CoE MicroPlanet | Edo Danilyan

Preparing for Graduate Studies Overseas: Applications, Funding, and Mentorship

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0700

This mentorship session was delivered as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program (GAP) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), with faculty members and researchers.

Topics Covered

How to identify funded MSc and PhD positions in Europe and beyond
Understanding evaluation criteria and what selection committees look for
Writing effective emails to potential supervisors
Scholarship landscapes: Erasmus+, FWF, DAAD, and others
Strategic self-presentation: CVs, motivation letters, and research proposals
One-on-one mentoring session with participants

This was Day 3 of the UMM sessions as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program.

Storytelling with Data

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0700

This session was delivered as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program (GAP) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), with faculty members and researchers from several departments.

Topics Covered

What makes a compelling data story?
Thinking visually: beyond pretty charts
Common mistakes scientists make when presenting data
Real-world examples of data visualization in research
Choosing the right chart for your message

Key Takeaways

Good data visualization is about clarity
Always start with your audience in mind
Use visual hierarchy and layout to guide attention
Tidy data and the grammar of graphics make your life easier

This was Day 2 of the UMM sessions as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program.

Why Do Cells Grow the Way They Do? Probing Microbial Growth Laws with an Automated Open-Source Bioreactor

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0700

This session was delivered as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program (GAP) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), with faculty members from several departments.

Topics Covered

Why do microbes grow the way they do? Fundamental growth laws and their implications
Resource allocation strategies in microbial cells
Introduction to automated, open-source bioreactor systems
Hands-on laboratory demonstration: setting up and running a bioreactor, collecting and interpreting real-time growth data

This talk combined theoretical foundations with a practical lab component, giving participants the chance to interact directly with bioreactor hardware and see microbial growth data being generated in real time. The discussion extended into a thoughtful exchange about research approaches, studying overseas, and possibilities for scientific collaboration.

This was Day 1 of the UMM sessions as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program.

Preparing for Graduate Studies Overseas: Applications, Funding, and Mentorship

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0700

This mentorship session was delivered as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program (GAP), addressing structural barriers that prevent Indonesian students from accessing international graduate programs.

Topics Covered

How to identify funded MSc and PhD positions in Europe and beyond
Understanding evaluation criteria and what selection committees look for
Writing effective emails to potential supervisors
Scholarship landscapes: Erasmus+, FWF, DAAD, and others
Strategic self-presentation: CVs, motivation letters, and research proposals
One-on-one mentoring session with participants

This session recorded the largest self-assessment shifts across the entire GAP program. Confidence in applying for overseas programs jumped from 2.00 to 4.36 (out of 5), and scholarship awareness rose from 2.55 to 4.00, suggesting that structured guidance on graduate pathways addressed a significant knowledge gap.

This was Day 3 of a three-day program at ITS as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program.

R for Biologists: Data Wrangling, Visualization, and Reproducible Analysis

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0700

This hands-on workshop was delivered as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program (GAP), focusing on transparency, scripting, and interpretation in biological data analysis.

Topics Covered

Data wrangling with the tidyverse ecosystem
Data visualization with ggplot2
Reproducible reporting with R Markdown
Shifting from click-based tools (e.g., SPSS) toward scripted, transparent workflows
Practical exercises using biological datasets

It matters because undergraduate biology education at many Indonesian universities still relies heavily on click-based software, which obscures analytical logic and prevents students from understanding how results are constructed or reproduced. This workshop aimed to bridge that gap by introducing open-source, reproducible tools.

This was Day 2 of a three-day program at ITS as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program.

Economic Principles of Microbial Growth: Allocation, Trade-offs, and Quantitative Models

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0700

This guest lecture was delivered as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program (GAP), an outreach initiative by the Cluster of Excellence MicroPlanet at the University of Vienna. The session was delivered together with Catalin Rusnac from Replifactory.

Around 200 students joined in a hybrid format, and the session turned into a lively discussion about microbiology, research, and career paths in science.

Topics Covered

Microbial growth kinetics and the economics of cellular resource allocation
Trade-offs in microbial metabolism: growth rate vs. yield, speed vs. efficiency
Quantitative models for understanding microbial behavior
Introduction to bioreactors and computational approaches in microbiology
Research themes from MicroPlanet WP 7.1

This was Day 1 of a three-day program at ITS as part of the CoE MicroPlanet Global Ambassador Program.