Faculty of Marine and Fisheries Udayana University Holds Launch of PISCES Living Lab and Public Discussion

Monday, May 19, 2025 - The Faculty of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Udayana University (Unud) held the launch of PISCES Living Lab in collaboration with Brunel University London. This event was attended in person by the Rector of Udayana University, the Dean of the Faculty of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Unud, representatives of the Bali Provincial Marine Affairs and Fisheries Service, and also attended online by several researchers and the Banyuwangi Government.

I Gede Hendrawan, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D. as Deputy Director of Pisces revealed that PISCES Living Lab is a form of collaboration between Unud and Brunel University London. This is an initiative that has been running since 2020 by bringing a spirit of change to plastic waste management in the world. The launching activity this time was attended by approximately 60 people both online and offline.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Udayana University in his remarks explained that PISCES Living Lab will be a good place to find solutions to plastic waste pollution, especially in marine and coastal ecosystems. With the active participation of the community, researchers, partners and also the government, in the future PISCES Living Lab will be able to formulate solutions that can help the wider community.

Prof. Susan Jobling as the director of PISCES Living Lab also stated that the collaboration between Unud and Brunel University London and several related partners is the right step to save the lives of Indonesian people in the future, with the establishment of a sustainable plastic management system, and the presence of solutions born from in-depth research will be the answer to all questions about how countries with extensive coastlines can deal with plastic waste that pollutes the coastal environment. 

Rofi Alhanif, S.Pi, M.Sc. as Assistant Deputy for Circular Economy and Environmental Impact, Coordinating Ministry for Food in his online remarks expressed his gratitude to Udayana University for being the first university in Indonesia to develop a plastic management initiative through the launch of PISCES Living Lab.

The Rector of Udayana University, Prof. I Ketut Sudarsana in his remarks also said that Udayana University provides full support for the implementation of PISCES Living Lab as a real manifestation of the transformation of the campus into a living space that is not only a center of science, but also a driver of concrete solutions to community and environmental problems. This is a strategic step to connect science with real action, and to bring together various parties in the spirit of mutual cooperation.

The Plastic in Society (PISCES) Program is an example of a very important strategic collaboration in integrating academic research results with waste management programs in Indonesia. Udayana University always provides space for all parties, including start-ups, NGOs, communities, academics, and the industrial sector, to make this campus a shared place to discuss, innovate, and create real impacts.