Together with colleagues from the Nuclear Polytechnic, ULM students become finalists in the IAEA Nuclear Education Competition

Two Indonesian students qualified to become finalists in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) science and technology education competition. They make educational videos on the dangers of plastic in the environment by promoting a solution from the IAEA, namely the Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC) Program. The two Indonesian students who passed to become finalists in the Post-secondary Students category were Nuclear Polytechnic students Muhamad Suhalmin Sriwa and Farida Zulaifah from Lambung Mangkurat University. This good news was conveyed on the official Instagram of the Indonesian Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) @brin_indonesia, Sunday (29/1/2023).

Judging from the Nuclear Science & Technology Education Competition website, they passed and competed with 2 other finalists, Shaiza Arif & Samana Khatoon from PAEC Model College for Girls Chasma Pakistan and Kotapola Ranathunga Arachchige Sanduni Rashmika Bhawanjali Ranathunga from South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. Viewed from the same website, Suhalmin and Farida’s competition material, which made it to the final, was in the form of a video explaining the impact of plastic pollution on the environment, especially on living ecosystems. In the video, they explain how a solution from the IAEA, the NUTEC Plastic Program, can overcome this. Taking data from scientific journals, they explained, there are 24-34 million metric tons of plastic pollution polluting the marine environment per year. That number is around 11% of the total plastic waste in the world. It is estimated that 53-90 million tons of plastic waste will be produced by 2030. From research by a group of scientists at UC Santa Barbara National Center published in the journal Science, 10-20 million tons of plastic pollutes the oceans each year. The IAEA’s NUTEC Plastic Program aims to reduce this plastic. NUTEC utilizes radiation technology to recycle plastic waste, as well as monitoring or monitoring the marine environment through isotope tracking techniques.

On their video page, Suhalmin and Farida answer various questions raised by the public. “How do you collect the plastic material to decompose according to the technology,” asked Trisutrisman Awin’s account. “By using gamma-ray and electron radiation technology as a complement to traditional mechanical and chemical recycling methods, certain types of plastic waste can be modified to make products that are more durable so that they can be reused or recycled,” Suhalmin answered. If you want to find out more about the educational videos that Suhalmin and Farida made and support their videos, here’s how:

The method :

1. Visit the web site: https://nsteducationcompetition.com/visitor/register
2. Register by filling in personal data then click “register”
3. Enter the “NST Education Competition Videos” section.
4. Select the category “Post Secondary Students”
5. Watch until the end of the video representing Indonesia on behalf of Muh. Suhalmin Sriwa and Farida Zulaifah
6. Click like at the bottom right of the video as a form of support for the team

Waiting for support until February 10, 2023.