Medan, 31 October 2026 – Developing research ideas into innovations capable of competing at the national level requires a process, strategy, and collaboration. This was one of the main topics discussed during the PKM Kick Start Session 1 organized by the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara (FP USU), through a presentation by Dr. Ir. Zikri Noer, S.Si., M.Si., at the Soeratman Hall, FP USU, on Saturday (31 October 2026).
The Supervisor of 39th PIMNAS Finalists at Diponegoro University (UNDIP) and Head of the Undergraduate Program in Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, USU, delivered a presentation entitled “From Research Ideas to Achievements: Strategies for Excelling in National Competitions through Oil Palm Innovation.”
In his presentation, Dr. Zikri Noer explained four essential preparations before drafting a proposal and participating in competitions: identifying opportunities, choosing a competition, assessing the feasibility of ideas, and making prompt and appropriate revisions.
He also highlighted the potential of oil palm as a source for developing innovations across various disciplines. Different parts and by-products of oil palm, such as oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), shells, palm kernel meal, oil, and liquid waste, can serve as research subjects using various approaches. According to him, the most important aspect is not merely the commodity being studied, but the real-world problems that the research aims to solve.
The speaker also shared his experience in mentoring teams for various competitions, including PIMNAS and other innovation competitions. Drawing from these experiences, students were encouraged to understand that achievements are not attained instantly, but through a series of stages, from proposal preparation and experimentation to evaluation, improvement, and presentations in the final round.
He emphasized six habits that competitive teams need to develop: addressing real-world problems, introducing novelty, having testing data, producing clear outputs, building collaborative teams, and developing presentation or pitching skills.
To strengthen participants' understanding, the session continued with an interactive discussion. Students were asked to select one of the ideas emerging during the session and present it to receive critical questions, suggestions for improvement, and development guidance. Through this activity, participants had the opportunity to test their ideas while understanding the importance of evaluation before submitting proposals to competitions.
This activity was part of the FP USU PKM Kick Start Session 1, which was attended by students from the 2024, 2025, and 2026 cohorts, as well as the Dean of FP USU, Dr. Rulianda Purnomo Wibowo, S.P., M.Ec., the Vice Dean, and faculty members.
Through the presentation and discussion, students are expected to become more capable of identifying research opportunities, building cross-disciplinary collaborations, and producing innovations relevant to community needs. This activity aligns with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) through efforts to strengthen students' research capacity and innovation development.