YOGYAKARTA – PT Indofood Sukses Makmur (ISM) Tbk. once again launched the Indofood Nugraha Research (IRN) in the Auditorium of UGM Faculty of Agricultural Technology on Thursday (17/2). The IRN socialization for 2011-2012 was attended by the Head of Branch of PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk. Noodles Division, Central Java, Abdurrahman, and the IRN Expert Team, Dr. Ir. Budi Prasetyo Widyobroto D.E.S.S, D.E.A., and Prof. Dr. Ir. Purwiyatno Hariyadi, as well as student representatives from several universities.
IRN is an award program for excellent researchers in the field of food diversification, which is held in the celebration of World Food Day. The annual program that has been conducted since 1998 is a form of Indofood’s concern for the development of Indonesian food. National food security becomes an important issues requiring common concern, including government, industry, and society. "As a food provider company, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur (ISM) Tbk. Has to contribute, providing a solution to this problem. One of the contributions is implemented through the IRN," said Abdurrahman.
GM Corporate Public Relations of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk., Stefanus Indrayana, said that IRN is an effort to nurture research enthusiasm in the field of food from various disciplines of science. "We build the link and match the world of higher education and industry as an alternative solution to the national food diversity through a variety of innovative products and technology-based research," he said.
Dr. Ir. Budi Prasetyo Widyobroto D.E.S.S, D.E.A explained that the IRN’s theme this year is to achieve sustainable food diversification, oriented at added value based on ten commodities. The ten commodities are the focus of the research, they are wheat (triticum sp), maize (Zea mays), sweet potato (Ipomoea sp), banana (Musa sp), cassava (Manihot sp), palm coconut (Elaeis sp), arrowroot (marantana sp), potato (Solanum sp), soybean (glycine sp), and milk along with its derivatives. "IRN research topic is divided into four areas of research, namely the field of community food and nutrition technology, social, economic, cultural, agricultural cultivation, and farming. The research grants program is intended for the students of S-1 and the group of lecturers/researchers through the University’s LPPM," he said.
Budi explained that the research proposals submitted to get the funding from IRN each year must pass a very rigorous assessment process. Since the initiation of this program, some 3040 proposals are submitted by students, lecturers, and researchers from various institutions. "From the thousands of proposals, only 344 proposals are feasible for the IRN program," he said.
For S-1 students who are interested to participate in the IRN, the requirement is very easy. They are simply asked to send a research proposal and submit it to the committee no later than March 18, 2011. Another requirement is that the research proposal must be conducted in order to complete the final project/thesis, to attach the last academic transcript, maximum research period is one year, and to include complete curriculum vitae of students and lecturers, and the research is conducted in Indonesia.