Semarang (11/7) – Two students from the Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP), recently clinched bronze medal at the Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF) in South Korea. They were Siti Amira Anjani Salim (Amira) and Elliana Azzahra Ayuningrum (Elli), who are undergraduate students majoring in Communication Science and participated in the international competition in the Negeri Ginseng (Land of Ginseng). These two students were members of the ForestryTech team, which developed an integrated application for forest conservation monitoring and education.

Initially, the ForestryTech application was developed by UNDIP Computer Engineering students, namely Daniel Alvaro Sormin, Khanuum Maulida Puspita Hasyim, and Samuel Miduk Anugrah Pasaribu. However, during its development, they realized the importance of contributions from the humanities and social sciences. This was because the mission of ForestryTech itself was aimed at social and environmental benefits. This was also the reason Elli and Amira joined and contributed to this project.

The collaboration between students from two different faculties within Universitas Diponegoro demonstrated successful multidisciplinary collaboration among the Diponegoro Muda level (a term referring to students in the Universitas Diponegoro environment), even on an international scale. SIIF itself was an event organized by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and organized by the Korea Invention Promotion Association (KIPA). The Seoul International Invention Fair was officially inaugurated in 2002 with the goal of promoting various inventions. Since then, until 2023, SIIF has been supporting inventors from around the world for more than 20 years through various activities.

This event was also supported by three institutions: the Seoul City Government, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the International Federation of Inventors’ Associations (IFIA). Through their collaboration, SIIF had become a platform where inventors and researchers from around the world could present new ideas and products to manufacturers, investors, distributors, licensing companies, and the general public. Therefore, ForestryTech had gained international recognition.

Not only that, in that international event, ForestryTech also received a special award from the Pomeranian Medical University (PMU) in Szczecin, Poland, as a form of recognition from the Polish public university. Hence, it can be concluded that ForestryTech, which was also joined by Elli and Amira, successfully brought home two awards in the SIIF event. It is hoped that these two awards will serve as a source of learning and inspiration for all students in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, particularly in the Communication Science Program.