Lecturer of Agricultural Technology UGM, Arifin Dwi Saputro, has won a technological innovation vlog competition in celebrating National Technology Day 2018 in Pekanbaru, Riau. The competition was held by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education, carrying the theme Innovation for Food and Energy Independence.
Arifin used a video publication of integrated palm sugar production technology taken from 2010. The tool was invented by the faculty’s team and led by the Vice Dean for Research, Cooperation, and Alumni, Dr. Sri Rahayoe, M.P.
Arifin, who is also the team member, explained the tool was created by considering that Indonesia is one of the largest palm sugar producers in the world. However, some producers still use the conventional method with stoves and pans. “It resulted in bad quality sugar and small-scale production,” he said on Wednesday (8/15).
The condition inspired his team to create a more standardized palm sugar production technology. With this tool, the production of palm sugar can increase both its quality and quantity.
The tool is now widely used by sugar producers in Indonesia. “Moreover, it was once bought by the United Indonesian Cabinet Ministers’ Wives’ Club initiated by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.”
In fact, Arifin only acts as the team’s researcher. He took the initiative to document the tool based on his interest in videography since he was in college.
When he started his doctoral study in Belgium in 2013, Arifin became interested in Youtube after watching NET TV. Adrian Zakhary was the figure who reminded him of the digital era or now called the Industry 4.0.
From then on, he regularly creates video content about his college experiences. He believes that videos are easier to understand than other media. “People do not get bored easily with videos.”
Arifin still keeps his interest after he became a lecturer in early 2018. He was entrusted to manage the educational channel of the Faculty. In addition, he became the promotion team of Agricultural Engineering and Biosystems Department.
He found out about the vlog competition and submitted the 2010 research publication after editing the video. “I needed to arrange, add description texts, and audio narration to the raw footage.”
He did not expect to win the competition because of his low video quality compared to other participants. When the announcement came out, the judges did not mention the evaluation result. However, he assumed the video was chosen because it matched the competition’s theme.
This achievement made Arifin confident in pursuing his passion for documenting research. He opines that in the Industry 40.0 era, people prefer watching videos than reading books. For this reason, educational institutions should keep up with the new era in their duties.
“This is the digital era. I believe that research documentation videos are easier to understand than books by society,” stressed Arifin.