The Biology Program at the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has ranked 501-550 worldwide according to the QS WUR by Subject 2024.
In this ranking, UGM’s Biology stands as the best in Indonesia, followed by the Biology programs at Universitas Indonesia (551-600), Universitas Airlangga (601-650), and IPB University (651-700) in second, third, and fourth place, respectively.
The Dean of the UGM Faculty of Biology, Professor Budi Daryono, expressed gratitude for this achievement. The biology program has consistently ranked first in Indonesia for three consecutive years in the QS WUR by Subject reports.
He added that although rankings are not the ultimate goal, recognition from international ranking institutions motivates the faculty to continually improve in academic, research, and community service aspects.
“While rankings are not the goal, I believe this is a bonus for our performance achievement and serves as encouragement for us to enhance the quality of higher education’s tri-dharma,” said Dean Daryono on Sunday (April 14).
According to him, the Faculty of Biology has committed to enhancing the quality and reputation of its academic, research, and collaborative affairs. Its main performance is evaluated annually alongside the Faculty Senate. Of the faculty’s 70 members, approximately 81 percent, or 57 individuals, hold doctoral degrees, and 10 are full professors.
“With limited human resources, the Faculty of Biology has demonstrated efficiency and the achievements of faculty members in the tri-dharma of higher education,” he explained.
To encourage collaborative research achievements and international publications, the Faculty of Biology has seen a significant increase in quantity and quality each year, particularly after establishing international collaborations with prestigious universities in Europe, such as those in the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Additionally, the Faculty of Biology has partnerships with various universities in Australia, Japan, and several Southeast Asian countries.
“We encourage collaboration through double degree programs and research collaborations that lead to international publications with many universities,” he stated.
Several double-degree programs have been established in collaboration with the Australian National University (ANU), Western Sydney University, and the University of Technology Sydney (work in progress).
Furthermore, double degree programs are designed with Leeds University and Dundee University in the UK and Leiden University in the Netherlands.
For student exchange, the faculty collaborates with Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) in Malaysia, Yamagata University in Japan, James Cook University in Australia, and Ankara University in Turkey.
Dean Daryono mentioned that the Faculty of Biology allocates around 10-15 percent of its budget for research collaboration and international publications.
He also mentioned plans to open the Biodiversity Curator Profession Program in mid-2024 in collaboration with several world-renowned universities, such as Leiden University in the Netherlands, Leipzig University in Germany, ANU in Australia, Cairo University in Mesir, and Pukyong University in South Korea. These collaborations aim to enhance the profession of biodiversity curator in Indonesia.
When asked about the faculty’s target of entering the 200-300 world ranking, the dean emphasized their continuous efforts to strengthen research facilities, promote the dissemination of research innovations, and enhance international collaboration in publications.
“We are continuously striving to enter the top 200 in the world ranking,” he concluded.
Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation, and Alumni of the Faculty of Biology, Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, stated that the Faculty of Biology’s ranking, which places it in the 501-550 range globally, is comparable to the Biological Sciences rankings at Murdoch University Australia, Tokyo University of Science, and Okayama University, Japan.
“We believe that our current ranking is excellent because there are over 3,000 Biology programs worldwide, provided by most universities,” said the vice dean.
Dr. Suyono explained that, in addition to academic and research activities, the faculty regularly organizes an International Summer Course involving more than 11 universities from 10 countries annually. They also invite guest lecturers from renowned foreign universities each month.
The UGM Faculty of Biology also has an internationally recognized journal, the Journal of Tropical Biodiversity and Biotechnology (JTBB), indexed in Scopus, to publish research results from biologists from home and abroad.
“We also encourage the development of research groups leading to publications in international journals, fostered by partnerships with foreign universities through internal funding from the faculty in the form of grants for faculty and student collaborations and research grants and community service synergizing with related external funding,” he clarified.
To accelerate research and publication numbers and academic reputation, they are also expanding collaboration networks between universities, governments, and industries, both domestically and internationally, supported by developing state-of-the-art research facilities and supporting infrastructure.
“These programs greatly accelerate the number of publications, citations, H-Index, academic reputation, employer reputation, and international partnerships. These programs are concrete support from the UGM Faculty of Biology in achieving goal 9: industry, innovation, and infrastructure, and goal 17: partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he concluded.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Firsto