On 5 May 2026, a seminar on the challenges behind research grants took place in room 308 of BINUS’ Anggrek Campus. Teuku Umar University’s Firman Parlindungan, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ph.D served as the speaker, while BINUS’ own Dr. Maria Tamarina Prawati moderated the seminar.

Dr. Prawati introduced both herself and the subsequent speaker in front of the audience. Parlindungan started off his presentation with the concept of a vicious circle consisting of grants, collabs, and research; the three of them succeeding one another like a never-ending flywheel. He then moved on to the topic of collaboration, which he likened to romantic matchnmaking – a comparison which drew laughter from the audience. After touching on what mindset a person should have when collaborating, he moved over to research focuses and topics, as well as the substance of a proposal.

The seminar ended with the demonstration of a proposal in the form of a virtual reality experience. All were allowed to try it out by wearing the provided PICO 4 VR headset. The interactive session generated excitement among the attendees, many of whom took turns exploring the story of national hero Cut Nyak Dien.

Overall, the seminar provided valuable insight into the realities of securing research grants and building successful academic collaborations. Through both discussion and demonstration, participants were encouraged to approach research not only as an academic pursuit, but also as a collaborative and innovative process.