Grant Program through Joint Supervision Stage 2 Equity Scheme 2026 successfully organized a Guest Lecture entitled “Advances in Genomics and Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture and Life Science” on Thursday, June 4th, 2026, from 09.00–12.00 WIB at the MMA Auditorium, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). This activity was part of an effort to strengthen international academic collaboration while enhancing research capacity and higher education in the fields of plant omics, biotechnology, and sustainable life sciences. The grant program is led by Ganies Riza Aristya, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D. as the Principal Investigator (PI), with Widhi Dyah Sawitri, S.Si., M.Agr., Ph.D. as a team member.
The Guest Lecture featured three international speakers from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, namely Dr. Tan Boon Chin, Dr. Lau Su Ee, and Dr. Chua Kah Ooi. In the first session, Dr. Tan delivered a presentation entitled “How Banana Plants Cope with Drought: Insight into Morphological and Molecular Responses,” discussing the morphological and molecular responses of banana plants to drought stress as well as the importance of genomic approaches in developing stress-tolerant crops.
Dr. Lau presented a topic entitled “Drought Responses of Pandanus and the Biostimulant Potential of Oil Palm Wood Vinegar,” which explored the drought responses of pandanus plants and the potential of oil palm wood vinegar as an environmentally friendly biostimulant to support sustainable plant growth. This presentation provided insights into the integration of biotechnology and biological resource utilization to support sustainable and climate-adaptive agriculture.
In the final session, Dr. Chua Kah Ooi presented research on bacterial community characterization and the identification of novel bacterial species in Asian weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) using microbiological and molecular approaches. In addition, Dr. Chua introduced opportunities for postgraduate study programs at Universiti Malaya as well as potential international research collaborations for students and academics. The event was attended by 105 participants consisting of students, lecturers, researchers, and academics from various fields of agriculture, biotechnology, and biology. Participants showed great enthusiasm during both the presentation sessions and interactive discussions with the international speakers.
As part of the implementation of the Academic Internationalization Reinforcement Grant Program through Joint Supervision, the activity was continued with an academic discussion session related to the development of research conducted by students of the Master’s Program in Biology, Faculty of Biology UGM. Three master’s students, namely Tiara Putria Judith, Oliv Nurul Kanaya, and Sabrina Labista Wibowo, presented and discussed their research directions focusing on major omics topics in sugarcane, including genomics research development, biotechnology, and molecular approaches to support sustainable agriculture. Discussions with the international speakers served as a platform for scientific exchange, research feedback, and the strengthening of international academic collaboration in supporting the implementation of the Joint Supervision scheme. Through this activity, students gained insights into research methodology development, opportunities for cross-institutional research collaboration, as well as the enhancement of academic capacity and international scientific publication.
In addition to supporting the advancement of science and technology, this activity also aligns with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) through strengthening sustainable agricultural innovation, SDG 4 (Quality Education) through improving higher education quality and international collaboration, SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) through biotechnology research and innovation development, and SDG 13 (Climate Action) through studies on plant responses to drought stress as an impact of climate change.
