Tag: Universitas Airlangga

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) recently conducted a community service event titled “Feed Management Improvement with Green Feed Processing Technology & Marketing Strategies for Dairy Cattle Post-FMD.” Held on Thursday, August 1, 2024, in Carangwulung Village, Wonosalam, Jombang, the program is aimed at local dairy farmers.

The event was officially opened by Prof. Dr. Sri Hidanah, the Head of FKH community service initiative. In her opening remarks, she hoped that the program would help farmers understand both food processing techniques and livestock product marketing strategies.

“Through this event, we hope all participants gain a better understanding of food processing and marketing techniques for livestock products. We will also provide further assistance with marketing,” she said.

Community service highlights

The program featured several sessions, each led by experts: Dr. Mohammad Anam Al Arif, Dr. Ira Sari Yudaniayanti, and Dr. Fatin Fadhilah Hasib. Dr. Emy Koestanti also participated, initiating a discussion on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other livestock health issues.

Dr. Mohammad Anam Al Arif began the presentations with an in-depth explanation of silage feed technology. The second session, led by Dr. Ira Sari Yudaniayanti, covered various causes of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock. The third session, presented by Dr. Fatin Fadhilah Hasib, focused on marketing dairy products.

Furthermore, the UNAIR team demonstrated proper silage-making techniques. Dr. Mohammad Anam Al Arif, along with a team of students, led the practical demonstration, which was observed by the attending farmers. Dr. Arif emphasized that proper silage-making practices significantly impact the quality of livestock and their products.

The community warmly welcomed the event, held at the Segunung Traditional Village Hall. Twenty-five residents and farmers attended. Widi Asmoro from the Anjasmoro Village Cooperative Unit (KUD) in Carangwulung represented the community’s and farmers’ responses.

In addition to Widi Asmoro, resident Gatot Sunarto expressed his appreciation for the FKH community service program. He found the event particularly helpful in terms of feed processing and livestock disease prevention. “This event has been very beneficial; my knowledge about cattle feed processing and disease prevention has increased. Many factors affect livestock health,” Sunarto said.

The 13th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) officially concluded on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), through the Airlangga Institute of Indian Ocean Crossroads (AIIOC), hosted this prestigious event, which commenced on Sunday, July 28, 2024.

13th ICAS was made possible through a robust partnership between UNAIR’s AIIOC and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), based in the Netherlands. Although 13th ICAS has been concluded, the collaboration between UNAIR and IIAS is set to continue.

Philippe Peycam, Director of IIAS, mentioned that the next step is to further develop AIIOC into a more significant unit. AIIOC initially started as a collaborative project between UNAIR and IIAS. “We will continue to work together to make AIIOC a successful unit, not just for the industry but also for the Indonesian government,” he stated.

Peycam noted that AIIOC has the potential to offer broader benefits to a wider audience. 13th ICAS has marked a significant milestone in AIIOC’s rapid development. “AIIOC has the potential to benefit not only UNAIR, the city of Surabaya, or East Java but also Indonesia and the entire world,” he said.

Exploring further collaboration

One of the potential areas of continued collaboration between UNAIR and IIAS is the establishment of a fellowship program. This program would provide opportunities for individuals to pursue further studies abroad.

“A fellowship will facilitate Indonesians in various activities, such as pursuing a PhD overseas and returning to their home country after the fellowship,” Peycam remarked on Thursday, August 1, 2024.

The fellowship can ease the exchange of knowledge across various disciplines. Peycam believes that AIIOC can grow into a research center as significant as IIAS, which has already become the largest Asian research center.

“Many people from around the world want to visit IIAS. Similarly, AIIOC has the opportunity to become a large interdisciplinary research center. They have successfully organized 13th ICAS, focusing on learning, discussion, and interdisciplinary research,” he explained.

Aiming reputation improvement

Peycam expressed his admiration for UNAIR’s efforts and dedication to its collaboration. UNAIR’s enthusiasm to enhance its reputation was highly praised by Peycam.

“UNAIR is always obsessed with enhancing its reputation, making various efforts including improving the quality of education. If UNAIR didn’t have this obsession, our collaboration might not have continued,” he said in an exclusive interview with UNAIR NEWS.

AIIOC Potential

Peycam is confident that within the next five to ten years, AIIOC will gain global recognition. An expanding AIIOC will facilitate the exchange of knowledge between countries.

“If people want to learn about Europe, Europeans can come to AIIOC without Indonesians needing to go to Europe. Although this requires a long process, I believe with cooperation, it is not impossible,” he emphasized.

In collaboration with the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) through the Airlangga Institute of Indian Ocean Crossroads (AIIOC) is hosting the 13th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS).

Scheduled from July 28, 2024, to August 1, 2024. UNAIR is making various preparations for this event. Lina Puryanti PhD, Director of AIIOC, mentioned that it will be the first time Indonesia hosts this international event. “ICAS is a major event, and Indonesia has no prior experience in hosting this international activity. This is a breakthrough,” she said.

Puryanti also explained that preparations have currently reached 60 percent. Representatives from 66 countries are expected to attend the event, with the potential for even greater participation as the event draws near. “So far, there will be 1400 participants attending but the number can still increase. We are still opening up opportunities for more participants to join,” she explained on Friday, May 24, 2024.

Conference festival concept

Unlike typical conference events, the 13th ICAS will feature a conference festival concept. The event will extend beyond campus. Participants will have the opportunity to visit historical sites in Surabaya, including the urban communities of Plampitan, Tambak Bayan, and Peneleh.

“This event is not merely a meeting among academics, but also academics and practitioners, even academics can become artists who display their work,” Puryanti stated.

Participants will focus on ten different topics. Puryanti hopes that the participants can learn from each other and share experiences. She also hopes that the knowledge gained by the participants will serve as a foundation for understanding the world. “So, what we have in Surabaya can become a basis for understanding the world,” she said.

Involving community participation

The event will not only involve academics and students but also the local communities. During the festival, there will be several exhibitions held in public areas close to the communities.

“We are organizing the festival to take place in public areas. The local communities will not be spectators but also organizers and parts of this event. UNAIR and the communities will welcome guests from around the world,” she explained.

Puryanti stated that this opportunity is beneficial for both UNAIR and Indonesia. “This is a great opportunity for UNAIR to strengthen its position on the global stage. Indonesia’s vast potential will also be highlighted at this event,” she said.

Puryanti and her team are optimistic that with the support of various parties, the 13th ICAS will run smoothly. “Being entrusted with an event of this magnitude is an honor. We are optimistic that the event will be a success. Hopefully, this event will bring pride to UNAIR and the nation,” she concluded. Held this year, the 13th ICAS is also a gift for UNAIR’s 70th Anniversary.

A remarkable achievement made by a young researcher Muhammad Ikhlas Abdjan, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR). Ikhlas has made his mark on the international stage by receiving the best paper award from a well-known journal “Engineered Science” at the International Conference on Innovative Discoveries and Advancements in Applied Sciences iDEAAS 2024 at Mahsa University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Appreciation was given for his research in discovering medicinal compounds to prevent the growth of cancer cells.

His research has been selected as one of the papers out of hundreds of researchers worldwide. Ikhlas was the only student participating in the event. The participants were mostly senior researchers and professors.

Furthermore, the research supervised by Prof Dr Nanik Siti Aminah M Si and Prof Dr Alfinda Novi Kristanti DEA added this to its list of achievements. Previously, it has been included in popular chemistry in 2022, and hot article collections in 2021 by a well-known publisher Royal Society of Chemistry.

Compound discovery

His research entitled “Pharmacokinetic, DFT Modeling, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Approaches: Diptoindonesin A as a Potential Inhibitor of Sirtuin-1” has caught the world’s attention because it is a new finding of a compound called Diptoindonesin A which can inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

“This compound was discovered by my mentor, Prof. Nanik Siti Aminah. However, it has never been tested on the sirtuin-1 enzyme. Therefore, I continued this research to find innovations to inhibit cancer cell growth by testing Diptoindonesin A with the sirtuin-1 enzyme,” he said.

The Diptoindonesin A compound can be found in the Shorea seminis plant which grows on the island of Kalimantan. Sirtuin-1 is one of the sirtuin enzyme classes that causes cancer. Ikhlas admitted that the research focused on sirtuin-1 because almost all types of cancer have activity from this enzyme.

“This research focuses on sirtuin-1 because this enzyme is major and its activity can be seen in most types of cancer such as cervical, breast, prostate and so on. Sirtuin-1 regulates cancer cells so that they continue to grow uncontrollably,” he said.

Ikhlas also added that previously he had carried out calculation simulation trials in the laboratory. From several enzyme compounds tested using computational calculation methods at the molecular level, Diptoindonesin A showed good inhibitory effects on sirtuin-1. The research used computational studies. It includes pharmacokinetic methods, DFT modelling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation.

Pharmacokinetic study predicts drug candidate criteria for the two compounds, diptoindonesin A and viniferin. It is also used to predict ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity). Based on ADMET, Diptoindonesin A can be absorbed into the small intestine. And, based on the distribution of BBB permeability, it does not directly affect brain cells. This compound also does not affect the body’s metabolic system.

DFT Modeling is used to describe the properties of compounds at the molecular to atomistic level. The goal is to know whether this molecule is stable, or whether it is reactive. From all property calculations, Diptoindonesin A and viniferin are stable. In that description, the structure between Diptoindonesin A and viniferin is the same. However, the differentiating factor is the presence of a glucose unit in the molecular structure of Diptoindonesin A.

“Even though the structure is the same, the glucose content in Diptoindonesin A influences the activity of the sirtuin-1 enzyme. Diptoindonesin A will interact with 21 amino acid residues in the sirtuin-1 enzyme which can inhibit the growth of cancer cells,” said Ikhlas.

Molecular docking is a method for studying drug and enzyme interactions at the molecular level. Docking is used to search for initial coordinates and molecular dynamics simulations comprehensively evaluate the overall stabilization of drug molecular bonds and interactions. The test showed good interaction stabilization of Diptoindonesin A with sirtuin 1 during the simulation.

Based on several testing methods, Diptoindonesin A is worthy of consideration as a cancer cell growth inhibitor drug. However, the drawback of this compound is that it is difficult to obtain because it is isolated from plants. To address this issue, further studies are expected to be conducted.

International collaboration

The discovery and research took almost a year. Ikhlas admitted to encountering obstacles related to research and laboratory facilities. To help with his research, Ikhlas even conducted research in two countries the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences Pakistan and Chulalongkorn University Thailand. The collaboration was vital in conducting his research. To develop his research, Ikhlas collaborates with the University of Malaya, Malaysia, regarding drug encapsulation in isolated compounds through computational and experimental approaches as anticancer agents.

“I hope this research can be sustainable, excellent research is research that never stops. It is always sustainable, focused on one field and developed continuously,” he concluded.

Three Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) alumni who developed the Markas Walet (lit: Swallow Headquarter) business, M Fairuzzuddin Zuhair CEO of Lentera Alam Nusantara or Markas Walet and two co-founders Maulana Satria Aji and M Taufiqul Yakin won an international business pitch competition. They achieved a proud feat as the best presenter in a pitching competition at the National University of Singapore (NUS) last March.

Fairuz, representing the team, explained that Markas Walet is a company engaged in manufacturing and agro-technology. Specifically, in the swallow’s nest ecosystem. “We are engaged in manufacturing and agrotechnology, especially in the swallow nest ecosystem. We manage the swallow nest so that it can be more optimal in terms of quality and quantity,” M Fairuzzuddin Zuhair told UNAIR NEWS on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

Furthermore, Fairuz also explained that the Markas Walet business is a “huge opportunity” as research on swallow cultivation is quite limited, so there is no specific guide to optimize the management of the swallow nest ecosystem. “So far, they mostly base it on myths like others’ statements. In fact, to improve the quantity, it should not only be based on mythical aspects, but also scientific aspects,” he explained.

Fairuz said that the huge market opportunity was the team’s strong reason for developing the Markas Walet business. In his opinion, there is a great need to develop education in swallow nest ecosystem management. Furthermore, based on agricultural data, there are hundreds of thousands of swallow nest in Indonesia, but only about three thousand can be accounted for. “So we need to improve the registration of the swallow nests so that the export quota approved by the destination country can be higher,” he added.

In developing the business, Fairuz and his team also integrated artificial intelligence into the swallow nest management system. This makes the company the only swallow nest management company developed in Indonesia. Fairuz and his team also saw that the market size of swallow nests is relatively large. “So the market is very big, and the demand is increasing by about 10-15 percent every year,” he said.

In terms of target market, the company plans to enter the Chinese market. Another effort he has made in managing his own company, Markas Walet, is to unite the views and contributions of each founder and focus on this business opportunity.

“Maybe for the BPBRIN Incubator start-up team, we need to look and capture with our helicopter view, we don’t need to look at the short term of our business journey. With a helicopter view, we can assess the extent of our business potential. We can anticipate this by actively playing, participating and expanding our knowledge on the national and international stage,” he concluded.

For the record, Fairuz has also won the LPDP Business Growth Plan 2023 event. As a result of this achievement, Fairuz had the opportunity to attend a short course in Singapore, and this pitching competition was the main event of the course.