[ GradShool Unpad ] Graduate School Unpad invited the Vice Rector for Academic and Student Affairs Unpad, Prof. Dr. Arief S. Kartasasmita, Sp.M., M.Kes., Ph.D., in the routine activities of GS’s management meetings which are held in a hybrid manner at the GS digital meeting room, Lv. 2, Graduate School Building, Dipatiukur, Friday (21/1/2022). The management meeting was attended by the Dean, Vice Deans, Managers, Heads of Internationalization Units, Heads of Study Programs, Secretary of Study Programs, and lecturers. Dean of SPs, Dr. Setiawan said that this meeting aimed to further study related to Unpad’s plan regarding the development of an applied postgraduate program at Unpad.

On this occasion, Prof. Arief explained that this applied postgraduate program would have great potential to develop in GS which are already multidisciplinary. This applied postgraduate program is later expected to be able to accommodate and facilitate students who are already working, without having to be burdened with the output of scientific publications in nationally and internationally accredited journals. This is because, the recognized output in this applied postgraduate program can be in the form of policy briefs, patents, products, startups, and others which are the results of the studies of the students concerned. Of course, technical and policy studies still need to be carried out to initiate this program.

“We see the rapid development of Graduate School and currently Graduate School can act as a showcase for Unpad as well as pioneers in the development of applied postgraduate programs. We urge the dean of GS together with managers and other stakeholders to be able to formulate further preparation for this program technically as well as the required policy input,” said Prof. Arief.

Dr. Setiawan responded positively to Unpad’s trust in GS as the pioneers in developing this applied postgraduate program. “To answer this challenge, a comprehensive study is needed with GS managers and various parties to formulate the technical implementation,” said Dr. Setiawan.

The discussion which lasted for one hour also invited the heads of study programs at GS, including Dr. Emma Rochima (Head of Regional Innovation Masters Program) and Dr. Evi Novianti (Head of Sustainable Tourism Masters Program). “This program is very suitable for the situation in the Regional Innovation Masters, where students in this study program are dominated by workers in the government and private sectors with multidisciplinary studies. However, the most difficult thing for them to achieve graduation is the requirement for scientific publication in national or international reputable journals,” said Dr. Emma.

Prof. Arief emphasized that this program is expected to be implemented in August 2022. So it is necessary to immediately design the curriculum concept, teaching staff, and preparation for promotion. We are waiting for input from GS so that it can be followed up regarding the legal umbrella at the university level.