The Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) at the University of Jember, Prof. Drs. Dafik, M.Sc., Ph.D., officially opened a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) event at the Grand Padis Bondowoso from December 20–22, 2024. The theme of the event was “Innovative Strategies to Improve Education Quality and the Relevance of Graduate Competencies.” The FGD was attended by department heads, program leaders, lab managers, and educational staff from FMIPA UNEJ. Prof. Dafik opened the event by saying, “Over the next two days, we will discuss how to improve education quality and graduate competencies.” He also mentioned that in the future, establishing new study programs could attract prospective students.
Additionally, he emphasized the importance of improving quality through “UNGGUL” accreditation for the master’s programs at FMIPA UNEJ. “I hope the establishment of new programs, such as Actuarial Science, Data Science, Medical Physics, and Bioinformatics, will be a key topic of discussion in this FGD,” he continued. Prof. Dafik had already brought up the idea of these new programs to UNEJ leadership earlier in the morning. He also encouraged the new PhD programs at FMIPA to attract prospective students. “I hope the task force for these new programs can complete their work, and by January 2025, submit proposals to the university,” said the Dean. The Vice Deans of FMIPA also shared their initial views, which were later discussed during the FGD.
After the opening, the FGD continued with presentations on the new PhD programs. Dr. Fuad Bahrul Ulum, S.Si., M.Si., the head of the task force for the new PhD program, shared the vision, mission, and organizational structure of the program. This was followed by presentations from Dr. Mohamat Fatekurohman, S.Si., M.Si., who introduced the Actuarial Science program; Abduh Riski, S.Si., M.Si., who discussed the Data Science program; Dr. Ratna Dewi Syarifah, S.Pd., M.Si., who presented the Medical Physics program; and Mukhamad Su’udi, S.Si., Ph.D., who talked about the Bioinformatics program. Each presentation highlighted the unique features of the programs to attract prospective students, followed by a discussion with the FGD participants.
On the next day, Dr. Ir. Syamsul Arifin, M.T., an expert on higher education curriculum development from the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud RI), presented a session on “Curriculum Restructuring and Evaluation according to the Ministerial Regulation No. 53/2023.” He explained how the regulation allows more flexibility for universities in offering higher education, while still maintaining quality standards. The discussion with the speaker concluded the morning session.
Next, the department heads, with the support of the Vice Deans, worked on drafting the Terms of Reference (TOR) for planning and budget allocation. The Vice Dean for Student Affairs led a session to draft the TOR for student affairs in FMIPA. After a break, the department heads presented their planning results in the evening for further discussion. The final day closed with an evaluation of the strategic plan (RENSTRA) for both the university and the study programs. This included an analysis of goals, gaps, SWOT analysis, and adjustments to the strategic plans.
 |
 |
 |
 |