IPB University Hosted The International Symposium on Establishing the 2023 Coffee Consortium
IPB University through the Directorate of Research and Innovation (DRI) held an International Symposium for the Formation of a Coffee Consortium at the IPB International Convention Center (IICC), Bogor (5/6). This event was a form of collaboration between the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemdikbudristek), University of California-Davis (UC Davis), United States of America and seven Indonesian state universities (IPB University, Gadjah Mada University, Syiah Kuala University, University of Jember, University of Lampung, Hasanuddin University and Brawijaya University).
In his remarks, Director of Research, Technology and Community Service, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof Faiz Syuaib said, UC Davis is one of the top ranked universities in the world, especially in the fields of agriculture and forestry. According to him, this meeting was an opportunity for the seven Indonesian tertiary institutions to collaborate with UC Davis.
“This is a great opportunity and I hope that UC Davis will collaborate and engage with several universities in Indonesia, especially starting with building a coffee center. We have many research profiles in the coffee field, so we summoned several universities in Indonesia to consolidate deepening sustainable coffee research,” he said.
Prof Faiz said that majority of the researches undertaken in the seven affiliated universities is in the fields of agriculture and foods.
“We have IPB University which focuses on Agriculture and Bioscience. Gadjah Mada University with the development of Wildlife Friendly Coffee. The University of Jember whose area has a long history in the field of coffee and has the largest Coffee Research Center there,” he said.
He continued, Syiah Kuala University, Aceh with the famous Gayo coffee producing center. Hasanuddin University is famous for its Toraja coffee. The University of Lampung, whose area is the largest center for producing Robusta coffee. And, Brawijaya University which develops the biodiversity of the coffee landscape.
Meanwhile, the Rector of IPB University, Prof Arif Satria expressed his gratefulness for being the host of the International Symposium on the Formation of the International Coffee Consortium. He said research related to coffee at IPB University had been going on for a long time, covering broad thematic research fields, such as cultivation, agroforestry, chemical processing, sensory technology, non-destructive testing, socio-economic supply chains as well as business and innovations.
“We hope that this international symposium can facilitate a forum for exchanging ideas and knowledge about the latest coffee research and innovation results, including formulating research agendas and strategies to develop effective outreach between academia, society and industry,” he said.
The symposium also invited representatives from UC Davis, namely Prof Tonya Kuhl, Prof Bill Ristenpart and Dr Irwin R Donis-Gonzalez. The UC Davis researchers have been involved in coffee research from upstream to downstream. (dr/Rz) (IAAS/SHY)
