Diponegoro University (Undip) held an online Workshop on Strengthening Employer Reputation of Diponegoro University by inviting alumni and leaders in Undip. This workshop aims to maximize and coordinate alumni who will contribute to strengthening employer reputation in the QS WUR 2022 rankings. (20/1)
In line with Undip’s vision as an excellent research university and world class university, this workshop is a way of consolidating Undip alumni across Indonesia and around the world to support the realization of the university’s vision as well as improve Undip’s reputation in international rankings.
The workshop was attended by Undip Rector, Prof. Dr. Yos Johan Utama S.H., M.Hum.; former Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education who is also the former of Undip Rector, Prof. Mohamad Nasir; Deans and Deputy Deans of Faculties and School; Heads of Institutions, Offices, Directorates, and Units at Undip; alumni who work in private and public institutions and as a professional, entrepreneur or company leader. The resource persons of this event were Prof. Mohamad Nasir and Prof. Denny Nugroho, Plt. who serves as Head of Undip Rating Office.
The workshop was started with remarks and directions from Undip Rector, Prof. Yos Johan Utama. In his remarks, Prof. Yos said that international recognition of the quality of Undip alumni which can be seen from the results of the QS WUR Employer Reputation Ranking showed that the education process at Undip has been on the right track and must be continuously improved in quality. He also said that Undip graduates were in the category of getting jobs quickly with a short waiting period for graduates. Undip alumni are also spread throughout Indonesia and even in various countries with diverse professions. This supports the strengthening of Undip’s international reputation, especially Employer Reputation. Furthermore, Prof. Yos explained that the main problem regarding employer reputation at Undip is that currently many alumni do not know their role in boosting the employer reputation indicator. Undip alumni when contacted or asked for their opinion (survey) did not know if this survey was part of improving Undip’s reputation.
Prof. Mohamad Nasir delivered the material “Undip’s Strategy towards World Class University”. Prof. Nasir said that currently QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) has been named one of the best university ranking providers in the world and is recognized by the International Ranking Expert Group (IREG). QS WUR consists of 6 criteria including: Academic Reputation (40%), Citation per Faculty (20%), Faculty/Student Ratio (20%), Employer Reputation (10%), International Staff (5%), and International Students (5%).
Employer Reputation as one of the indicators of the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking (QS WUR), needs to get the attention of many parties, both internal and external, such as alumni and Undip partners. According to Prof. Nasir, the Employer Reputation assessment is based on survey results of the professional community who analyze the quality and reputation of a higher education institution such as Undip. Therefore, Undip alumni who have become professionals in their respective fields can be proposed to be included in the QS WUR survey subject list for employer reputation assessment. Prof. Nasir gave suggestions and inputs to improve various matters related to alumni, considering that the potential for alumni’s contribution is quite large for Undip’s development and branding.
In line with the material conveyed by Prof. Nasir, the second resource person, Prof. Denny Nugroho Sugianto, explained further about the rankings that Diponegoro University participated in. Prof. Denny explained the position of Undip’s ranking on the rankings such as QS, THE, Greenmetric, Webometric, etc.) along with changes in ranking from year to year. He also described the comparison of Undip’s position among other universities both national and international.
Prof. Denny Nugroho Sugianto stated that currently Undip’s employer reputation assessment is still lacking compared to other state universities. This can be seen from the Undip Employer Reputation score which is still small (total, red) of 17.5. Therefore, the efforts to raise the reputation must be continued such as by holding a Workshop on Strengthening Employer Reputation and alumni network talk show per faculty. The talk show event is a gathering place for alumni, as well as a forum to convey information about Undip’s ranking which involves alumni assessment and alumni database networking. With the efforts that have been made, it is hoped that the result of Undip in rating assessment will continue to increase.
Although the assessment of the ranking indicators still needs to be improved, Prof. Denny added that currently Undip’s achievements have made a lot of progress in assessing other indicators which are already very good. From the achievements reached until the present day, it shows that Undip is no longer at the intermediate level, but can start to climb upwards.
The presentations of the two resource persons were followed by a discussion session and Q&A session which was guided by Dessy Ariyanti, Ph.D, as Plt. Deputy Head of Undip Rating Office. In this session, the participants asked a lot of questions, feedback, and comments either in person or through the Zoom chat room. The participants commented on the current condition of alumni and discussed appropriate ways for the alumni to be actively involved in the development and branding of Undip. Participants also asked about the procedures for participating in the QS Ranking survey. Questions also arise about how to disseminate information on how to fill out a QS survey to other alumni or alumni colleagues who are willing to fill out a QS survey on behalf of Diponegoro University. With the number of workshop participants reaching nearly 200 who were enthusiastically asking and answering questions, the workshop was run quite smoothly and interactively. The workshop was closed by remarks from the Undip Vice Rector for Research and Innovation, Prof. Ambariyanto.
