IPB University Academics Join Green Bioscience Training in South Korea

A total of 16 academics from IPB University, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) attended the 2nd KOICA-ICAB Short-Term Training Program on Advanced Convergence Research and Research Facilities in the Fields of Green Bio Sciences in South Korea (21-31/5).

The training was organised by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Seoul National University (SNU) as an implementation of the IPB-SNU Center for Agriculture and Bioscience (KOICA-ICAB) consortium. Of the total 16 training participants, 13 were IPB University academics, consisting of lecturers and education staff (tendik).

The participants were divided into three groups that were later required to make an action plan after the training. During the training, participants were given an understanding of laboratory management to produce cutting-edge green-biosciences research.

Participants were also invited to visit several research facilities and R&D industries in South Korea, such as the National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management (NICEM), Institute of Green-bio Science and Technology, Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, National Center for Forest Therapy Daegwallyeong, Korea National Arboretum and Forest Museum, Jeio Tech, Bioneer, Coxem, and Bio-Medical Science Co, Ltd.

“South Korea has become one of the major powers in Asia and even the world because it is fuelled by a good R&D industry. Korea’s total expenditure on R&D reached 106.1 billion USD, ranking fifth in the world with the largest total expenditure on R&D,” explained Dr Alfian Helmi, one of the training participants.

The total, he continued, is equivalent to five per cent of South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP), which ranks second only to Israel as the country with the largest percentage of R&D to GDP.

“Of this total expenditure, 40 per cent is invested in IT R&D, 10 per cent in biotechnology.
About 75 per cent of this R&D spending is driven by the business sector in South Korea,” he continued.

Dr Heti Mulyati, Directorate of Human Resources (HR) of IPB University who is also a participant of this training said, “This programme is very useful because it combines various learning strategies, including lectures, discussions, practical exercises, and field trips to leading bio-industrial sites in South Korea.”

She added that by aligning lectures and activities with a clear theme, participants were ensured to get relevant information to improve their skills in laboratory management and research instrumentation.

Project Leader of KOICA-ICAB, Prof Kang, expressed hope that this activity could strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and Korea. ‘I hope this is a good opportunity for all participants to understand our project and get ideas for cooperation between Indonesia and Korea’, he added.

The training was closed with the presentation of action plans from each group and the distribution of certificates by the ICAB Project Leader to all participants.

The sixteen participants who participated in this activity were:
Prof Drajat Martianto ( Chief of International Research Institute/LRI Food, Nutrition and Health)
Prof Naresworo Nugroho (Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Environment)
Dr Sofyan Sjaf (Dean of the Faculty of Human Ecology)
Dr Heti Mulyati (Director of Human Resources)
Dr Handian Purwawangsa (Director of Agromaritime Community Development)
Prof Syartinilia (Secretary of LRI Climate Change and Environment),
Dr Lukytawati Anggraini (Vice Dean of Faculty of Economics and Management)
Dr Obbie Farobie (Assistant Director of Basic and Applied Research, Directorate of Research and Innovation)
Dr Alfian Helmi (Assistant Director for Strategic Studies, Directorate of Strategic Studies and Academic Reputation)
Dr Syafitri Hidayati (Assistant for Digital Archives and Museum Management, Institute for Information Management and Digital Transformation)
Prof Irmanida Batubara (Professor, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences)
Sofyan Abdurrahman ( Vice Chief of Facilities and Resources, Research Laboratory Unit of Excellence)
Asep Syawaliansyah (Supervisor of Administrative and General Services, Research Laboratory Unit of Excellence)
Dr Silva Abraham (BRIN)
Hanif Affandi Hartanto (Directorate of Resources, Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and Technology, MoEC)
Ricka Ayu Virga Ningrum (KOICA-ICAB Secretariat). (AH/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)