Prof. Darminto from ITS (left) and Prof. Risdiana from Unpad while receiving a souvenir from Prof. Alan Drew (right) from Queen Mary University of London

Surabaya, ITS News – Based on joint research on international scale renewable energy, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) was appointed by the Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) through Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) as host of the Renewable Energy Production and Storage from Waste Biomass Workshop, starting Wednesday (24/4) to Friday (4/26).

Located at the Main Seminar Room of the ITS Rectorate Building, this event was also attended by Prof. Alan Drew from QMUL as the project leader of GCRF. This workshop presents researchers from the UK, Indonesia, and Malaysia to conduct international collaborative research on the production of renewable energy and energy storage from biomass waste.

The chair of the workshop committee, Prof. Dr. Darminto MSc explained, the workshop was fully supported by GCRF to develop international research collaborations that were established between QMUL, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and RIKEN Nishina Center. Including funding for organizing workshops and research that will be carried out later.

One of these studies will be carried out in the Southeast Asia region, so it is also required to collaborate with partners in Southeast Asia to be able to conduct their research. “Because this research also has to collaborate with universities in Southeast Asia, the RIKEN Nishina Center invites them to collaborate with universities in Indonesia which have been the consortium so far,” explained the ITS Physics professor.

Prof. Dr. Darminto when opening the Renewable Energy Production and Storage From Waste Biomass Workshop.

Darminto continued, RIKEN Nishina Center itself is a research body in Japan. There are five universities in Indonesia that have formed a consortium and collaborated with the research body. Namely ITS, Padjadjaran University (Unpad), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), University of Indonesia (UI), and Gadjah Mada University (UGM). “Therefore, the five universities participated in this workshop and were involved in research,” said the man who is an expert in the field of superconductivity and nanomaterials.

Meanwhile, according to Prof. Alan Drew, this collaborative research project with university partners in Indonesia was the first time conducted by QMUL. “We have done a lot of research collaboration with a number of universities in various countries, and this is the first time with universities in Indonesia,” he explained. In the future, he also plans to collaborate with universities in Vietnam and Thailand for the development of his research.

The research on renewable energy itself is a project from QMUL that receives funding from the UK Government which is directed through GCRF. Furthermore, QMUL collaborated with a number of university partners in various countries to develop their research. Including with universities in Indonesia through the RIKEN Nishina Center which is also a QMUL research partner.

Prof. Alan Drew from Queen Mary University of London while delivering presentation at the Renewable Energy Production and Storage From Waste Biomass Workshop.

Carrying the theme of renewable energy, this workshop is a platform for discussion among researchers from several countries. In addition, they also present ideas as well as the results of research from each university to be presented. “Of course this will increase the collaboration of international level researchers so that it will supplement insight into the problems that occur,” added the lecturer who is also the Secretary of the ITS Board of Trustees (MWA).

Darminto said the results of this workshop will be in the form of research proposals that will be submitted to get funding from GCRF on a large scale. In addition, the research proposal will have an impact in the fields of education, training, and development, as well as technical knowledge. “In addition, it will also provide access to world-class research facilities in the UK,” he said.

Darminto hopes that with this workshop, an idea of proposals will be accepted by the GCRF so that the ITS can participate in the international collaboration event. “Of course this builds a positive image of ITS and pursues the ideals of ITS as a World Class University,” he concluded. (ITS Public Relations Officer)

The participants and presenters took a photo together after carrying out the first session of the Renewable Energy Production and Storage from Waste Biomass Workshop.