A total of 28 students from Shizuoka University (SU), Japan, accompanied by three lecturers are studying agriculture at Universitas Gadjah Mada for one week. Besides agriculture, the students also studied forestry and agricultural technology. Lecturer of Faculty of Agriculture, UGM, who serves as Visiting Professor at SU, Prof. Dr. Ir. Siti Subandiyah, M.Agr.Sc., described the event of the Agricultural Field Seminar in Indonesia of Shizuoka University Students at UGM, 30 October-5 November 2011.
Furthermore, Siti Subandiyah said this activity is a follow-up to the MoU between UGM-SU in 2008. "So, they visit UGM and Yogyakarta not only to study agriculture, but also forestry and agricultural technology," Siti added in the Multimedia Room of the Faculty of Agriculture, Monday (31/10).
Siti explained the Agricultural Field Seminar were already held 2 times. Last year, the activity was followed by 23 students and 2 lecturers. The program which is held for 1 week is at the personal expense of each student in addition to subsidies from Shizuoka University. She said the program was held so that Japanese students could experience learning about agriculture in general in Yogyakarta. “The SU students have background in agriculture, agriculture technology, and forestry. The program consists of field learning, lectures, and tourism," said Siti.
According to Siti, since the MoU between the UGM and Shizuoka University was conducted, some academic activities have been carried out, among other things, graduate student exchange program. Last year, four UGMstudents had the opportunity to learn at SU for 7 months. This year, three students also had the opportunity to follow a similar program for 3 months through Jenesys scholarships Program. "There is also S-2 student of SU who was sent to conduct joint research for 3-4 weeks in Agricultural Biotechnology laboratory. In addition, some time ago an S-1 student studied for 1 year with free tuition at SU," says the expert of pests and plant diseases.
The opening of the Seminar today was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. Ir. Triwibowo Yuwono, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, Prof. Dr.Ir. Mochammad Na’iem, M.Agr.Sc., and Prof. Mizunaga of Shizuoka University.
Both Triwibowo and Na’iem in the opportunity expressed their appreciation to all SU students. This activity is expected to further strengthening cooperation between the two organizations in the future followed by the development of research. Triwibowo advised that students can take maximum advantage of their time while in Yogyakarta, including when they visit UGM’s Wanagama research and education forest at Gunungkidul. "Hopefully, this step can bridge a better cooperation between the two sides as well as other clusters of study outside of agriculture, forestry, and agricultural technology," said Triwibowo.