USU PR - Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) won the annual Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) event which was held online in October 2021 and Syiah Kuala University (Unsyiah) hosted this event. USU won in the seminar and cultural categories, to say the least.

When interviewed, the seminar team consisting of Fenny, Sharon (Food Technology Science, USU Faculty of Agriculture) and Evelin (English Literature, USU Faculty of Cultural Sciences) explained that they won the Best Presentation title. The three compete in different topic classes. Fenny took the topic of Deforestation, Sharon with the topic of Certification, and Evelin with the topic of Supply Chain.

Meanwhile, in the cultural category, USU won the title of Best Cultural Performance. This category was achieved after the USU cultural team defeated participants from 12 other universities, spread across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. USU previously sent a video of a cultural performance in the form of a dance which became the material to be contested in the championship.

An interesting story came from the seminar category where the three USU delegates joined other participants in a group. The committee applies group discussion activities prior to the presentation assessment. As a result, they are required to be able to provide color and dynamics with participants from other universities, even with invited participants from France.

The time difference between participants from different countries is a challenge in itself. Before the seminar starts, each group is required to have a discussion first. Challenges arise because they have to adjust the time and discussion management so that it can be timely and followed by all group participants.

Fenny said that his presentation in the Deforestation category attracted the attention of the jury, because it also raised awareness to the public about protecting forest ecosystems. The topic of Deforestation requires participants to provide ideas about the potential damage to the forest environment due to land clearing for oil palm plantations. She said that the community must also play an active role in protecting the forest ecosystem. Currently, people only think about the benefits of clearing land for oil palm plantations. As a result, the ecosystem of the forest environment is encroached without thinking about the impact it will have.

Furthermore, Sharon also told about the topic of Certification. She brought up the issue of the importance of quality validation in the management process in the palm oil industry. Quality validation through certification requires palm oil industry players to meet quality standards for tools, materials, and products produced. Certification in the palm oil industry provides benefits to protect the environment and the people who use the products of the palm oil industry.

Meanwhile Evelin, who discussed the Supply Chain issue, explained the process of processing palm oil from upstream to downstream. In the process, Evelin mentioned the importance of formulating effective and efficient SOPs to reduce the energy used in processing palm oil. She hopes that the palm oil industry will implement the use of environmentally friendly energy in the supply chain process so that in addition to products that can be utilized by the community. The process is also environmentally friendly. The three agreed that the issues they raised in each topic expected improvements in the palm oil industry. Not only talking about products and processes, they also hope that the impact on the wider community will also be considered. They gave an example if the area around the palm oil industry experienced damaged roads due to the mobilization of oil palm. The surrounding community became victims of industrial players who did not make repairs to the road.

On the other hand, for the cultural team, the challenge of being able to present the best performance is an obstacle in itself. The quality of video, audio and editing are added values ​​in their video appearances. In addition, the number of students who are still in their hometown makes it difficult to collect dancers. There are a total of eight dancers and one presenter in this cultural team.

The cultural team represented by Haris (English Literature, Faculty of Cultural Sciences USU) said that the difference in concepts with other participants was the key for USU to be able to win the title of Best Cultural Performance. In a dance with the title Endito Ari Ujan, with the theme of Karo culture, attracted the attention of the jury. This dance is certainly different from the dance concepts of other participants, because it is extracted from the culture of North Sumatra region.

Previously, the USU cultural team had also won awards in the IMT-GT event in recent years. The cultural wealth of North Sumatra is a big asset for the USU cultural team. Creativity and innovation in creating dance choreography by displaying North Sumatran culture seems to be endless.

Haris said that students should not be ashamed and should be proud of the existing potential cultural in North Sumatra. He said that currently many students do not really care about their own culture and are more proud of foreign cultures. In fact, the culture of North Sumatra is admired by the global community. This is proven by the number of times USU has won awards in the cultural category. He hopes that this achievement will motivate students to continue to work and improve the existence of culture, especially the culture of North Sumatra. He gave a message that If we (the students) do not work and introduce our cultures, then who?

The seminar team also conveyed the same thing by motivating students not to be afraid to try. According to them, their time as a student should be spent trying various kinds of creativity and innovation. They encourage students to be confident and continue to explore their potential to give their best. Besides that, they also reminded that every student's struggle and hard work must be accompanied with praying. (©ULC)

Author: Roni Hikmah Ramadhan - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Rizki Hakim Lubis - Humas