The Higher Education National Olympiad of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (ONMIPA-PT) is a competition held by the Government to promote student competitiveness in the field of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. ONMIPA-PT was held in Makassar on April 26-29, 2019 this year. Around 256 students from all over Indonesia participated in the event, 64 of whom competed in biology. Three Biology Faculty students represent the UGM contingent for Biology: Yustika Sari (Biology 2017), Muhammad Malhan Amin (Biology 2016), and Ahmad Suyoko (Biology 2015).

The test was conducted centrally at the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) for two days (27 and 28 April). The closing ceremony and announcement of the winners were held on Monday, April 29, 2019. Three Biology Faculty students managed to come out as champions, namely Yustika Sari (gold medal), Muhammad Malhan Amin (silver medal), and Ahmad Suyoko (silver medal).

Comment:

UGM students who will take part in ONMIPA-PT should prepare themselves as early and as possible, read more references, and get used to practicing working on questions, both past questions, and similar questions.

The General Lecture was delivered by Dr. rer. silv. Ulrich Pietzarka from the Tharandt Botanic Garden and Arboretum of the Dresden University of Technology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences. Discussing the topic of: “Quality Management in Botanic Gardens in Germany”, the lecture took place in the Faculty of Biology UGM and was attended by lecturers and graduate students of the Faculty of Biology UGM. Dresden University is currently managing a botanical garden, named the Tharandt Botanic Garden, under the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Dr. rer. silv. Ulrich Pietzarka as the head manager.

The lecture discussed that the management of a botanical garden requires a cooperative network between the university and its partners.

“Developing interconnected participation of each stakeholder (guests/visitors, funders, members, partners, lobby groups, government, university, and faculty) is essential. Social media and press are also the key players in maintaining public relationships,” said Dr. rer. silv. Ulrich Pietzarka.

Faculty of Biology UGM in collaboration with Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB), Research Center for Biology – Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center (ARDRC), the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), IPB, UB, and ITB successfully identified a new frog species native to Indonesia. The frog, named Microhyla gadjahmadai, is identified by a master student of the Faculty of Biology, Vestidhia Y. Atmaja.

The new species are the 407th frog found to be native to Indonesia. The distribution of this frog including Bengkulu, Jambi, Lampung, and South Sumatra at an altitude of 700 to 1600, with habitats covering river basins, rice fields, and community plantations. The application of molecular genetic identification using 12s and 16s sequence fragments of mitochondrial RNA and bioinformatics helped determine that Microhyla gadjahmadai belongs to a new species.

This discovery proves the richness of Indonesia’s biodiversity and should motivate more researchers to discover new species.

Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono M.Agr.Sc (Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM) and Indah Juanita (President Director of the Borobudur Authority Agency) signed an MoU between the Faculty of Biology UGM and the Borobudur Authority Agency, witnessed by Arief Yahya (Indonesian Minister of Tourism).

Comment by Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono M.Agr.Sc a Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM:

The community as a whole should support the development of the tourism sector in Indonesia. Thanks to Indonesian biodiversity and its uniqueness, Indonesia’s tourism sector has the potential to be the best in the world. I hope that the Faculty of Biology can contribute more to the field of Biotourism in Indonesia in the future.

The graduation ceremony for undergraduate students of the Faculty of Biology, Gadjah Mada University, was held on Thursday, November 22, 2018. The graduation ceremony was conducted by Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono M.Agr.Sc., Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App.Sc., Dr. Slamet Widianto, S.Si., M.Sc., and Dr.rer.nat. Andhika Puspito Nugroho, S.Si., M.Si.

In the ceremony, 31 graduates from the 2011 to 2014 class have graduated. In total, there are currently 5048 alumni of the Faculty of Biology, Gadjah Mada University.

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a tool commonly used for mapping activities and geographic data management.

“Students should use free and open source geospatial software. Since research funds for students are limited, free software is beneficial and easy to use, ” said Dr. Sarah Hobgen, a researcher at the Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Wednesday (4/7) at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Biology. While delivering a guest lecture entitled “Free and Open Source Mapping for Environmental Science” in front of students and lecturers, Dr. Hobgen also introduced free GIS software, like SAGA and Quantum GIS.

Closing the lecture, Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Dr. Budi S. Daryono, hoped this program might become a place to share information and knowledge, especially regarding the use of GIS in natural science research. He also mentioned that the guest lecture was part of the Central Java Field Intensive (CFFI) program between the Faculty of Biology and Charles Darwin University.

On June 9, 2018, a team of students from the Faculty of Biology won third place in the poster category in the 2018 National Food Technology Competition (NFTC) at Widya Mandala Catholic University, Surabaya.

In this competition, a team consisting of Faridatul Hidzroh, Nurina Tahta Afwi Maulina, and Chalvia Zuyyina presented a research poster with the title “Melon Hikanet, a superior fruit innovation from fruit diversification. Local.”

Comments:

Research on melon hikanet has been conducted since January 2017 by the Gama Melon Team under Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc. The hikanet melon presented in the poster is a hybrid melon produced from a cross between Hikapel and Tacapa silver melons. In the future, Hikanet melon is expected to become one of the new superior melon cultivars which can compete with imported variants.

Basith Kuncoro Adji and Anggun Cinditya Putri, undergraduate students of the Faculty of Biology, were awarded a scholarship to attend the International Summer Course (ISC) on Advanced Marine Biology. The program was held at the Sugashima Marine Biological Laboratory (SMBL), Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Japan, from 13-17 July 2018. Along with participants from other countries, Professor Hitoshi Sawada from the SMBL supervised Basith and Anggun during the program. The Summer Course comprised of lectures from distinguished researchers in marine biology and field exploration to small islands around the SMBL to learn the basic of taxonomy.

Through the Joint Research Project from the Japan Society for Promoting Science Bilateral Exchange Program (JSPS-BJRP) 2018, Dr. Endang Semiarti, M.S., M.Sc. (Faculty of Biology), Dr. Ir. Aziz Purwantoro, M.Sc., and Dr. Ir. Jaka Widada, M.Sc (Faculty of Agriculture), collaborated with Dr. Yasushi Yoshioka (Graduate School of Science) and Prof. Dr. Shogo Matsumoto (Graduate School of Bioagricultural Science) from Nagoya University, Japan. The collaboration project was proposed to apply genome editing techniques in the genetic engineering of orchids. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 system, Dr. Endang and Prof. Matsumoto aiming to promote fast flowering through genome editing techniques. This research collaboration is realized as part of the MoU between UGM and Nagoya University since 1995. As part of the program, Prof. Matsumoto and two Master Program students from Nagoya University, Kana Ninomiya and Yuki Asano visited the Laboratory of Biotechnology at the Faculty of Biology UGM. Also, Prof. Matsumoto gave a guest lecture with the title “How to Change the Useful Traits of Horticultural Crops by Genome Editing based on Molecular Physiology of Type 2 Red-Fleshed Apple Coloring”. The guest lecture was held on August 21 at the Auditorium of Faculty of Biology, attended by more than 200 undergraduates, postgraduate and doctoral students, as well as lecturers from the Faculty of Biology and the Faculty of Agriculture.

To further increase the understanding of tropical biodiversity and sustainable development, the Faculty of Biology UGM held the International Summer Course on Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development 2018. Around 20 international students and 18 local students participated in this event. Apart from experts from UGM, this activity also invited academics, NGO activists, and industry parties from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

The summer course, which was carried out in collaboration with Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), took place from 6 to 12 August 2018, where the participants attended lectures, workshops, and field activities. In between the lectures, the participants performed a batik making workshop using natural dyes supervised by Mr. Hatmoko, the owner of Hatmoko Batik. Also, the field activities were held at the Paliyan Wildlife Reserve and Sadranan Beach. On the last day of the event, the participants enjoyed a presentation by Mika Mei Jia Tan (ASEAN Center for Biodiversity) discussing youth’s role in protecting biodiversity in the ASEAN region.