf is a Campus Ambassador for The Daily Star from the Military Institute of Science & Technology (MIST).