Malang – Students of the Medical Education Study Program, Faculty of Medicine and Medicine, State Islamic University of Malang (UIN Malang) have once again achieved an achievement. This is evidenced by Marissa Nur Khofifah's achievement as the 2nd winner in the Scientific Paper Field of Science and Technology at the 9th 2019 Scientific Week of Sports, Arts and Research (PIONIR). The competition, which was held from Monday to Sunday, July 15-21, 2019, was attended by all students of State Islamic Religious Universities (PTKIN) throughout Indonesia. In this year's PIONIR, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang was honored to be the host with 41 competition branches. The purpose of holding the competition is to prepare the nation's young generation to become stars who will bring glory to PTKIN in the national arena.

“"I participated in the Science and Technology Scientific Paper Competition. The title of my work is Making Environmentally Friendly Plastic from Mangrove Crab Shell Waste (scylla serrata) specifically for Fruit Wrapping Plastic. "I created this title because of my concern about the increasing amount of conventional plastic in Indonesia, especially those containing hazardous chemicals that cannot be decomposed quickly. Therefore, I use chitosan as the raw material, which is environmentally friendly and can be decomposed quickly. I get this chitosan raw material from mangrove crab shells, which have biodegradable properties, specifically for fruit wrapping plastic," said Marissa when met at UIN Malang campus 2 on Monday (7/22/2019).

Marissa also stated that she began preparing for this paper in early January 2019 under the guidance of Khusnul Yakin, a physics lecturer at UIN Malang. Before the presentation, I participated in a preliminary round, which involved submitting papers. The top 10 finalists were selected to present their work on July 19th at the main campus of UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang.

“"During the research and writing of the paper, there was definitely a feeling of exhaustion, fatigue, and sadness. Because researching alone requires more concentration, requires struggle, and a lot of time. Sometimes I even cried alone because I was so tired, then got up and got excited again. Because I believe that serious struggle will get maximum results. And Alhamdulillah, I am grateful that even though I didn't win first place, I was able to get second place, which I think is very good. I am very grateful to Allah SWT who has given me the opportunity to get to this point. During the presentation, I did feel a little nervous, but I had to be able to show my best, the matter of winning is a bonus from Allah SWT. Even the four judges said that I was the finalist with the best presentation of all the finalists," he added.

He also advised his friends to be more enthusiastic about seeking experience in competitions that interest them. Don't be afraid to try. Nothing is instant, everything requires effort. "To my colleagues from the Medical Education Study Program, FKIK UIN Malang, You Can Do It, You're Great!! Continue to explore your potential to bring good name to our beloved university, faculty, and department," he concluded.

Khilmi Ainun N.