On an invitation from Prof Dr Marzuki, Head of the Institute of Research and Community Service at Universitas Andalas (Andalas University), Dr Fredolin Tangang, APN Invited Expert, delivered a talk on 21 February 2024, on key issues related to climate change and opportunities for international research grants at its main campus in Padang, West Sumatra.

Andalas University is a public research institution and one of the largest universities in West Sumatra, with a student population of more than 30,000. Around 20 participants attended the talk, including heads of departments and leaders of research groups. The presentation mainly focused on the key issues of climate change based on the IPCC AR6 Report. It also addressed climate projections over Indonesia using the APN projects related to the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) for Southeast Asia. These projects include the Southeast Asia Regional Climate Downscaling Project – SEACLID (ARCP2015-04CMY-Tangang, ARCP2014-07CMY-Tangang, ARCP2013-17NMY-Tangang) and the Climatic Hazard Assessment to Enhance Resilience against Climate Extremes for Southeast Asian Megacities (CARE for SEA Megacities) Project (CRRP2023-08MY-Cruz).

According to these projections, Indonesia, especially Sumatra, is considered to be highly exposed to the impacts of future climate change and climate variability. Opportunities for the APN Collaborative Regional Research Programme (CRRP) and Scientific Capacity Development Programme (CAPaBLE), especially for themes related to climate change and climate variability, were also presented based on slides and information provided by the APN Secretariat. It is noteworthy that during the discussion session, the participants proposed many research ideas to address climate change issues in Sumatra, which could be highly relevant to the future calls for proposals of APN. At the end of the session, Professor Marzuki assured participants that a coordinated effort would be made to ensure some of the ideas could be translated into research proposals, either as CRRP or CAPABLE projects, for the next round of APN calls expected in November 2024.

Opportunities for APN CRRP and CAPaBLE, especially for themes related to climate change and climate variability, were also presented based on slides and information provided by the APN team. It is noteworthy that during the discussion session, many research ideas were proposed by the participants to address climate change issues in Sumatra, which could be highly relevant to APN in future calls.

At the end of the session, Professor Marzuki assured participants that a coordinated effort would be made to ensure some of the ideas could be translated into research proposals, either as CRRP or CAPABLE projects, for the next round of APN calls expected in November 2024.