AI Expert from IPB University Broadens New Postgraduate Students’ Perspectives on Smart Agriculture and Interdisciplinary Research
The Graduate School (SPs) of IPB University welcomed 670 new doctoral, master’s, and professional engineer students for the Even Semester of the 2025/2026 Academic Year through a public lecture entitled “Smart Agriculture in the Big Data Era: Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research at IPB University.”
The Acting (Plt) Dean of the Graduate School of IPB University, Prof Yusli Wardiatno, stated that the Graduate School is currently undergoing a transformation to improve the quality of academic services, in line with the policy direction of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) in encouraging an increase in the number of doctoral graduates in Indonesia.
“I hope that as students, you will have confidence, pride, and a moral responsibility in upholding the good name of IPB University,” he said at the event held at the Andi Hakim Nasution Auditorium, IPB Dramaga Campus, on (1/20).
The Rector of IPB University, Dr Alim Setiawan Slamet, also extended his welcome and congratulations to all new postgraduate students. He emphasized IPB University’s position as a globally reputable higher education institution, ranked 49th in the world according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject for Agriculture and Forestry, 10th in Asia, and first in Southeast Asia and Indonesia.
“Our commitment is to maintain quality so that our graduates are truly excellent,” said the Rector. He stressed the importance of academic integrity, innovation, and passion in pursuing postgraduate studies. According to him, future challenges are not only about finding answers, but also about formulating the right questions amid the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the growing complexity of global issues.
The public lecture was delivered by Prof Yeni Herdiyeni, Chair of the Artificial Intelligence Study Program at IPB University. In her presentation, Prof Yeni emphasized the urgency of developing smart agriculture as a response to various global challenges, including population growth, the decline in agricultural labor since 2000, and the dominance of smallholder farmers in Asia, including Indonesia.
“More than 450 million smallholder farmers worldwide, most of whom are in Asia, own less than two hectares of land. This condition is further exacerbated by high levels of food waste, reaching one third of total production due to logistical and supply chain issues,” she explained.
Nevertheless, she noted that the demographic bonus and the presence of AI technologies that can increase investment interest in the agricultural sector represent major opportunities for technology based agricultural transformation.
Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) enable more efficient agricultural management, ranging from seed selection and data driven irrigation based on soil moisture levels to plant disease control.
She also highlighted the role of big data and generative artificial intelligence in supporting agriculture, particularly for smallholder farmers. The use of language models, voice interfaces, and multimodal technologies is considered capable of assisting agricultural extension services in local languages and facilitating knowledge transfer to farmers.
“The main objective of postgraduate studies is research. Do not be afraid to step outside your field of expertise, because that is where opportunities for interdisciplinary research and new learning emerge,” Prof Yeni concluded.
