In January 2018, ACICIS welcomed 3 students on the Agriculture Semester Program (ASP), hosted by Bogor Agricultural University (IPB). All students were recipients of funding from the New Colombo Plan Mobility Program to support them during their time in Indonesia. As part of the ASP, the students completed their studies at IPB and their professional placements in various institutions related to the agriculture sector. The semester was concluded with final presentations delivered before IPB and ACICIS staff, and colleagues from their host organisations.
Jessica Lee Campion (Western Sydney University), a Bachelor of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security student, undertook her professional placement at an agriculture production company, PT BLST (Bogor Life Science Technology). This professional placement gave Jessica the opportunity to be involved in some projects in BLST, such as Serambi Botani stores, and on and off-farm production technology in which she could gain deeper knowledge about business and marketing practices. “I feel like I learnt a lot and achieved growth in many aspects of my life, including professional and social”, she added.
Alana Griffiths (Western Sydney University) another Bachelor of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security student, completed her placement with a non-government organisation, The Learning Farm in Cianjur. At The Learning Farm, Alana was assigned to teach English to students at camp who are coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. As her big project, she took part in designing and making the institution sign out of flowers and plants alongside the students, and was fortunate enough to also gain first-hand experience with organic farming applications and conventional farming techniques during her time there.
Last but not least, a Bachelor of Science student, Orlando Kirby-Knox (The University of Western Australia), took the opportunity to be placed at marine conservation-focused institution, Conservation International Indonesia in Bali. Orlando worked on a project where he studied and observed people’s perspectives on beach values, in relation to the community environmental involvement. Throughout his placement, Orlando noted that he had improved his public speaking skills, due to the interviews with tourists and locals conducted during the project. Looking back the past six months, he then added “a remarkable experience, I wish I could have stayed longer.”
The semester was wrapped-up with a farewell dinner attended by staff, students, and student buddies. We greatly thank IPB and all participating organisations hosted our students this semester. Moreover, we could not be more proud of student’s accomplishments. Congratulations to our three Semester 46 participants. We wish all students the best of luck in their future endeavours, and sampai bertemu!
