Tanoto Foundation held a Tanoto Student Research Award 2015 ceremony on 3 March 2015 to laud 12 young researchers from four universities. Since 2007, Tanoto Foundation has been giving out this award to encourage innovation and creativity among young people from North Sumatra University, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bogor Institute of Agriculture, and Hasanuddin University. Each university is provided an annual research grant of 100 million rupiah.
Over the last 8 years since the inception of the awards, Tanoto Foundation has provided support for numerous research topics in areas that ranges from agriculture, environment to technology. In 2014 alone, Tanoto Foundation facilitated 106 undergraduate students in their research work. Outcomes from some of the research undertakings have direct impact on existing industrial products or processes.
Two research studies highlighted during the awards ceremony generate positive impact to the environment. In the research on biodiesel done by students from North Sumatra University, they analysed and explored ways to improve biodiesel production efficiency, in a bid to make biodiesel more competitive than natural gas, thus paving the way for a more sustainable environment. The team from Bandung Institute of Technology researched into starch-based plastics, whereby a common plant (pati umbi gembili) becomes the principal material in the development of biodegradable plastics.
Tanoto Student Research Award is the Foundation’s contribution to support improvement in research and development among the young generation in Indonesia. 2013 data from Researcher Training, Education, and Development Center of Indonesia Institute of Sciences shows that there are only about 24,000 researchers in various fields in Indonesia. In order to come close to other countries’ advancement in technology, Indonesia needs 200,000 researchers.
“Tanoto Foundation believes that, to be a competitive country, Indonesia must produce many innovations as the basis of advancement in the future. This could be achieved when we have a strong research and development culture,” said Sihol Aritonang, Head of Tanoto Foundation.