Politeknik Negeri Semarang (Polines) has succeeded in demonstrating innovation in palm oil technology, even though it is located in an area without oil palm plantations. One of the significant achievements is the crawler dumper innovation developed by Denny Surindra, lecturer at the Polines Mechanical Engineering Department, and his team of students. This crawler dumper answers various problems faced by farmers and the palm oil industry in Indonesia.
This was conveyed by the Director of Polines, Prof. Dr. Totok Prasetyo, in the Workshop "Strengthening Agricultural Infrastructure and Counseling for National Palm Oil Farmers SMEs" organized by the Indonesian Palm Oil Society (MAKSI) together with the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS), Tuesday (7/11) .
"The innovation in crawler dumper technology is clear evidence of Polines' contribution to the development of the national palm oil sector," he said
Totok Prasetyo.
Totok also highlighted educational aspects that support oil palm farmers as well as increasing competitive and innovative human resources.
"This workshop shows how important the role of higher education is in providing education that supports oil palm farmers, paying attention to aspects of increasing competitive and innovative human resources," added Totok.
Totok emphasized that higher education plays a vital role in the introduction, maintenance and development of the palm oil industry. The hope is that innovation and collaboration like that carried out by Polines can provide inspiration for other educational institutions to contribute to maintaining palm oil as an irreplaceable national wealth.
He reminded the importance of education as an answer to the black campaign issue that is stalking the palm oil industry.
"Higher education plays a major role in supporting the expansion of quality palm oil, maintaining productivity, and having a positive impact on the country," he said.
He also highlighted the vital contribution of higher education in this strategic industry.
Higher education, he said, does not only focus on maintaining palm oil production, but also on improving the quality of human resources that support this industry.
"Higher education has a vital role in the introduction, maintenance and development of the palm oil industry as a strategic product for Indonesia," he added.
Totok Prasetyo, born on April 27 1962 in Temanggung, is known as an expert in the field of thermodynamics and has served as Director of the Semarang State Polytechnic from 2021 to 2025.
He is an alumnus of D3 Mechanical Engineering at the Semarang State Polytechnic in 1985 and continued his education at The Polytechnic of Huddersfield and the University of Indonesia for a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Apart from that, he also obtained a Doctorate degree in Agricultural Technology from the Bogor Agricultural Institute.
Source: rmoljawatengah.id