Yogyakarta, September 21, 2025 — Students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) once again demonstrated their excellence at the national level. A collaboration between Yustisia Nur Rafidha Hestomo Putri from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Syifa Annisa from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine successfully earned Third Place in the Essay Competition of the 9th Annual Nutrifest 2025, a national event organized by the Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Diponegoro.
This year’s competition carried the theme “Exploring Bioactive Compounds in Functional Foods: Implications for Metabolic Syndrome in Public Health” and was open to active diploma and undergraduate students across Indonesia. The competition began with the registration phase from July 7–21, 2025, followed by essay submission on July 28–August 3, 2025, and evaluation by the judging panel from August 18–22, 2025. The five teams with the highest scores were announced on August 25, 2025, via the official Instagram account @nutrifest.undip, and were invited to present their essays on-site at Universitas Diponegoro on September 20, 2025. The winners were officially announced on September 21, 2025, during the closing ceremony of the International Conference Nutrifest 2025.
In this competition, Yustisia and Syifa presented an innovative idea titled a central obesity-preventing beverage made from banana peels, offering a potential solution for managing metabolic syndrome. Their essay stood out for utilizing fruit waste, banana peels, that are often discarded despite their rich nutritional and bioactive content. Through their scientific approach and originality, the UGM team secured third place, while Universitas Diponegoro and Universitas Siliwangi took first and second place, respectively.
This achievement highlights the power of cross-disciplinary collaboration between pharmacy and veterinary medicine in addressing real-world public health challenges. Their innovation also aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) through efforts to prevent metabolic syndrome, SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) through the development of functional food innovations, and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by promoting the upcycling of organic waste into valuable health products.
