Young RI researchers receive WIPO awards
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Young researchers from Indonesia on Tuesday received four awards from the World International Property Organization (WIPO) after winning the 2004 Business Innovation Competition for Youth held in October last year by the Ministry of National Education.
The awards and certificates were presented by Ministry of Youth and Sports director of youth affairs Sudradjat Rasyid at Gadjah Mada University.
"It's not easy to get (property rights) recognition from WIPO, as the products have to be academically justified and socially advantageous," Sudradjat said as he congratulated the award recipients.
WIPO is an international organization dedicated to helping ensure the rights of creators and owners of intellectual property are protected worldwide. It also ensures inventors and authors are recognized and rewarded for their ingenuity. WIPO presently has some 180 member-states or more than 90 percent of the world's countries.
First place went to Agnes Widya Putri, a student of the state- run senior high school SMUN 6 Yogyakarta, for her innovative product -- crackers made out of tofu byproducts.
Second place went to a group of four student researchers from Gadjah Mada for their superior-quality tofu products made using a natural clotting agent.
The third prize was given to a group of two student researchers from Semarang State University for a candy product, locally known as manisan, made out of papaya tree bark.
The fourth award went to Niken Suryanti, a student of the Surabaya's Airlangga University, for her waterproof sunscreen product made out of kencur (greater galingale).
Total prices worth US$600 were given to the four winners, the first place-getter -- Agnes -- also received a medal from WIPO.
"This is the fourth time young Indonesian researchers have received such awards from WIPO," Sudradjat said.
It was important the researchers made connections with industry so their innovations could be turned into commercial products, he said.
Projects in Situ Udik village in Bogor and East Lombok were examples where raw materials were successfully processed into added-value agricultural commodities, Sudradjat said.