USU PR - The Center for Excellence in Mangrove Science and Technology at the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) held The 6th International Conference on Natural Resources and Technology (ICONART) Hybrid Conference 2024. With the theme “Natural Resources and Technology for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals through Academic, Industry, and Community”. It took place at Grandhika Hotel Medan, on Tuesday (27/08/2024).

This conference is organized in collaboration with the Nationwide University Network in Indonesia (NUNI), the Faculty of Forestry at Universitas Sumatera Utara, the Faculty of Forestry at Universitas Hasanuddin, and the Malaysia Green Technology Society.

Through her remarks, USU Vice Chancellor III for Research, Community Service, and Cooperation, Prof. Dr. Poppy Anjelisa Zaitun Hasibuan, S.Si., M.Si., Apt. expressed her gratitude and pride for the 6th ICONART conference. She emphasized that this conference is a valuable platform to strengthen relationships and share useful information.

“On behalf of the leadership and academic community of the Universitas Sumatera Utara, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and welcome to all honored guests, speakers, and participants of the 6th ICONART,” Prof. Poppy said.

Vice Rector III underlined the importance of this conference as an intellectual interaction to encourage critical and collaborative discussions that generate innovative ideas and sustainable solutions. He hoped that participants could contribute significantly to solving pressing global challenges, especially in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The conference theme reflects our shared commitment to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.

The conference, which took place under the sub-theme “Resilience and Innovation Research on Sustainable Natural Resources and Technology in the 4.0 era”, became an important platform for sharing knowledge and experiences in facing the challenges of the industrial era 4.0, especially in the fields of natural resources and sustainable technology.

Prof. Mohammad Basyuni, S.Hut., M.Si., Ph.D., as Head of PUI Mangrove USU, explained that this conference was attended by various countries, including Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and several other countries, both directly and hybrid. With 171 participants involved, this large participation shows a significant increase and is in line with USU's efforts in achieving internationalization.

“This is the 6th conference, and we want to expand the collaboration network. We were very enthusiastic to receive offers from various international partners, although some of them could not attend, such as the Zambian Ambassador who the Malaysian Consul General in Medan eventually represented,” said Prof. Basyuni.