Dr. Sri Rahayoe, S.T.P., M.P., from the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has once again achieved national recognition by receiving the Bronze Winner Award at the 2025 Diktisaintek Awards in the category of Simple Patents Implemented by the Community. The award was presented as part of the Research and Development Downstreaming Awards organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.
Dr. Sri Rahayoe’s applied research focuses on the development of palm sap–based soft palm sugar (gula semut) production technology aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To date, gula semut production has largely relied on manual processes, resulting in inconsistent product quality and production continuity.
Through this research, Dr. Sri Rahayoe developed two main prototypes: an evaporator machine equipped with a mechanical stirrer and temperature control system, and a rotary crystallizer machine. Both machines were designed to improve the consistency and efficiency of gula semut processing while ensuring more uniform product quality.
The technology development process was carried out in stages, beginning with the identification of partners’ needs in the field, followed by equipment design, prototype fabrication, and testing conducted both in laboratory settings and at partner production sites. Gula semut producers were involved from the early stages to ensure that the developed technology aligned with real conditions and practical needs in the field.
According to Dr. Sri Rahayoe, one of the main challenges in research downstreaming is ensuring that the resulting technology is easy to operate, maintain, and sustainably adopted by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) actors.
This achievement further underscores UGM’s commitment to promoting research that is utilization-oriented and delivers tangible benefits to society, while also serving as a form of national-level recognition. Moving forward, the development of this gula semut production.
