After a year of preparation, the ICMSE 2015 international seminar was organized by FETT University of Mataram, on November 4-5, 2015, at the Golden Palace Hotel Mataram. Promotion of the seminar has started since March 2015. The long preparation yielded excellent results. The Dean of FETT, Dr. Wildan, M.Pd, expressed his excitement with the success of the seminar. The seminar was able to bring in 9 international invited speakers from 8 universities and 1 conservation institution.

The success of the seminar is not only in the number of invited speakers, but also in the number of participants and the number of papers participating in parallel sessions. The seminar was attended by 296 registered participants. The seminar also presented 197 papers in parallel sessions, consisting of 179 oral papers and 18 poster papers. The number of institutions attending the seminar was also very convincing, with 52 universities, 1 research institute and 2 secondary schools.

Aside from understanding the future challenges in science education and seeking innovations in the field, the seminar also aims to bridge the collaboration between science researchers and science education researchers. The parallel session presenters represented higher education institutions spread across the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi, as well as the Maluku Islands and Nusa Tenggara Islands. The presenter’s affiliated institutions include a number of leading universities in Indonesia, such as Bandung Institute of Technology, University of Indonesia, Gajah Mada University, Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS), Brawijaya University, Malang State University, Trisakti University, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), Pelita Harapan University, and so on.

In the seminar, Unram presented 61 papers. UII presented the most papers after Unram, with 16 papers, followed by Brawijaya University with 12 papers and Sriwijaya University with 11 papers.
The ICMSE international seminar was opened by the Rector of Unram, Prof. Ir. Sunarpi, Ph.D.. The closing of the seminar was conducted by the Vice Rector for Cooperation, Prof. Ir. Suwardji, M.Sc., Ph.D. Unfortunately, the closing of the seminar coincided with the closure of Lombok Praya Airport (LOP) due to the eruption of Mount Baru Jari. This incident caused difficulties for participants who would return home, from Aceh to Kupang and Ambon.

Nevertheless, the seminar went very well and all participants enjoyed the activities in a pleasant atmosphere.
The nine invited speakers include: Thomas Lowrie, University of Canberra, Australia; Prof. Yoshihiro Shiono, Yamagata University, Japan; Prof. Koichi Fukase, Osaka University, Japan; and Dr. M. Roil Bilad, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. There were two other speakers who canceled their attendance. Prof. Andrew Baird (James Cook University, Australia) was unable to attend because the Brisbane-Denpasar flight was closed on November 3, 2015. Meanwhile, Prof. Muhamed Hassanien (Zagazig University, Egypt) canceled his arrival due to family matters two days before the seminar.

Figure 1. Invited speakers with FKIP Dean, Dr. Wildan, M.Pd. (6th from left) and ICMSE Committee Chair.

Figure 2. Invited speaker Lord of Cranbrook (5th) from UK received a souvenir from the elder of FKIP Unram, Prof. Dr. Soelistya Dyah Jekti, M.Kes.

Source: http://unram.ac.id