A team comprising five biology and agriculture students, namely Rafelinta Daradwinta, Rahmat Kurniawan Talib, Nareta Defiani, Ragil Puspita Megaranu, and Asthony Purwanda Febriawan, was announced as first-place winners of the Osaka University Student Video Contest. The international competition was held by Osaka University to commemorate its 90th anniversary. A total of 130 participants from 14 countries participated in the event.
Tailoring the contest’s theme, namely Three Minutes of Inspiration for Sustainable Development, students created a bag made from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). The “Amreta” bag functioned as a solution to control the water hyacinth invasions and encourage the reduction of plastic bag use.
“The competition has two selection rounds. We have to be among the 11 shortlisted videos to qualify for the final round. All finalists were assessed by judges from the Kansai SDGs Council, Meiji University, and Osaka Virtual Expo. They later announced that our video won the Grand Prize,” said Ragil on Monday (28/6).
Asthony added that throughout the long process of developing ideas and concepts, creating a prototype of the bag, shooting, and editing the video, the biggest challenge was to visit many locations to take the video. They had to go to Piyungan Landfill in Bantul, Trisik Beach in Kulon Progo, and Rawa Pening in Ambarawa amid the pandemic. He also revealed that the video editing process took the longest time of all.
Nareta and Rahmat expressed their delight and gratitude for the win. All of the assistance and support from the lecturers and friends helped bring them this far. They advised others to dare go above and beyond to achieve their targets in life.
“Don’t ever limit yourself. What we fear usually comes from our own minds,” said Rafelinta.
Dean of the UGM Faculty of Biology Professor Budi Setiadi Daryono praised the team for its fighting spirit and solidarity despite facing difficulties. He said this achievement proved that the pandemic was never a hindrance for students to remain innovative and productive.
“Hopefully, what this team has achieved will inspire us all,” said Professor Budi.
Visit the following link to learn more about the Amreta bag: https://youtu.be/lnBQl8e-oIo.
Author: Khansa