UNSOED student wins gold medal at ISIF 2023 event
The delegation of Universitas Jenderal Soedirman (Unsoed) again won an award at the international level. At the world event at the International Science and Invention Fair (ISIF) 2023, the Unsoed "t-Rex" Team consisting of Elda Zaelita Nurul Raizma (Biology 2022), Devia Angelina Sopian (Biology, 2022), Aqilah Rahma Adiningrum (A1F021033), Adrian Panjaitan (A1F021049), Oryza Tiva Kusumamiarsih (B1A021018) with supervisor Dr. Endang Ariyani Setyowati, M.Si won Gold Medal in the Life Science category.
Elda said that ISIF competition is a scientific competition in the field of life science, and Technology organized by the Indonesian Young Scientist Association (IYSA). It was held on 7-10 November 2023 with 8 categories namely Technology, Mathematics, Social Science, Environment, Life Science, Physics, Education and Energy and Engineering.
This event was attended by 819 teams from 32 countries including Indonesia, Mexico, Malaysia, Romania, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Iran, Thailand, Vietnam, Lebanon, Malaysia, Turkey, Singapore, South Africa, Macau, China, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, USA, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Bolivia, India, Timor Leste, Macedonia, Puerto Rico, Congo Kinshasa RDC., and United Arab Emirates.
"We would like to thank the supervisors and those who have supported us so that we get the best results for our beloved university. We aim this competition to motivate our friends here in Unsoed to increase their competitive spirit in any competition that can bring the name of our beloved Unsoed," she said.
The "t-Rex" team presented a work entitled "t-Rex (Tablets of Rice Lice Repellent & Exterminator) from Lime Peel Waste and Shallot Peel to Reduce Rice (Oryza Sativa) Losses in the Storage Process". This idea was derived from the background of SDGs goal 2, which is to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
Elda further said that a report from the Food Security Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture (2018) stated that there are still 81 districts in Indonesia that are vulnerable to food insecurity and could threaten Indonesia to experience a food crisis in the next 10 to 20 years. The productivity of paddy rice as a food need is not in line with the increase in population, which will affect food security and the threat of a food crisis in Indonesia.
Decreased rice production can also occur during post-harvest. Post-harvest losses in rice can reduce the quality and quantity of rice. The cause of the decline in the quality and quantity of rice can occur due to several factors, namely non-optimal temperature, unclean rice storage, and pest attacks.
According to her, the utilization of natural ingredients can be one way to make the preparation of insect repellent and killer tablets in rice that is effective and environmentally friendly because it does not contain harmful chemicals. Natural ingredients that can be used include lime peel and shallot skin.
"Therefore, we made an effective and environmentally friendly solution to overcome the problem of rice quality and prevent loss of rice quantity in the storage process to realize SDGs goal number 2,".
This ISIF competition took place online, with the selection process starting with the submission of works on October 13, 2023, then presentations and questions and answers on November 7, 2023 and announcements on November 9, 2023.