ENTHUSIASM’S OF FOREIGN STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS FROM 13 COUNTRIES IN IPB TROPICAL SEAWEED SUMMER COURSE
The Department of Aquatic Product Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), has successfully organized the Tropical Seaweed Summer Course under the theme “Diversity and Clean Processing Technology” participated by 17 graduate students and researchers from 13 countries. The master and doctoral students came from prestigious universities (Victoria University of Wellington – New Zealand, American University of Cairo – Egypt, Universiti Putra Malaysia – Malaysia, National University of Singapore – Singapore and Kasetsart University – Thailand), aside of some other post-doctoral students and researchers from the Climate Foundation of the United States, France, Norway, the University of Tasmania – Australia. There were as well seaweed practitioners from the Philippines and chambers of commerce and industry from Tanzania. Also, the present action was followed by seaweed-related policy-makers from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Republic of Indonesia and instructors of the Jakarta Fisheries State Polytechnic – Indonesia. The summer course lasted for ten days, from the 18th to the 28th of August 2018, and was launched by the Dean of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Dr. Luky Adrianto. Dr. Luky asserted that the collaboration is the platform of scientific development in IPB consisted of three aspects, namely science-to-science generating scientific publications, science-to-policy initiating policies applicable in the community and science-to-business procreating technologies utilized by industries. Indeed, IPB has successfully implemented all three aspects and managed, with its researchers, to collaborate with the seaweed-based processing industry regarding seaweed processing and management.
The invited lecturers came from various countries, namely Prof. Georg Pohnert (Jena University–Germany), Prof. Yumiko Yoshie-Stark (Toyo University–Japan), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anong Chirapart (Kasetsart University–Thailand) and numerous IPB experts including Prof. Linawati Hardjito, Prof. Joko Santoso, Dr. Eng. Uju, Dr. Wini Trilaksani, Dr. Kustiariyah Tarman, and Dr. Hawis Madduppa. The participants had received a course on the culture of seaweed seed tissue from Dr. Erina Sulistiani who is a researcher at SEAMEO BIOTROP and also had the opportunity to visit the seaweed seedling tissue culturing facility at SEAMEO BIOTROP. At the end of the summer course, the participants were enthusiastic and hoped to be part of the next summer course which is again going to be undertaken by IPB on the development of seaweed, as particularly the foreign participants wished to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-country cooperation in the future.
