USK Rector Delivered a Presentation at the International Conference
Prof. Dr. Ir. Marwan, Rector of Universitas Syiah Kuala, made a presentation at the 13th IMT-GT UNINET BIOSCIENCE International Conference 2022, in Songkhla, Thailand, on 8 December 2022. The conference that took the theme ‘BCG Economy towards SDGs for the Benefit of Mankind’ was successfully held for two days.
On that occasion, Rector explained the ‘Green Economy, Innovation of Aceh Patchouli Oil: from University to International Market’. He mentioned several innovations conducted by Universitas Syiah Kuala toward the Aceh patchouli oil industry.
Earlier, even though patchouli oil is one of the national export commodities, it has not given a significant impact on the welfare of farmers and refiners, because the trading system that has existed for decades did not support them well.
Rector described that the existence of the Atsiri Research Center (ARC) of Universitas Syiah Kuala, which was founded on 8 December 2016, gave a great impact on the issues faced by the industry. ARC, which in 2019 transformed into a national-scale Aceh Patchouli Science and Technology Center of Excellence (PUIPT), has become a center of excellence in the development of science, technology, and innovation that provides values toward supply and value chain of Aceh patchouli oil.
Rector expressed that currently within six years, ARC has developed various innovations such as the development of superior seeds through the breeding of superior patchouli seeds and tissue culture, development of biopesticides, development of organic fertilizers, modern cultivation systems with fertigation (fertilization and irrigation) on permanent land (permaculture), plant care techniques, harvesting and post-harvest handling through drying technology and raw material preparation.
Moreover, there are boiler innovation and distillation technology, fuel innovation, waste utilization, development of purification technology (molecular distillation and fractionation) into hi-grade and crystal patchouli, to the development of various derivative products such as perfume, lotion, body butter, anti-aging serum, car fragrance, medicated oil, soap, hand sanitizer, disinfectant, and others.
“In 2019, ARC-PUIPT Aceh Patchouli Oil of Universitas Syiah Kuala successfully initiated Aceh Patchouli Innovation Producers Cooperative or Koperasi Produsen Inovasi Nilam Aceh (Koperasi Inovac) that has become the ARC excellent business. It was handled by professionals from the field and promotes products that are based on ARC patchouli oil research and innovation”, said Rector.
He added that these innovations and knowledge of technology successfully create new trails for Aceh that should be maintained and improved to increase society’s income.
Particularly the 13th IMT-GT UNINET BIOSCIENCE International Conference 2022, it was hosted by the Prince of Songkhla University, Thailand. The opening ceremony was presided by Assistant Professor Dr. Takerng Wongsirichot, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs and International Affairs, Associate Professor Dr. Anchana Prathep, Dean of the Faculty of Science, and attended by the honorable Indonesian and Malaysian consuls, and IMT-GT UNINET network administrators.
Three keynote sessions kicked off this academic exchange. Demonstrating the triangle of IMT, the first three keynote speakers represent their country accordingly. Dr. Suwit Maesincee, the former Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Thailand, gave a keynote lecture on the topic “BCG for SDGs” along with Dato’ Ir. Dr. A. Bakar Jaafar, Vice President of the Academy of Science Malaysia, on the topic of “Ocean Thermal Energy-Driven Development in Fulfilling all the 17 SDGs”. Prof. Dr. Ir. Marwan, Rector of Syiah Kuala University, Indonesia, held his keynote presentation on the topic of “Innovation of Aceh Patchouli Oil, from University to International Market”. Wapairat Nai Noi TPI Polene Power presented on the topic “Business Transformation Towards BCG Economy”.
