IPB and CIFOR Signed MoU for the Renewal of Forestry Program Cooperation
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB Bogor Agricultural University) has been cooperating since 1997. Such scientific cooperation has contributed to in science and technology developments in Indonesia. IPB and CIFOR is in the process for the renewal of the existed agreement for bilateral cooperation between the two institutions up to November 2021.
The successful ongoing collaboration between CIFOR and IPB will provide abreast knowledge opportunities on forestry for Indonesia through faculty exchange program and research partnership between those institutions. In particular, they have shared current information on forest and its related fields, especially on landscape and sustainable forest management.
Accordingly, CIFOR's Director General, Dr. Peter Holgrem, and Rector of IPB, Prof. Dr. Herry Suhardiyanto, signed a memorandum of understanding for the renewal of the cooperation program on 17 February 2017, at the IPB Campus, Bogor.
Rector stated that IPB as a research university with 21 research centers has research agenda that focuses on food, energy, environment, poverty alleviation, and biomedicine. This year, IPB achieves the Top 100 on QS World University Ranking for the subject of Agriculture and Forestry based on Top QS World University Rankings By Subject 2016.
Furthermore, rector said that forestry has become important elements for the development of Indonesia especially for economic and environmental governance, community livelihoods, biodiversity, ecosystems and forest-based industries. The agreement will also address challenges on forest sustainability with respect to ethics and governance, productivity and conservation, consumers and the market, social and local partnerships, for global sustainable development.
According to rector, understanding science from the perspective of the sociology of scientific knowledge: “Collaborative Research” as an umbrella term for methodologies that actively engage communities and policy makers in the research process from start to finish. It is engaged scholarship in action, in which Bogor Agricultural university researchers, community members, and policy makers respect the knowledge that each partner brings to the discussion so that together they might know better how to understand the complex problems facing our communities and how to design and implement research-based responses to those problems. In this respect, the joint activities are expected to provide knowledge and to support the policy agenda of national development priorities recently, such as restoration, community forestry, renewable energy, and rural development.
"Regardless of the collaborative work we signed, we appreciate highly if CIFOR researchers will involve in the teaching program and supervize graduate students of IPB to finalize their degree programs. We’ll also admitting international students doing their research and internships program at CIFOR as IPB International Students, "said the rector. (Wied)
