Lecturer of Faculty of Geography Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Bachtiar Wahyu Mutaqin, M.Sc., earned the Prix Mahar Schützenberger award from Association Franco-Indonésienne pour le Développement des Sciences (AFIDES). The award was given for his achievement as one of the Best Indonesian Young Researchers 2017 in France.
Besides Bachtiar, there were three other young Indonesian researchers who also achieved the Prix Mahar Schützenberger award, they were Dita Floresyona, Achmad Choiruddin, and Made Windu Antara. The award was directly given by Hélène Schützenberger as the President of AFIDES at Indonesian Embassy Cultural Hall in Paris on Monday (3/7), witnessed by the Indonesian Deputy Ambassador to France, Principality of Monaco and Andorra, Agung Kurniadi, Education and Culture Attaché of the Embassy, Prof. Dr. Surya Rosa Putra, the Jury Committee of AFIDES, and about 70 invited guests.
In her welcoming speech, Hélène Schützenberger expressed her support for the young Indonesian researchers to keep working in their own sectors. Meanwhile, Agung Kurniadi said this award was a momentum that had to be utilized as well as possible. This award was the first step to building further research cooperation, particularly between Indonesia and France.
“The Prix Mahar Schützenberger is an award given to the young Indonesian researchers who wrote their dissertation in France as a reward for the quality of their scientific research. The award has been given annually since 1991 to help the development of science in Indonesia,” said Agung Kurniadi.
Bachtiar is the 8th member of staff at UGM to have succeeded in earning the Prix Mahar Schützenberger. Before him, there were Prof. Subagyo Pramumijoyo (1991), Prof. Zuprizal (1992), Prof. Mustofa (2000), Dr. Danang S. Hadmoko (2008), Dr. Estuning Tyas W.M. (2012), Dr. Sandy Budi Wibowo (2015), and Dr. M. Idham Darussalam (2016).
“I am very grateful and glad because I am trusted by AFIDES to receive the Prix Mahar Schützenberger this year. This achievement could be made, of course, thanks to the full support of my family, UGM, Prof. Franck Lavigne as my mentor, and Educational Funds Management Institution (LPDP) as my scholarship provider,” said Bachtiar.
On this occasion, besides earning the award, Bachtiar (who is taking Doctoral Programme at Ecole Doctorale de Géographie de Paris, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne) also presented his research which was conducted in Lombok regarding the impact of the Samalas volcanic eruption in 1257 on the coastal areas of Lombok and Sumbawa.