UNS — The Rector of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta Prof. Jamal Wiwoho opened the National Conference (Munas) V of Alumni Association (IKA) UNS, in Senate Meeting Room dr. Prakosa Rectorate Building, Sunday (5/12/2021).
The offline and online event was attended by the Chairman of Central Management of IKA UNS Ir. Budi Harto, Secretary-General (Sekjen) of Central Management of IKA UNS Drs. Bambang Dwi Wahyudi, Vice-rectors, and Dean from each faculty in UNS.
In his opening remark, Prof. Jamal thanked the Central Management of IKA UNS for conducting a series of Munas V 2021 well. The Munas held on 4-5 December is an agenda that was rescheduled a few times before. The Munas V was firstly scheduled for December 2020 and June 2021, which need to be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Special appreciation was also delivered from Prof. Jamal to Ir. Budi Harto as the Chairman of IKA UNS Central Management for six years.
“It is appropriate, I think, that as a Rector of UNS, I appreciated and provided the highest recognition to the Central and Regional Management of IKA UNS who have worked together and eased UNS efforts to achieve its grand vision to be a world-class university,” Prof. Jamal stated.
Although this year Munas was held amid the pandemic, Prof. Jamal believes that the spirits of the alumni to contribute to the campus and the community will never go down. Prof. Jamal shared this believes because for almost two years, the Covid-19 pandemic was occurring in Indonesia; IKA UNS has donated numerous aids, from masks, health equipment, staple foods, internet quota, scholarships, and dosages of Covid-19 vaccines for UNS academic members and surrounding community.
“Covid-19 pandemic is proof for a success we achieved together. And thank you to Pak Budi Harto for giving attention to his juniors in the campus by granting funds to provide internet quota assistance during March-April 2020,” Prof. Jamal added.
UNS Achievement
In Munas V IKA UNS 2021, Prof. Jamal shared UNS achievements in the last two years with UNS alumni attending the ceremony. The achievements shared by Prof. Jamal include UNS ranking at the national and international level and the autonomy as a public university. At the international level UNS, for the first time, ranked 1.201+ from 1,662 listed global universities and 6th in Indonesia by the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings (WUR). This ranking was announced on 1 September 2021 after THE conducted assessment on Indonesian universities.
Prof. Jamal also shared that UNS was included in cluster 1 of best universities in Indonesia by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemdikbudristek) RI.
“More specially, UNS received the highest score in IKU 2020/2021 from Kemdikbudristek and received IDR 23.513 billion incentive,” Prof. Jamal explained.
This award was granted after the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology Kemdikbudristek RI assessed UNS performance under its status as PTN-BLU. UNS was placed in the high rank (10%) with 80 achievement points and 774 growth points. UNS also received a new status as Public University with Legal Entity (PTNBH) through PP No. 56/ 2020 signed by the President of Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo on 6 October 2020.
“And as PTNBH, the government gave a target to be the best 500 universities in Indonesia. So, be proud to be a part of UNS alumni because currently, UNS is a prestigious university,” he concluded.
Hope for the New IKA UNS Chairman
In the Munas V IKA UNS, Prof. Jamal hoped that the new chairman for IKA UNS is a strong and dedicated figure because he/she will lead more than 200 thousand UNS alumni in various regions in Indonesia and in several countries worldwide. The Rector also sent a message for the new chairman to take a lesson from the previous chairman, Ir. Budi Harto, whom Prof. Jamal considers to have a high commitment to push UNS to develop as a reputable university.
“Leading IKA UNS is not an easy task. It needs high commitment, and Pak Budi Harto leadership can be used as a benchmark. Let’s build our ‘home’ our beloved UNS with IKA UNS,” Prof. Jamal closed. Humas UNS
Reporter: Y.C.A. Sanjaya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti