Unila Initiates Pentahelix Collaboration on Irradiation Technology in Lampung

(Unila): Lampung University (Unila) has initiated a Pentahelix collaboration in research and development as well as the utilization of irradiation technology in various sectors in Lampung Province.

This multi-stakeholder collaboration is a follow-up to the signing of the MoU between Unila and NSTU NETI Russia the day before. The collaboration will involve several stakeholders including the government, business practitioners, industries, and business association.

This was the conclusion of the Irradiation Technology Research and Development Workshop between Unila, the Lampung Provincial Government, the Lampung Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) Lampung, which was held in the main meeting room on the 2nd floor of the Rectorate on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

Present at the event were representatives from Unila’s LPPM, NSTU NETI Russia’s Fedor Leonov, Ph.D., and Aleksandr Bryazgin from the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk, Russia, Head of Innovation, Balitbangda Province Lampung Winaryanti, S.E., M.M., Vice Chair of Kadin Lampung Yuria Putra Tubarat and team, representatives of Apindo Lampung, and Great Giant Pinapple.

Dr. Ayi Ahadiat, S.E., M.B.A., Head of the Technical Implementation Unit for Collaboration Development and International Services (UPT PKLI) Unila, said that this collaboration is the first activity and a concrete step taken by both parties.

In addition to future collaborations in the academic field such as courses, research collaboration and publications, especially those related to irradiation technology, and collaborations in the field of language and culture.

The presence of this technology is expected to provide added value, especially in the food and agriculture sectors, which are the largest contributors to Lampung’s economic growth.

“Lampung’s economic GDP is 40% from the agricultural sector. Automatically, with the presence of irradiation technology, it is hoped that it can provide added value and improve the quality of the products, which is a big dream. Hopefully, the dream comes true and this will provide extraordinary benefits and welfare for Lampung and Indonesia,” he said.

He also invited all parties to welcome the presence of this technology, both positive and negative aspects, with seriousness, commitment, and totality. “This means that the ecosystem that we will build later is not just research for research, research for development, but research for welfare,” said the senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business Unila.

This initiation is expected to be the first step that will have an impact on Lampung’s economy and Indonesia in general.

In the meeting, each party shared knowledge, presented products based on irradiation technology, responses, and inputs about how far the possibility of irradiation technology can be utilized in the future.

Meanwhile, NSTU NETI, represented by Fedor Leonov, also hopes that knowledge about this technology will not only be raised from a business perspective but also from the knowledge and education aspect for lecturers and students.

The output of the meeting resulted in an agreement to conduct a feasibility study on the utilization of irradiation technology. This activity will be led directly by a team from Unila as representatives of Indonesia and NSTU NETI as representatives of Russia, as well as relevant parties.