Indonesian Student Association holds paper competition and inspirational talk event

Published: December 12, 2017

As a commitment to support the development of Indonesia through research and technology, the Tokyo Tech Indonesian Commitment Award (TICA), an annual scientific paper competition, was held again this year by the Indonesian Student Association of Tokyo Tech in collaboration with the Institute and the Embassy of the Republic Indonesia in Tokyo.

This year, the competition targeted not only undergraduate students from universities in Indonesia, but also Indonesian students currently enrolled and doing research at universities in Japan. A total of 393 papers were submitted under the four themes of Information and Communication Technology, Energy and Environment, Infrastructure and Transportation, and Life Science. Four undergraduate winners from universities in Indonesia — one for each theme — and one winner from a university in Japan were invited to present their research at the Main Event of TICA 2017.

The Main Event of TICA 2017 was held on October 28, 2017 on Ookayama Campus. A total of 156 participants joined the event. Professor Hiroshi Yamaura, head of Student Global Exchange Promotion at the Student Support Center, welcomed the participants with an opening speech. With 167 Indonesian students currently enrolled in Tokyo Tech, Yamaura highlighted the importance of the Indonesian student community to the Institute. The event was also attended by Dr. Ben Perkasa Drajat, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Tokyo, and Dr. Alinda M. Zain, Education and Culture Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic Indonesia in Tokyo.

Opening speech by Prof. Yamaura

The first session in the morning consisted of research presentations by the winners of the paper competition.

Energy and Environment
Utilization of Cocoa Leather Wastes (Theobroma cacao L) Strengthen by Clay as Natural Filters For Treating Well Water	Azwin Harfansah	University of Sumatera Utara
Life Science
Aging Process of Citronella Wangi (Cymbopogon winterianus) with Heterogeneous Catalyst as Aroma Quality Improvement	Vina Octavia Azzahra	Brawijaya University
Infrastructure and Technology
Utilization of Kemiri Shell Waste (Aleurites moluccana) as Material of Organic Motorcycle Brake Removal with Polyurethane Adhesive	Wahid Nurhayat	University of Sumatera Utara
Information and Communication Technology
Indonesian Lip Reading on Unrestricted Grammar using Deep Learning	Muhammad Rizki Aulia Rahman Maulana	University of Indonesia
Indonesian student from Japanese university
High Seismic Performance Concept; Pillar Structure of Reinforced Concrete Bridge with Group System Accompanied by Damper Friction Reared on Full Elastic Behavior	Angga Fajar	Kyoto University

In addition to the research presentations, posters of the 18 best papers selected by the committee were also displayed during the event.

Azwin Harfansah presenting his research

Muhammad Rizki Aulia Rahman Maulana
giving a research presentation

Tokyo Tech Assoc. Prof. Muhammad Aziz
providing comments to contestants

Poster exhibition

The second session in the afternoon was dedicated to inspirational talks. Professor Emeritus Masahiro Kawasaki at Kyoto and Nagoya Universities, an alumnus of Tokyo Tech, and Dr. Ilham Akbar Habibie, an Indonesian technopreneur and the CEO of Regio Aviasi Industri, were invited to give presentations on the theme of "Responsible Innovation for National Self-Reliance."

The event ended with an awarding ceremony for the winners of the paper competition. Based on the significance and success of this year's experiences, the Indonesian Student Association hopes that this event will continue to be held annually to support the development of research in Indonesia.

Prof. Kawasaki giving his inspirational talk

Dr. Ilham Akbar Habibie during the inspirational talks session

Chairman of the TICA committee (left) presenting a souvenir
to the guest speaker

Awarding ceremony

All smiles at the end of the event

*: This article has been updated to correct a presenter's name on December 13.