Research lecture at the University of North Sumatra (USU)

I am about to enter my fifth month in Sumatra and, in addition to the fieldwork in Sikundur, it is tremendously important to promote our research and work closely with our partners and sponsors.

On the 29th June 2016, I was invited by the Universitas Sumatera Utara (University of North Sumatra: USU) to provide a lecture on my research to their students. This was an exciting opportunity, not only to show the value of my research but also to inspire and teach the Indonesian students here, some of which are working towards becoming researchers themselves in the future.

The talk had a great turn out; approximately 50 people came which included students, lecturers and staff from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (our partner organisation). This was especially good as they had charged 20,000rph per person to attend J. They even made a huge banner advertising my talk! The lecture went well and finished with a questions and answers session which Supri, my work colleague from Sikundur helped me to translate.

USU was amazingly welcoming and appreciative of me providing this talk, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet all the staff and students here. They presented me with a certificate and made the whole experience a very pleasurable.

I hope I inspired the students here how special their country is, and the need and importance to protect their rare and special ecosystems. Thank you to all who attended and made this possible and I hope to be invited back to the University again in the future.