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| Governmental Science Student Conducting Final Assignment Session Scientific Journal. (Photo: Istimewah) |
Since it was implemented in 2020, the Government Science Department of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) has recorded approximately 70 students who graduated without working on a thesis. It happened because the students graduated using the conversion scheme. In this scheme, students can change their Final Project (TA) Thesis to publish National Scientific Journals accredited by Science and Technology Index (SINTA) two and three or reputable International Journals indexed by Scopus and Web of Sciences (WoS).
This extraordinary achievement is a step forward implemented by UMM IP Study Program to realize timely graduation. Secretary of UMM IP Study Program, Achmad Apriyanto Romadhan, S.IP., M.Si., explained that this provision refers to the Decree of the Chancellor of UMM in 2017 regarding the equivalence of creative and innovative work in curricular activities.
“This achievement also contributes to the achievement of the first rank obtained by UMM related to publication performance for the strata one category of government science in Indonesia. It is known based on the ranking of SINTA in 2022. In this ranking, the IP UMM study program got the highest score with an Overall Score of 3,542 and a SINTA Score 3Yr: 2,441. The results also outperform all other Government Science Department in Indonesia”.
This jump certainly requires a long process. Apriyanto said this achievement results from hard and collaborative work between lecturers and students. The Department also actively encourages students to write scientific articles as an alternative for final project work other than a thesis.
"To support the program, several subject and non-course outputs are required to produce journals and proceedings. Lecturers are also intensive in assisting students in the work of scientific articles so that the articles produced become more meaningful. In addition, students are also given various kinds of journal writing training, enrichment of research methodologies, and the use of artificial intelligence such as Vosviewer, Gephy, NVIVO, and Wordstat 8," said Apriyanto.
On the other hand, Mariano Werenfridus, one of the students who graduated with the conversion scheme, stated that students welcomed the existence of non-thesis articles as TA. It happens because many IP students have good writing skills, so many students' scientific papers are published in journals and proceedings.
"This program greatly facilitates student competence in the field of scientific writing. In addition, this program also provides a proper appreciation for student writing because it can be used as a substitute for a thesis. Another benefit that my friends can feel is that more and more people are interested in doing journals, and many who graduate on time with the scheme," he concluded. (*Syi)
