4th Virtual Matchmaking Event for the Southeast Asia-Europe Joint Funding Scheme for Research and Innovation (JFS)

The South-East Asia-Europe JFS 4th Matchmaking event took place on November 23rd 2020, following the Global Bio-Economy Summit. The matchmaking event gave the opportunity to SEA and European researchers to introduce their research project ideas on bio-economy related topics which is at the core of the 2020 Innovation Joint Call for Proposals (6th Call), currently open for submission of research proposals.

The event started with the welcoming speech of Adele Clausen, Service Delivery Manager of  SEA-Europe JFS. She welcomed the participants and introduced the JFS scheme and shared with the audience the selection process of projects. Once an application is received it goes through an eligibility check done by the JFS management team. For applications to be eligible, the consortium must include partners from both regions and from three different countries, which is referred to as the 2+1 rule. Then, as each participating country funds its own researchers (with a few exceptions), the proposals are directed to national contact points which will check whether the proposal is eligible according to national regulations. Subsequently, two rounds of peer-review take place and the final selection is announced. For the 5th and 6th call, the results are expected to be known in May 2021. The deadline for the 5th call is set on the 15th of December, while the deadline for the 6th call is on the 15th of January. For more information on how to apply please click here.

The event is an opportunity for researchers interested in applying to the JFS bio-economy related 6th call to connect with potential partners. Soon our website will host a partnering tool to additionally facilitate the construction of bi-regional consortia. In addition, virtual lab tours will be organized.

Mr. Teguh Rahardjo from the Indonesian Science Fund which is hosting the JFS call secretariat, took the floor to highlight that the event was a real chance to find international partners. The internationality of science enables a cross-polination of ideas, necessary for making connections that one might not have seen before. This is why funding schemes like the SEA-Europe JFS are crucial to foster excellent science.  In the SEA-Europe JFS scheme, we consider the bi-regional and multilateral character as primordial.

During the matchmaking event, which gathered around 40 participants, researchers selected from the call for speakers applications took the floor to introduce their research project idea in the intend to find interested partners to bring their research project to the next level. The presentations, while all related to the bio-economy, covered various topics: food, materials, energy production, fisheries etc. The event showcased eight speakers from Indonesia and one speaker from the Philippines. The audience was from both regions as the aim of the event is to find partners which would fulfill the SEA-Europe JFS criteria.

Dr. Michael Francis D. Benjamin, from the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, was the first to present his project idea titled: ‘Development of Integrated Biorefineries using Philippine Agricultural Waste via the P-graph Method: A Step Towards Circular Economy’. His project aims to utilitize the agricultural waste in the Philippines via circular economy techniques. Biomass potential is great in the Philippines (rice, coconut, sugarcane). Yet, there are no real projects in place that make use of this via bio-refineries. Bio-refineries are interesting because they enable to reuse resources in a circular way: Biomass processing plants can produce high-value bio-products such as bio-energy and bio-chemicals. However, there are some risks related to the industry which require a proper framework to be designed to upscale biorefineries while prevent/counter those risks. The project would take on this task using the P-graph method. For this, they are looking for partners that can offer expertise in the areas of bio-refining, process integration, optimization, and circular economy.

The second presentation was given by Prof. Dr. Oslan Jumadi, from the Department of Biology at  Universitas Negeri Makassar in Indonesia. His project also deals with the problem of waste and is titled ‘Integrating insect farming into sustainable food systems to mitigate emission of greenhouses gases from tropical agriculture sector’. His project idea is to look for strategies in managing organic wastes that produce biofertilizers for crops and protein-rich insect biomass for animal feed. Through this project, he hopes to develop a strategy in managing organic wastes and producing biofertilizers for corn crops and protein-rich insect biomass for fish feed to a sustainable food system but also aims to reduce greenhouses gases.

The third presentation also focused on food and the role that insects could play in food sustainability. Dr. Emil R. Kaburuan is from the Bina Nusantara (BINUS) University in Jakarta, Indonesia. His research idea is titled ‘Developing an Intelligent BSF (Black Soldier Fly) larvae farm to produce high protein source in food sustainability’. Having identified the problem related to poor waste processing, the project aims to create an ecosystem enabling the waste bank to work more efficiently and to end the waste problem in Indonesia.  BSF has been identified as the best solution to handle organic waste and therefore the project will focus on enhancing this method. All activities will be recorded in an app that will enable tracing. The outcome of the project should be to develop an ‘intelligent’ BSF system that will be able to implement and monitor the BSF technique.

The next presentation this time did not focus on waste but on the sustainable management of vulnerable fisheries. This project idea was presented by Indah Susilowati from the Diponegoro University in Indonesia.  The project seeks to create a management system for vulnerable fisheries using smart information. In addition to that project, she also presented a second project which would be focused on implementing good governance in coastal communities through gender awareness against corruption. Those two topics would beneficiate from a broad collaboration and international expertise to reach their full potential.

The fifth project is titled ‘Fish Molecular Immunology and The Development of Fish Cell Culture-based Vaccine’ and thus also relates to the problem of sustainable production. Dr. Dewi Syahidah, from the Institute for Marine Research Aquaculture and Fisheries Extension in Indonesia, explained to the audience her project idea. Zoonoses associated with fish can cause serious illness in humans which could be curbed by using a bio-economy approach. Currently, antibiotics are used but they are often the solution that would be to favor prevention before treatment by using vaccination. Her project would put that idea into practice and would benefit from partners with experience in those topics. The collaboration would enable the sharing and transfer of knowledge, the development of human resources, the creation of patents on vaccines for commercial purposes, the publications of co-authored articles etc.

The next project was presented by Dr. Surono from the Indonesian Soil Research Institute

& Innovation Centre for Tropical Sciences. His project idea is titled ‘The bio-economics of dark septate endophytes (DSE) fungi from tropical Indonesia’. The project would investigate the use of Indonesia's tropical DSE fungal resources, to improve soil fertility and health to increase sustainable soil and crop productivity. Dr. Surono clearly specified what he is looking for in potential partners:  “I am looking for Partners who can collaborate in implementing and analyzing the project from the start of the activity to the end, from the laboratory and the field to the end-user with outcomes that can be used by all the stakeholders involved. The types of organizations sought are universities, international and national research institutes, organic farmer organizations, with supporting expertise in metagenomic, metabolomic, environmental impact analysis, socio-economic analysis, participatory-based empowerment, and marketing of technology”.

The project idea that was presented next is titled ‘Sustainability Of The Subak Landscape For Sustainable Agriculture’. Made Ika Prastyadewi the Faculty of Economics and Business of Diponegoro University in Indonesia. She outlined that the aim of the research is to find policy recommendations to preserve the Subak landscape via natural resources management. The project places a specific focus on the preservation of local culture and wisdom that is embedded in the agricultural practices of the area.  The collaboration should eventually lead to a joint-publication. 

The next presentation was given by Dr. I Made Wahyu Wijaya from the University of Mahasaraswati Denpasar in Indonesia. The project is titled: ‘Climate Change Resilience Village Through The Development Of Agro-ecotourism’ and focuses on the Baha village in Bali. Through GIS inventorying of the Baha village, the project aims to collect information on the agricultural features of the village needed to develop an organic-based agricultural application. The ultimate aim of the project is to improve current techniques for more sustainability and develop an eco-tourism area.

Dr. Ir Wahyudi, from the University of Papua, gave the last presentation of the session entitled: ‘Intervention in management and technology of Non-Timber Forest Products commodities based on the local knowledge to establish independence of foods, energy, and income source of local community in Indonesian New Guinea’. This project aims at developing no-timber forest products using the local knowledge to ensure local communities’ independence. Those types of products have the benefit to be produced much more sustainably than other forest products but also could really empower the community. It is possible to create products while managing and maintaining eco-systems. The project would effectively work towards the development of this activity, through standardization and marketing of products.

After all presentations were given, participants were given the opportunity to discuss with each speaker in dedicated break-out rooms. There, participants were able to ask questions and network with the speakers to possibly start cooperation which might lead to a concrete research project in the scope of the new JFS calls.

If you were not able to attend the event and would like to access the slides of the various presentations don’t hesitate to contact us:  sea_eu_jfs@servicefacility.eu