TIMES SINGAPORE, JAKARTA – A team of Civil Engineering Department students from the State Polytechnic of Malang (Polinema) made an achievement at the International Landscape Seminar Global Compassion Toward Resilience Ecosystem held by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) (4/1/2024).

The team consisted of Zitha Hertina Saraswati, Restu Putra Fajar, Moses Bior Pandek, and Moch. Aril Asyhari Putra won 1st place in the extended abstract category and 3rd place in the poster category.

The International Landscape Seminar Global Compassion Toward Resilience Ecosystem competition is a scientific writing event that aims to explore creative and innovative ideas in the field of landscape and ecosystems. 

The team from the State Polytechnic of Malang carried out a project entitled "Facade Typology of Sentanan Sugar Factory's Former Official Resident as an Effort to Preserve Colonial Buildings in Mojokerto".

This project focused on the preservation of the colonial official residence of Sentanan Sugar Factory in Mojokerto in terms of architectural facade. 

"We are concerned that many historical buildings were damaged and not maintained by the local government. The reason we chose this project was because this colonial building was a heritage building that needed to be preserved," said Restu Putra Fajar.

They conducted observations for three weeks in advance, both directly and indirectly through online media such as Zoom for interviews with local residents. They also displayed posters of data surrounding the sugar factory floor plan in 2D.

"We want to highlight the importance of preserving historic buildings so that they could be recognized by the general public," said Moch. Aril Asyhari Putra.

Good preparation and solid teamwork were the keys to this success. "We often gathered to prepare everything for the competition and also practiced presentations using English.” said Aril. 

Before winning the competition, the team from the State Polytechnic of Malang faced major challenges such as time management with various courses. They must be good at dividing their time between lectures and competition preparation. 

However, they successfully bring a great achievement and gain valuable experience. "We gained new relationships overseas, gained new knowledge when sharing with other participants, and also trained the team to be more compact," they said.

This kind of achievement was expected to motivate all the students of the State Polytechnic of Malang, especially the Civil Engineering department to continuously get achievements on a national and international scale. "We have high hopes that the State Polytechnic of Malang can be recognized throughout the world through the achievements of its own students," said Aril. (*)