Department of MSP IPB University Holds International Competition on Blue Carbon Calculator
The Department of Aquatic Resources Management (MSP), Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science (FPIK) IPB University hosted the International Competition on Blue Carbon Counting in Mangrove Ecosystem which was held in a hybrid manner at Sahira Hotel Bogor and Zoom Meeting (4/12).
This international level competition was attended by students from various universities. There were six teams that made it to the final round, namely Carbove (Bandung Institute of Technology/ITB), Mercator (ITB), Carpenter (IPB University), Capme (IPB University), Macaca (Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University/Untirta) and Computer Science UNC (Nusa Cendana University/UNC).
This international competition is part of the activities of the Merdeka Campus Competition Programme (PKKM). The MSP Department of IPB University successfully obtained a PKKM grant for 2023 from the Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) with the theme ‘Blue Carbon’.
In his speech, Prof Hefni Effendi, Chairman of the MSP Department of IPB University said that the calculation of blue carbon in the ocean has not been as well developed as the calculation of carbon footprints in terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, a foundation is needed in the form of principles about the calculation of blue carbon and its calculation formula.
“This is the background of the International Competition on Blue Carbon Calculator, which is a place for student creativity in creating blue carbon calculation products in mangrove ecosystems,” he explained.
Dean of FPIK IPB University, Prof Fredinan Yulianda also expressed his appreciation for the participation of students from various universities in this international competition in the field of blue carbon. A number of these universities include IPB University, ITB, Untirta, Gadjah Mada University, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, UNC and Diponegoro University.
“Student creativity is proof of the young generation’s concern for coastal and marine ecosystems,” he said.
In this competition, each team made a product in the form of a carbon calculator in the form of applications, websites, scripts and others. Each team followed the stages of presentation, product demo and interview. The judges were Prof Mennofatria Boer, Prof Hefni Effendi and Dr Majariana Krisanti.
“The competition is very tight and fierce because the quality of the products is very good, useful for users and has its own advantages. It’s beyond our expectations,” said one of the judges.
In addition to product quality, team cohesiveness and the ability to argue in English were also components of the assessment. All judges agreed that the students’ creation in the form of a carbon calculator has great potential to be developed into a startup engaged in carbon trading.
In the competition, Carbove Team (Information and System Technology, ITB) and Mercator Team (Informatic Engineering, ITB) won Gold and Silver Medals. While Carpenter Team (Aquatic Resources Management/MSP, IPB University) won the Bronze Medal.
The winners of three additional categories, namely Promising Team were won by Macaca Team (Fisheries Science Untirta), Encouraging Team by Capme Team (Aquatic Resources Management/MSP, IPB University) and Eagerness Team by Computer Science (Nusa Cendana University).
Currently, IPB University’s MSP S1 Study Programme has also successfully achieved ASIIN international accreditation. This international competition can accelerate the performance of the study programme, as well as motivate students to continue working and achieving in the global arena. (IAAS/RUM)
