The name of Tanjungpura University (Untan), Pontianak-West Kalimantan is back on the national stage. This time, two students from the Department of Chemistry-Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences as representatives of Untan succeeded in winning the PT Plus Scholarship Writing Competition (LKT): Djarum, National Level in 2010. Without hesitation, Untan won two champions at once, namely first and third place.
The two FMIPA Untan students, namely Risya Sasri, won first place with a paper entitled "Utilization of Kaolinite-Bixin Nanopigment as a Photosensitizer in TiO2 Solar Cells and Its Development Potential in West Kalimantan" and Ferdinand Hidayat with his work "Bagas-Polyaniline Composite Material as an Electrode in Battery Based Cellulose” as third place winner. Meanwhile, second place was achieved by Reggi Surya from IPB with the working title "Potential of Canned Tempeh as a Media for Promotion of Typical Indonesian Food to Abroad". Risya and Ferdinand beat 10 other finalists from various well-known universities in Indonesia, including IPB, ITS, Unibraw, Unair, Undip, and Unpad.
Taking the theme of the Future of Indonesia, LKT Beswan Djarum Plus, which is entering its fifth year of implementation, was attended by 184 of the 450 Beswan Djarum Plus winners. The jury for this competition comes from representatives of well-known intellectuals, practitioners, academics, and media with credibility and expertise in their respective fields. They are Prof. Dr. Soefjan Tsauri, MSc (Chair of the Indonesian Council of Research Professors), Anies R. Baswedan PhD (Chancellor of Paramadina University), and Suryopratomo (News Director of Metro TV). The selection for the final round which took place over two days, Thursday and Friday (14-15/10/2010), only produced three main winners. At the final stage, the jury not only looked at the content of the participants' writing but also considered the presentation aspect, including the appearance or attractiveness of the presentation and the ability to defend one's opinion.
"It's easy if you want to look for the best because these twelve works are all the best works. "What's difficult is finding those who are not the best," said Soefyan, before the names of the winners were announced. He said, that of the twelve finalists' works, the jury's most important assessment was not just on the content. According to him, it was the originality and way of delivering the presentation that was most important in the eyes of the judges. “Those are the only two things that differentiate them,” he said. Anies Baswedan also expressed his salute. “The feel of the quality is better. "Participants are enthusiastic about looking for different and unique themes that Indonesia needs," he said. Suryopratomo added that the themes raised by the finalists generally originate from real problems faced by the nation.
West Kalimantan's dominance in the competition stunned the audience. When asked about their response, Risya and Ferdinand said they were very grateful. At first, they didn't expect to win this competition. Especially considering that the other participants are generally great. "We are grateful that we can appear all the way from Pontianak City here," said Ferdinand. Meanwhile, Risya said that when they first came, they were thought to be from Jayapura. This is probably because the name Tanjungpura sounds identical to Jayapura. “We feel very far away. But we use that as motivation to get up, and despite all limitations, we continue to move forward. "Thank God, maybe this time we have the chance to win," he said, witnessed by the jury, and PT officials. Djarum and a number of journalists. For her victory, Risya received a cash prize worth IDR 20 million. Meanwhile, Ferdinand received a scholarship worth IDR 10 million along with a certificate of appreciation from PT. Djarum.
Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Thamrin Usman, DEA as Dean of FMIPA Untan said "It is an extraordinary honor because FMIPA students can compete with universities that already have a name in Indonesia. This is proof that we are trying to create competitive human resources in the field of written work with brilliant ideas from students, not only at the regional level but also at the national level." The victory achieved by the students cannot be separated from the guidance and participation of the supervisors who have taught and directed the students so that they can achieve what they have now. For students who excel, the faculty itself will provide rewards by providing research funding relief for the purposes of writing a thesis. Apart from that, the University also provided rewards in the form of coaching funds and free tuition fees for 3 and 1 semester respectively to Risya and Ferdinand.
