Yogyakarta (3/1) – Exciting news came at the beginning of 2024, informing that Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) succeeded in maintaining its position in the Independent Cluster. This information was conveyed through a Clustering Announcement Letter by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Based on the Decree of the Director of Research, Technology, and Community Service Number 1350/E5/PG.02.00/2023 on 28 December 2023 concerning Determination of Higher Education Clustering based on Research Performance and Community service.

The Research and Innovation Institute (LRI), as the leading sector in the field of research, is responsible for creating a research climate relevant to current developments. The head of LRI UMY, Prof. Dr. Dyah Mutiarin, S.IP., M.Si., responded positively to this information and emphasized that she and the team would continue to work on the realization of UMY’s milestone towards a research excellence university.

“As we know, we must all be grateful for the results that have been announced. Of course, the results achieved are proof of the strong cooperation of all parties at UMY. On the other hand, this can also be a guideline in achieving university research excellence as stated in the UMY milestones 2020-2025”, she said.

Higher Education Clusterization is calculated based on research and community service performance that has been carried out from 2020 – 2022. Several components in the assessment included author data, affiliation, articles, research, community service, intellectual property rights, and books. Each of these components has a predetermined score. Thus, when it is all compiled, it will show a score indicating the distribution of universities in certain clusters.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology has an integrated system entitled the Science and Technology Index (SINTA) which functions to document the research and community service activities of each higher education institution. Currently, SINTA UMY’s 3yr score is at 240.884, indicating an impressive achievement. However, the 3yr SINTA score cannot be a benchmark for clustering but rather is one part of the clustering calculation using a certain formula.

In closing, the Head of the Research Strengthening Division apt. Sabtanti Harimurti, M.Si., Ph.D. stated that we have to always encourage and strengthen the quality of UMY lecturers to actively participate in internal and external research. An impactful research output, in terms of manuscript publications, books, or intellectual property, is an important parameter in the future clustering.

“LRI UMY always strives to provide the policies needed by lecturers at UMY. We can see that we are currently on track. Nevertheless, it is necessary for us as active lecturers to participate in various Internal and External Grants and provide output in the form of manuscript publications, books, and intellectual property”, she added.