The 6th National Seminar on Tropical Biology which hold in a hybrid version on July 23, 2022 at the Faculty of Biology, UGM is an annual scientific activity held thanks to the support of the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada. This seminar aims to disseminate research results in the field of tropical biology and as a means of exchanging information with various parties, such as researchers, academics, and industry players. The theme of this year’s seminar is “The Future of Indonesia’s Biodiversity in the Metaverse Era “. This theme is motivated by the development of the metaverse era which has had a wide impact on life on earth, and there has been a lot of discussion currently discussing its consequences on technology, social and commercial, and does not rule out aspects of biodiversity.
The theme of this year’s seminar was greeted with great enthusiasm by the participants. The total number of participants in this year’s SNBT reached 259 registrants. There are more than 130 registered presenters who present their work at this seminar. The participants came from various agencies, at least 66 institutions, both from universities, industry, private sector, and government agencies. The topics presented by the presenters were quite diverse, and were divided into 7 topics, namely: Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Exploration and Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity , Bioprospection , Biomedical, Tropical Biofunctionality , Genetics and Molecular Biology, and Biosystematics and Evolution.
The event was opened with a report from the chairman, Dr. Dwi Sendi Priyono, S.Si., M.Si and continued with remarks by Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc , as Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM. The next speech was also delivered by Prof. Ir. Nizam, M.Sc., DIC, Ph.D., IPU, Asean Eng representing the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology which also opened this seminar. At the moment Today , Faculty of Biology UGM together with MonsterAR signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) as a follow-up to the cooperation plan Among Faculty UGM Biology with MonsterAR in various fields in education, as well as research. This collaboration expected give positive impact for second parties together for explore and maintain Indonesian biodiversity.
After the seminar was officially opened, the next agenda was a plenary session . In the plenary session , there were 3 speakers. The first speaker was Prof. Budi Setiadi Daryono from the Faculty of Biology, UGM. On this occasion, Prof. Budi said that biology in the past talked about classical biology and cell biology. Meanwhile, in the present day biology talks about molecular biology, biomimicry and biorobotics , the era of genomics . and post-genomics , exobiology and deep-sea biology. However, in the future biology will develop vertically and horizontally and raise the metaverse . In biology, the metaverse functions as a tool in developing science and knowledge. Therefore , it is hoped that in the future we can explore biodiversity virtually.
The second material was delivered by Stephen Ng , CEO and Executive Chairman of the WIR Group. Mr. Stephen conveyed the development of the metaverse which is increasingly affordable and accessible. Various fields of study now explore the world of the metaverse , from socioeconomics , law and government, to science. In line with this, the metaverse is also increasingly being used by various companies to promote their products. Virtual work and the scientific community are two things that are currently hot and the metaverse is a bridge that facilitates these things.
plenary session was continued by Mr. Wiryanata saying that metaverse offers a new way for users to collaborate virtually. In the metaverse ecosystem, many business opportunities can be run virtually. Various types of industries and scientific fields take advantage of this developing technology. In the world of research and education, the metaverse can have an impact, for example, Indonesia ‘s biodiversity can be visualized virtually.
Participants continued their presentations in parallel sessions . In this session, the participants presented their scientific works both offline and online. At the end of the event, the committee announced the best presenters for each room and also distributed door prizes for participants who actively participated. The smooth and success of this national seminar cannot be separated from the support of sponsors, including: Mangrove printing, Kimia Farma, Bantul Bank, Hista Labora, Earth Literacy. See you again at the next SNBT…