Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – In order to improve the competitiveness of research proposals in the palm oil sector, the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) of Hasanuddin University held a Workshop on Assistance in Submitting Palm Oil Research Grant Proposals 2025. The workshop was attended by 40 researchers from various disciplines related to the palm oil research priority sector, with the aim of improving the quality and funding potential of their proposals.
The workshop featured two expert speakers, namely Prof. Ir. H. Didiek Hadjar Goenadi M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU., INV as a member of the Research and Development Committee of the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS), and Dr. Aqsha, ST., Ph.D., recipient of the 2025 palm oil research grant. Both speakers provided technical guidance and evaluated the proposals submitted by the participants.
The Head of LPPM Unhas expressed his hope that this mentoring workshop would increase the success rate of proposals in the palm oil research funding selection process. He emphasized that various strategies had been implemented to improve the quality and quantity of the proposals submitted. “The impact of this research must be felt more widely, especially by palm oil farmers in Indonesia,” he said.
During the mentoring session, the researchers presented their proposal ideas and received direct feedback from the speakers. Prof. Didiek and Dr. Aqsha emphasized the importance of research novelty (value novelty) and potential for real implementation (move to action) as key aspects in proposal assessment.
In addition to substance, Prof. Didiek also highlighted the importance of complete administrative documents in proposal submissions. “No matter how good the substance of the research is, if the supporting documents are incomplete, the proposal could be rejected in the selection process,” he said.
This workshop was held online via the Zoom platform and was part of LPPM Unhas’ strategic efforts to strengthen the capacity of researchers in obtaining palm oil research funding.