The Directorate of Innovation, Commercialization, and Partnerships at Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) successfully held the Pathway to Research Commercialization Workshop in Food and Agricultural Technology: From Laboratory to Market. The event was held at the Grand Candi Hotel Ballroom. This event aimed to accelerate research commercialization in line with Government Regulation No. 28 of 2004 on Food Safety, Quality, and Nutrition.
The workshop gathered 100 participants, including researchers and innovators from various UNDIP faculties, such as the Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Engineering, and Vocational School. The discussions focused on strategies to streamline research commercialization in food and agricultural technology, ensuring products reach mass production and market distribution.
In his opening remarks, UNDIP Rector, Prof. Dr. Suharnomo, S.E., M.Si., highlighted UNDIP’s leading research innovations that are ready for industrial-scale development. However, some require further assistance before reaching commercial success. He also reiterated UNDIP’s commitment to supporting government programs, such as Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), by developing innovative food products like analog rice, bottled water, and dairy products.
Prof. Suharnomo also showcased UNDIP’s outstanding innovations, including energy-efficient vehicles developed by students, a robotic hand by Prof. Dr. Rifky Ismail, which is used by military personnel, and a desalination machine by Prof. Nyoman Widiasa, which has been recognized by several governors and mayors and is expected to become a national program for clean water supply.
The event featured prominent government and industry representatives, including:
- Ministry of Agriculture – Dedy Wahyudi, S.T., M.M., (Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Supervisor)
- National Nutrition Agency – Dr. Ir. Tigor Pangaribuan (Deputy for Systems and Governance)
- PTPN I Regional 3 – Tri Septiono, S.P., M.M. (Regional Head)
- National Agency of Drug and Food Control – Ema Setyawati, S.Si., Apt., M.E. (Director of Community and Food Business Empowerment)
- Semarang Research and Innovation Agency (BRIDA) of Jawa Tengah Food Security Service– Ferry Agus Setiawan, S.Pt., MM
- Indonesian Food and Beverage Entrepreneurs Association (GAPMMI) – Ir. Betsy Manoarva (Deputy Chair for MSME Development)
Representatives from leading companies and industries also attended, such as:
- Inasentra Unisatya
- President Director of PT Cisarua Mountain Dairy Tbk (Cimory)
- Deltomed Laboratories
- Choice Plus Makmur
- Prima Freshmart
- Superindo (365) product distributors
This participation underscored the importance of collaboration between academia and industry in bringing research innovations to the market. The resource persons from UNDIP are Dr. Nuryanto, S.Gz., M.Gizi., as a researcher and expert in the field of Food Science and Bagus Herwibawa, S.P., M.P., as a researcher in the field of Agrotechnology.
Director of Innovation, Downstream, and Cooperation of UNDIP, drh. Dian Wahyu Harjanti, Ph.D., explained that each field of science has a different downstream process. The previous year, UNDIP held a workshop for the health sector, and this year, it focused on food and agricultural technology. Next, there will be a workshop in the fields of energy and engineering.
The workshop also featured an exhibition of UNDIP’s food and agricultural technology innovations, including:
- Vocational School:Voca Water (packaged drinking water), Vocaskoel (analog rice made from cassava flour)
- Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences:Wheyfy (probiotic whey-based drink), Melon Premium 8 (eight premium melon varieties), high-antioxidant sweet long bean seeds, early-stage hybrid plant seeds, pathogen isolates, fruit fly pheromone traps, entomopathogenic isolates (Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae).
- Faculty of Medicine: ‘ProfDiet’ (nutritious meal products & catering), Fishcuit (fish-based biscuit with protein hydrolysate and soy protein isolate), Chestik (garlic-flavored cheese stick made from fish and soybean flour), Bugbite (high-protein biscuit made from cricket flour), Sagurimi, and Kusagi.
- Collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences: MP-ASI (Complementary Baby Food) made from fermented eggs.
- Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science: Spirulina flour, CeMang Instant (Mangrove-based cendol), Seachoco (chocolate with natural color from Caulerpa sp.), Spirulina-based functional food products, Marine Biokal (calcium supplement from fish bones and macroalgae), low-sodium boiled salt, AstaOmega Oil (rich in astaxanthin and omega-3), HyPTer (Hypoallergenic Powdered Shrimp Paste), liquid smoke products and its derivatives, instant artificial scallop meat, microencapsulated natural colorants from algae.
- Collaboration between the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, the Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering: saline tilapia and rice cultivation (developed at UNDIP’s Science Techno Park.
- Collaboration between the Faculty of Animal and Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering: eBro – AI-based Deep Learning for Object Detection, Cumulative Counting, broiler chicken object measurement, Smart Plant Monitoring (SPM) – Human Machine Interface and IoT-based greenhouse monitoring for horticulture, AI-driven seasonal fruit ripeness identification using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN).
As a follow-up, the workshop resulted in two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between:
- UNDIP and the National Nutrition Agency (Badan Gizi Nasional)
- UNDIP and PT Choice Plus Makmur
Currently, UNDIP is developing saline-tolerant tilapia and rice to enhance agricultural productivity in saltwater-prone areas. The university is also optimizing renewable energy utilization and innovative food production, aligning with its mission to serve society through the tagline “Noble and Valuable UNDIP.”
