Semarang, February 7, 2025 – The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at Universitas Diponegoro (Undip) organized a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) involving internal and external stakeholders to prepare the FISIP Undip Strategic Plan (Renstra) for 2025-2029. The event, held on Friday, February 7, 2025, aimed to formulate strategies and performance indicators to support Undip’s vision of becoming a world-class research university. The discussion featured competent speakers, including Dr. Bambang Pramusinto (Head of the Semarang City Education Office), Prof. Dr. Ir. Purwanto, DEA (Universitas Diponegoro), and Harjanto Kusuma Halim, M.Si. (Founder & President Director of Marifood), with Retna Hanani, S.Sos, MPP as the moderator.

In his opening remarks, the Dean of FISIP Undip, Dr. Drs. Teguh Yuwono, M.Pol.Admin, emphasized that the current educational paradigm had shifted from merely imparting knowledge to becoming an instrument for improving community welfare. “Education for welfare, higher education for higher welfare,” he stated. Therefore, the preparation of the Strategic Plan must consider global challenges and stakeholder needs to produce highly competitive graduates.

One of the speakers, Harjanto Kusuma Halim, stressed the importance of cultivating good habits early on and instilling strong character and integrity in both educators and students. He also highlighted the need for good communication skills, critical thinking, and cultural intelligence to face global challenges. “We must also be able to befriend AI to remain relevant in the digital era,” he added.

Meanwhile, Prof. Purwanto underscored that the FISIP Strategic Plan should focus on strengthening the Research University, State University with Legal Entity (PTNBH), and Undip’s unique characteristics, such as the sustainable development of tropical, coastal, and marine regions. He also set a target for Undip to enter the top 500 in the QS World University Rankings (WUR) and eventually reach the top 200 globally. This aligns with the grand vision of “Undip Noble, Undip Valuable.”

Dr. Bambang Pramusinto highlighted the crucial role of FISIP Undip graduates in formulating effective public policies. He emphasized the need to strengthen the curriculum, enhance lecturer capacity, and empower alumni so that FISIP Undip graduates can analyze geopolitical dynamics at the global, national, and regional levels. The hope is that they can become competent policy analysts and formulators, capable of collaborating strategically in policy implementation.

The discussion concluded with a Q&A session between participants and speakers, where FISIP Undip lecturers and students delved deeper into various aspects of the Strategic Plan preparation. Through this FGD, it is hoped that FISIP Undip can develop adaptive and innovative strategies to achieve its goal of becoming a globally competitive faculty, with the vision of entering the top 400 globally.

Translator:
Nur Inayah