Eighty-six academics from five countries visited the waste processing center and the rice and horticultural plant seed storage facility at the Agrotechnology Innovation Center (PIAT UGM) complex in Berbah, Kalitirto, Sleman, on Tuesday, Jul. 23, 2024.
Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Mexico represented the five countries.
It aims to showcase the contributions of higher education institutions in supporting green campus programs and achieving sustainable development goals.
Professor Indra Wijaya Kusuma, Head of the Quality Assurance and Reputation Unit (SPMRU) at UGM, stated that the visit was part of the series of activities for “Regional Workshop on UI GreenMetric World University Rankings for Universities in Asia-Pacific.”
“This visit was to observe best practices in campus management based on applying sustainability values,” Professor Kusuma said.
Professor Kusuma mentioned that the participants were highly impressed with UGM’s waste management activities, particularly plastic waste processing and organic waste management.
“It turns out that they were impressed because such practices are not as common abroad,” he said.
Professor Kusuma explained that this visit could enhance universities’ commitment to green campus programs and sustainable development goals while boosting universities’ reputations in UI GreenMetric rankings.
“We want to raise awareness about green campus development. While we have previously only reported on these assessments, we invite them to observe firsthand this time,” Professor Kusuma explained.
A Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Philippines participant, Dino Jose M. Relativo, expressed great interest and admiration for waste management at PIAT UGM.
“Because UI GreenMetric focuses on waste management. Since waste is a universal problem, it is essential to see how universities contribute to handling waste, especially waste generated in cities,” Relativo explained.
He noted that almost every city in the world faces waste problems, so each university needs to contribute, at least by managing its waste.
“Starting with our waste. If we can process or manage our waste, we can spread this good news to the community,” Relativo said.
Relativo added that while the Philippines does not face the same waste issues as large cities in Indonesia, he believes this problem will eventually arise.
“It will happen, and the effect will be the production of waste that we need to reduce. Of course, waste management is one of the solutions,” Relativo said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Donnie
Post-editor: Lintang