IPB Expands Partnership to Slovakia
Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) has done series of agreements with Educational Institution and Research Center in its first visit to Slovakia. In June 29th, 2018, IPB Rector, Dr. Arif Satria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Slovak University of Agriculture (SUA) Rector, Prof. Peter Bielik, in Nitra, and with Slovak Academy of Science (SAS) Rector, Prof. Pavol Sajgalik, in Bratislava. SUA is the only university in Slovakia that specializes in agriculture and has a very modern and exhaustive research center facility. While SAS is the primary research body of Slovakian government. Its research areas are living organism-related (life, chemical, medical, and environmental science), non-living organism-related (physical, earth and space, and engineering sciences), and social sciences and humanities.
Aside from that, a meeting with National Agriculture and Food Center (NAFC) also took place in Bratislava. NAFC is also an official research body of Slowakian government, but it specializes in technology and innovation development in food quality and safety, increasing production of agriculture and livestock, the agricultural impact to the environment, and agricultural and food-related research application for the public.
The agreements and meetings were the series of IPB Rector visit to various university partners in Europe to develop a partnership in education, research, and science. Furthermore, it also served a purpose of developing tropical and laboratory wheat seed, so Indonesia's export product can match international standard.
Republic of Indonesia (RI) Ambassador for Slovakia, H.E. Adiyatwidi Adiwoso, welcomed IPB first visit that achieved numerous agreements with partners in Slovakia. It was also emphasized that those agreements must be realized. "The Republic of Indonesia Embassy (KBRI) will always help the development of partnership among educational institutions because it is one of the mandates of Nine Priorities of Partnership of Indonesia and Slovakia."
Dr. Arif Satria conveyed that partnerships with educational institutions in Slovakia were the first time for IPB with the area of Central and East Europe. He said IPB saw the opportunity to develop a partnership in researcher/scholar exchange, joint research/seminar/publication. "The issues that were agreed upon were not just agricultural-related, but it also catered biomedical research and social research that was related to the sustainable environment." (Ard)
