SGU establishes environmental lab

SGU establishes environmental lab

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Swiss German University (SGU) on Thursday inaugurated an
environmental laboratory, which will provide its students as well
as governmental institutions with the most up-to-date research
equipment to study the environment.

Abdollah Kazemi, a German professor tasked with establishing
the laboratory, said on Thursday that the laboratory would
provide professional services, particularly with regard to the
analysis of water, soil and sludge.

"It will also provide analysis of food for organic and
inorganic pollutant contents," Kazemi, who is of Iranian descent,
told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the laboratory's
inaugural ceremony at the SGU campus in Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD),
Tangerang.

Also present at the ceremony were Jakarta deputy governor
Fauzi Bowo, Iranian and German diplomats, officials from the
Jakarta and Banten administrations and lecturers as well as
students from the university.

Kazemi said the SGU environmental laboratory, equipped with
automatic machines, was the equal of the environmental laboratory
used by the German government.

"The process of analysis only takes place for few seconds and
the results can be directly read on a computer screen," said
Kazemi, who is a German government certified expert on
environmental analysis.

Water analysis will show various pollutants -- metals,
pesticides, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), cyanide,
chloride, fluoride and phenol, while soil and sludge analysis
will show the metals, mineral oils and PAH.

SGU Rector Peter Pscheid said that the laboratory was very
important to intensify research on the condition of the
environment.

"With the result of our studies, we may contribute input to
decision makers -- government officials and legislators -- so
that they can make the right policies on how to protect our
environment," he added.

SGU was established in 2000. Starting with 32 students, the
university now has over 800 students.

The university offers bachelors and masters programs in
mechatronics engineering, business engineering, information and
communications technology (ICT), software engineering, business
computing, business administration, hotel and tourist management,
pharmaceutical engineering, food technology and biomedical
engineering.

Before finishing their studies, SGU students are required to
undergo apprenticeship in Germany for at least six months.

The students are, therefore, required to speak not only
English, but also German, according to the faculty coordinator of
life sciences Maruli Pandjaitan.