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09 1Dr. Tibertius A. Prayitno, Professor of Wood Science and Technology at the Faculty of Forestry of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Indonesia visited the Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA) in Japan from 20 February - 1 March 2011. Dr. Prayitno as a recipient of a Faculty Exchange Program grant by the Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Dr. Prayitno's program of visit included meetings with the academic staff of the host university, a visit to Shizuoka University, the Tokyo Board Industries plant and Hakone to visit the giant Japanese Sugi trees, the conduct of a seminar on Indonesian Bamboo Technology and exploring opportunities for possible collaboration between UGM and their institution.
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On 21 February 2011, Dr. Prayitno made a courtesy call on TUA President, Prof. Dr. Kanju Ohsawa. He also met with Prof. Akimi Fujimoto, TUA representative to the University Consortium and TUA Consortium Coordinator, and Dr. Hiroya Ohbayashi, Associate Professor from the Laboratory of Wood Science and Technology.
Highlights of the visit
At Hakone, Prof. Jun Kobayashi, head of the TUA Laboratory of Wood Science and Technology talked about the distribution of forests in Japan, from the lowlands of Tokyo to the highlands of Hakone. Prof. Kobayashi also discussed the conservation efforts they have undertaken to preserve the giant Japanese Sugi trees.
09 4Dr. Prayitno noted that despite the fact that these trees were growing in close proximity to commercial areas like Hakone, the Japanese people were able protect their existence, some of which are already over 300 years old.
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During the visit to the Tokyo Board Industries, a particleboard plant in Tokyo, officials from the Tokyo Board discussed how they processed wood waste from Tokyo. Particleboards are wood products made of small chips of timber, lumber and wood. Dr. Prayitno was most interested in the plant's wood waste processing and was inspired by the plant's efforts to reuse wood waste. He also shared that in Yogyakarta, the collected wood waste is just thrown away or burnt for energy.
09 7At Shizuoka University, Dr. Prayitno met with Dr. Suzuki and some of the university's graduate students. He was given an orientation of the latest technologies employed by the university in forestry research as well as recent forest product innovations.
As a requirement of this faculty exchange program, Dr. Prayitno delivered a seminar on Indonesian Bamboo Technology. Prof. Kobayashi, Dr. Ohbayashi, junior faculty and graduate students in Forestry Science attended the said seminar.
Dr. Ohbayashi discussed the graduate study in Forest Science program with Dr. Prayitno, including the procedure in case UGM students would be interested in pursuing their doctoral program in TUA.
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12Prof. Orachos Napasintuwong Artachinda of the Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University (KU), Thailand and awardee of the Faculty Exchange Program grant of the University Consortium (UC) visited the Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Indonesia in order to explore opportunities for possible collaboration between KU and IPB. Prof. Artachinda met with the Head of International Programs, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, and the Head of Postgraduate Programs in Economics to discuss matters regarding the University Consortium.
Areas for possible collaboration between the two universities include the organization of seminar visits from the students and staff of the IPB to the Faculty of Economics in KU and continuation of graduate programs of IPB students in the international graduate programs at KU. Both institutions will look into tapping funds from scholarship donor agencies and in improving research collaboration and student exchange program via existing programs such as European Academic Mobility Network with Asia and M-I-T Student Mobility Program between Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai institutions.
In fulfillment of the requirements of the faculty exchange program, Prof. Artachinda conducted a lecture on “The Economics of Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries” and a special lecture on “Induced Innovation Theory and Technological Change”. Aside from conducting lectures, she also visited the University Farm and the Surfactant and Bioenergy Research Center of IPB.
(Anne Victoria L. Alcala with report from Dr. Orachos Artachinda)
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31 1Dr. Masyhuri, professor of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, and University consortium (UC) coordinator of the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia, visited the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) from 23 April to 2 May 2011 through a Faculty Exchange Program (FEP) grant from the UC. Dr. Masyhuri completed his Straight PhD Program in Agricultural Economics in 1988 at UPLB. Aside from being a professor, Dr. Masyhuri is also the director of the Center for World Trade Studies of UGM.
The visit of Dr. Masyhuri under the UC FEP was highlighted by his being the guest speaker at the UPLB Graduate School (UPLB-GS) Hooding Ceremonies held on 25 April 2011 upon the invitation of Dr. Oscar B. Zamora, Dean of UPLB GS.
Highlights of the visit
31 2During the 10-day visit, Dr. Masyhuri met with the following officials: Dean Zamora and Dr. Cristeta Cuaresma, Secretary of the UPLB GS; Dr. Flordeliza Lantican, Dean of the College of Economics and Management (CEM) and former co-adviser; Dr. Jose Camacho, CEM Associate Dean; Dr. Prudenciano Gordoncillo, Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics; Dr. Amelia L. Bello, Chair of the Department of Economics; Dr. Reynaldo Tan, Chair of the Department of Agribusiness Management; and Dr. Isabelita Pabuayon, director of the Institute of Cooperatives and Bio-Enterprise Development (ICOPED).
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Dr. Masyhuri also met with the following officials to discuss possible areas for collaboration: Dr. Francisco F. Peñalba, Deputy Director for Administration Dr. Maria H. Celeste Cadiz, Knowledge Management Department Manager and Dr. Bessie M. Burgos, Project Development and Management Department Manager of SEARCA; Ms. Corinta Q. Guerta, Head, Office of External Relations and Donor Relations and Projects Coordination Office and Dr. Thelma Paris, Deputy Division Head of IRRI; Dr. Primo Garcia of the UP Open University); Dr. Patricio S. Faylon, Director of PCARRD and Dr. Ernesto Brown from the Socio-Economics Research Division, PCARRD);andDr. Agustina Musa of the ADB.
31 7Speaking before 157 Master’s and 67 PhD candidates during the UPLB-GS Hooding Ceremony, Dr. Masyhuri shared the various difficulties he encountered and the enriching experiences he had as a graduate student in UP Los Baños. Being a foreign student in a country whose second language is English, he shared that he had to double his efforts in studying for the oral and written examinations because of his English handicap at that time. He also had to deal with problems regarding his scholarship funding as well as domestic problems at home. Despite the daunting challenges, he persevered in his studies until he completed his PhD degree. Aside from sharing anecdotes from his life as a graduate student in UP Los Baños, he also gave the graduates some sound advice. He told them that graduation is not the end of their education. They should try their best “to continue to learn even after they have graduated”. Dr. Masyhuri also told them that the degree they earned would enable them to take advantage of the various work opportunities in store for them upon their return to their home institutions.
31 8Dr. Masyhuri also conducted study visits as part of the faculty exchange program. Dr. Masyhuri visited Joshua's Meat Products (JMP) in Nagcarlan, Laguna, a successful agribusiness enterprise and the New Batong Malaki Public Market Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Los Banos, Laguna. He also presented a paper on Food Security in Indonesia in a special Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) session at SEARCA. (Anne Victoria L. Alcala with report from Dr. Masyhuri. Source of photos: Dr. Masyhuri)
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UGM Rector Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D. led the inauguration of three new officers of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology on 30 May 2011 at the UGM Leadership Meeting Room. Dr. Sudjarwadi signed the appointments of the following officers: Dr. Ir. Muhammad Nur Cahyanto, M.Sc. as Chairman of the Department of Food Technology and Agricultural Products; Dr. Ir. Adi Djoko Guritno, M.S.I.E. as Chairman of the Department of Industrial Technology of Agriculture; and Dr. Henry Yuliando, S.T.P., M.M, M. Agr., as Secretary of the Department of Industrial Technology of Agriculture.
Dr. Sudjarwadi hopes that the newly elected officers will be able to continue the achievements of the officials they have succeeded. In addition to the duties and responsibilities that have been passed on to them, Dr. Sudjarwadi hopes that these new officials will be able to increase the research output of their respective departments and extend existing networks. As Indonesia is confronted with complex issues on food security, he is counting on the faculty “to become the agent of change” and to be “leading innovators of food affairs in Indonesia”.
He also took this opportunity to thank the former officials for their hard work in steering the Faculty and in turn, the nation, into a better direction. In addition, he informed everyone that the UGM has won a competitive grant program on “developing global reputation with a national character”. He said that this achievement wouldn’t be possible without the participation and cooperation of the faculty.
Source: UGM News Page
Date: 6 June 2011
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The Institut Pertanian Bogor in Indonesia and Kasetsart University in Thailand are among the 13 South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) partners of a European-funded project called the Exchange by Promoting Quality Education, Research and Training in South and Southeast Asia (EXPERTS). EXPERTS cover seven EU institutions, 13 SSEA universities, and four associate partners. SEARCA is one of the Associate Partners of the project. The project is primarily implemented by University of Göttingen in Germany.
The EXPERTS project aims to enhance the capacity for international cooperation among its participating countries in SSEA and to exchange knowledge and ideas among the Asian and European partners. The EXPERTS also aims to promote the European higher education system in SSEA countries, enhance the attractiveness of European higher education system in the region, and increase the compatibility of higher education systems in Europe and Asia. The project is likewise expected to encourage collaborative research initiatives as well as joint degree programs between any of the EU and SSEA institutions.
Other EXPERTS Consortium partner universities from SSEA are: Khulna University, Bangladesh; Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan; Delhi University and Pune University, both in India; Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University, both in Nepal; Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan; University of Paradeniya, Sri Lanka; Nanjing University and University of Science and Technology of China, China; and Visayas State University, Philippines.
The seven EXPERTS Consortium partner universities in Europe are: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; Masaryk University, Czech Republic; Politechnico di Torino, Italy; Uppsala University, Sweden; University of Goettingen, Germany; Universidad Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and University of Turku, Finland.
The other three associate partners of EXPERTS are AGRINATURA in Czech Republic, COIMBRA Group in Belgium, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India. Details about EXPERTS can be viewed from www.expertsasia.eu.(Editha C. Cedicol)
