ACICIS Study Indonesia was delighted to welcome second cohort of students on our Agriculture Professional Practicum (APP) in January-February 2020 since the program launched last year. We were very pleased to welcome 16 students from Charles Darwin University, The University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, The University of Melbourne, The University of Queensland, RMIT University, La Trobe University, The University of Adelaide, and University of New South Wales to Bogor. This year, there are 11 students who received a New Colombo Plan mobility grant to support them on this program.
For the first two weeks of the program, students undertook intensive Indonesian Language class at IPB University. Alongside this, the students learnt about agriculture, conservation, environment, livestock and food security in Indonesia through a seminar series, delivered by professionals and academics in these fields. APP students also had the opportunity to undertake three field trips during the academic program. First, students had a chance to visit Kelompok Wanita Tani (KWT or woman farmers group) Kentagor in Bogor. The visit provided students with an understanding of urban farming in Indonesia and allowed them to understand the importance of woman farmers’ roles in urban farming, how they can turn a hobby into something profitable and beneficial for neighbourhoods. For the second field trip, the students visited Rumah Tempe Indonesia where they gained valuable insights about modern tempe production. Lastly, the students visited Kampoeng Wisata Cinangneng to experience the links between agriculture and Indonesian culture. Students had a chance to play Sundanese traditional instruments made from bamboo (angklung), learn traditional songs and dances, as well as try their hand at planting rice in the fields.
After completing the academic program, APP students were spread out across Indonesia to complete their four weeks of professional placement at assigned host organisations based in Bogor, Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Yogyakarta and Bali. These organisations included INOBU, NTFP-EP Indonesia, PT Hatfield Indonesia, TaniFund, Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP), AUSTREX, JAVARA – Seniman Pangan, PT MSMB, Idep Foundation and Friends of The National Parks Foundation (FNPF). The 10 host organisations operate across a range of sectors, including environment consulting, research, food science, agriculture technology, natural resources, conservation, livestock and many more.
In the final week of the program, ACICIS held a closing ceremony and a dinner attended by students, IPB representatives and mentors from internship host organisations. We would like to thank IPB University, partners and our host organisations for another year of wonderful collaboration, and would like to congratulate all 16 students on their incredible work in accomplishing the program. We wish the students all the best in their future endeavors and hope to see them back in Indonesia soon – sampai bertemu lagi!
