Bogor, 14 March 2025 – SEAMEO BIOTROP continues to strengthen its commitment to sustainable education through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on arranging the draft curriculum and learning materials for the School of Biodiversity (SoB). The event occurred on Friday, 14 March 2025, at the Jati Room, SEAMEO BIOTROP Headquarters in Bogor and online through Zoom meeting.

The FGD was meant to give an insight and need analysis for to be used as the basis for the initial draft of the SoB curriculum, which is designed to be an applicable, relevant, and adaptive model of biodiversity education. This initiative aims to prepare future generations who are aware of conservation issues and sustainability challenges and capable of integrating environmentally friendly technologies into practical solutions.

The event was opened by SEAMEO BIOTROP’s Acting Director and Deputy Director for Administration, Dr. Elis Rosdiawati. In her remarks, Dr. Elis emphasized that the School of Biodiversity is a strategic initiative by SEAMEO BIOTROP to foster a generation that is conscious of conservation and sustainability, through a curriculum that combines experiential learning with technological innovation.

The concept of the School of Biodiversity was presented by Risa Rosita, Manager of the Science and Technology Department (SITD) and Program Coordinator of SoB. She highlighted the importance of incorporating conservation principles, sustainability values, and eco-friendly technologies into the curriculum. Additionally, Nur Rofika Ayu Shinta Amalia from the Center for Curriculum and Learning of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education delivered a presentation on the preliminary design of the curriculum and learning materials.

Dr. Supriyanto, Affiliate Scientist at SEAMEO BIOTROP, further enriched the discussion by introducing several Teaching Factory (TeFa) models currently implemented at SEAMEO BIOTROP as practice-based learning methods. During the group discussions, participants were divided into three specialized focus groups: the TeFa Hydroponics and Mushroom group, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Ir. Siti Halimah Larekeng, SP., MP. from Hasanuddin University and Risa Rosita, M.Si from SEAMEO BIOTROP; the TeFa Essential Oils group, led by Dr. Supriyanto; and the TeFa Plant Tissue Culture group, guided by Dr. Darlina from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The insights and inputs from these discussions contributed to the formulation of the initial draft of the School of Biodiversity curriculum. This draft will be further developed and refined in upcoming workshops. SEAMEO BIOTROP envisions this program as a leading model for biodiversity education that is practical, responsive to global challenges, and adaptable to various educational contexts. (as, hc, rr)