Last September 2024, Universitas Internasional Semen Indonesia sent a group of
researchers to Vietnam for a trip. They departed on Saturday September 21st from Juanda
Airport in Surabaya, stopped for a transit at Changi Airport, and arrived in Noi Bai Airport in
Hanoi, Vietnam 5 hours later. The team expressed their excitement especially Muhamad
Nazarullah, one of the students from chemical engineering and part of Office International
Affairs (OIA) Buddies, as this trip was his first overseas activity. The researchers allocated
their second day to stroll around Vietnam’s popular places. One of which was the train street,
a beautiful destination bustling with tourists. They also enjoyed Middle-East food at a halal
restaurant at the end of the day.
Their research began on Monday at the ZO project, an enterprise that preserves
ancient Vietnamese paper-making methods. An educational workshop was held from fiber
preparation, pulp making, and forming the sheet. The team were able to study a complex and
pleasant experience on how papers were made with Vietnamese traditional methods. They
also visited a village full of traditional paper crafters, who are capable of making 1000 sheets
of paper per day, with the ZO project’s CEO. They witnessed experts and generational
techniques they use. For lunch, there are members of the team who bring their own packed
lunch according to their preference and the locals were also offered them the infamous
Vietnamese dish called Pho for a culinary experience.
Not only Vietnamese traditions, the team also included learning Vietnam’s histories in
their itinerary. They visited a museum of Ethnology and another national museum, which
shows the population dispersal of Vietnam, traditional houses, and the history of paper in
Vietnam. They were specifically impressed by the beautiful interior design of each museum.
They were initially going to study more about the ancient archives of Vietnam papers at the
national library. However, it was unavailable for display so they went to the souvenir center
instead to buy some gifts.
The last day of the trip in Vietnam was the day for them to go back to Indonesia. They
stopped at Changi Airport for a transit and flight back to Surabaya the next morning.
Muhamad Nazarullah also mentioned how grateful he is for the opportunity given. The trip
was meaningful for the members, they were able to gain new insights and experiences. It was
a golden ticket provided by Universitas Internasional Semen Indonesia for its researchers to
expand their knowledge and hopefully with this experience they can be motivated for future
studies.
