On January 17, 2017 Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar) will reach 62 years of its devotion to taking steps in educating the nation. Many graduates have been produced as well as having been participated in promoting Indonesia. One year is like one step of a journey. It can be a step forward or even a step backward. Nowadays there are many who take steps without even realizing that they are taking steps. This Kaleidoscope edition of the bulletin is also intended to realize how Unpar has stepped forward.
For some people 62 years may be a time when strength is no longer as it was when they were young. The time in which we can choose to relax and harvest what we planted. However, Unpar which belongs to the ranks of the oldest universities still feels young and has marched proudly to keep on improving itself for the sake of the nation’s progress and the Glory of God.
Various maximum efforts have been made to realize “The Great Unpar”. In 2015, we can still remember how Unpar established a new Study Program/Department namely the Electronic Engineering Study Program with Mechatronics Major. At that time the first batch of students consisted of 29 people. In 2016, a master’s degree program was established. Masters of International Relations (MHI) was Unpar’s answer to facing global challenges. In 2017, the School of Postgraduate Studies / Graduate School will also open the Master’s Program in Business Administration. Of course Unpar has hopes to continue to expand in the academic field, especially in the establishment of new study programs.
Since its establishment in 1955 until 2016, Unpar has produced some 56.513 graduates. Unpar students have many options to work after completion of higher education. Most of them find it attractive to develop the academic world. They want to be researchers and educators. Others want to work in well-known companies in accordance with their respective fields. Some had even started their career as artists while the were still students, hence, the focus on developing the career later. Quite a few Unpar students decided to set up jobs and business opportunities. There are assorted types who cultivated fields of entrepreneurship amonggraduates Unpar.
One Unpar alumnus, young entrepreneur who had become the talk of the netizen community is Eldwin Viriya. Eldwin an alumnus of the Informatics Engineering study program (Prodi), set up an online game developer named “Own Games”. After working on “Somemon”, Eldwin made use of the hot topic discussed in cyberspace.Tahu Bulat is a business simulation game which is the motor of his success. The game has topped the Top Games . Some National TV also invited him to a number of talk show events . On the 20th anniversary of Informatics Engineering, his company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Informatics Engineering study program . This is intended to develop the company as well as contribute to Sharing knowledge to the juniors of the alma mater. Now the Informatics Computer Lab serves as a place to learn and develop online games.
Unpar has been fairly active in improving the knowledge and abilities of its students in the field of entrepreneurship . Academic activities coupled with business practices have been carried out in Several Study Programs. One of the mainstay activities undertaken by Unpar students is Menefesto organized by students of the Management Study Program, in the Faculty of Economics at Unpar. Not only in the Management Study Program, the D3 Company Management Study Program (D3MP) Unpar also has similar activities. Slightly different from the Menefesto, D3MP with several young entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprise centers especially in the city, tries to showcase the benefits of their products to the public. the Business Administration Study Program (IAB) of Unpar also has paid/devoted special attention to entrepreneurial activities. Each year it regularly holds Business Simulation exhibitions, which is part of the actualization of the IAB student entrepreneurship. The event consists of business expo, workshops, and artistic performances. Aside from being the actualization of student entrepreneurship, these activities are expected to be useful for students when facing the entrepreneurial world in the future. In addition, the Center of Excellence Small and Medium Enterprises (SME CoE) has established its role in the establishment of a business-technology-incubator.
In addition to encouraging students to engage in the entrepreneurial world, Unpar has incessantly encouraged students to be active in the academic world. Various conferences have regularly been held. In addition, there are also conferences that were held for the very first time but have successfully generated ground-breaking thoughts about science. One of the the conference was the International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) entitled Human Security: Safeguarding and Empowering People . The conference was organized by the the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Unpar, the Parahyangan Centre for International Studies (Pacis) along with the International Relations Study Program (HI), to commemorate the 55th anniversary of FISIP Unpar.
Several lecturers contributed their research papers in international journals. One that became a media spotlight was a piece written by a Physics lecturer concerning the Black Hole (Black Hole). Remarkably, this happened during physics teacher training held by Prodi Physics, the possibillity of using black holes as an energy source was discussed. Referring to SCOPUS indexed publications, Arenst Andreas Arie is the most prolfic author at Unpar with 19 scientific papers. The scientific world seems to have become more colorful with the thoughts of the Unpar researchers. As educators, lecturers have their respective ways of teaching. Janto Suling Budi, a Physics lecturer gets his inspiration from magicians when presenting an easily accepted physics lesson. Along with the gradual understanding of the science that seemed hard until it becomes understandable, The Faculty of Philosophy regularly holds the Extension Course of Philosophy (ECF) and the Extension Course of Culture and Religion (ECCR).
A series of achievements has also been successfully etched by Unparians in various competitions both in academic and non-academic fields, as a real proof of the quality of teaching Unpar that is constantly being maintained and continuously improved. The International Council for Small Business (ICSB) Indonesia awarded ” ICSB Indonesia Presidential Award 2016” to Unpar as an Academician pillar especially in the field of research. the ICSB award is given Unpar dedication and commitment to supporting the advancement of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia.
A variety of services continues to play a role as the embodiment of Unpar’s vision Bakuning Hyang Mrih Guna Santyaya Bhakti that denotes: based on divinity, seeking knowledge to be devoted to the society. This devotion has unwittingly become part of Unpar’s creed, as reflected in the many community service activities undertaken by students, faculty, Department / study programs, as well as other units in Unpar.the Community Service Education Program (P3M) for example, which seeks to sensitize students to the variety of social problems in society.
The dynamics of the student life with all the expression and creativity honed as a capital for a joining in the community. Like blades continually forged, students as future leaders are expected to become persons who are not only clever but also have the skills or abilities in different fields. The commemoration of the Youth Pledge Day (Persada) held by the Student Presidential Institution (LKM) in October, is one of the events held to raise awareness and bring back the spirit of youth.
Last November, the Unpar Alumni Association (IKA) held the V Congress. This event provided an accountability report as well the establishment of a new chairman and board of IKA Unpar 2016-2019 period. Of the four candidates, Antonius Haryanto Rainier was elected Chairman of IKA of 2016-2019.period. One of the programs that IKA Unpar hold is seeking for scholarship funds for outstanding students. In addition, it offered a variety of jobs for freshly graduated Unpar students.
The challenge for higher education institutions is currently not merely how to produce knowleadgeable students, but also the ones who know how to compete and play a role in the international world without abandoning the local values they have. After successfully organizing the ACUCA (Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia) Student Camp, Unpar once again held the bi-annual ACUCA event, The 2016 Biennial Conference and the 21st General Assembly on Bali, Indonesia. ACUCA bi annual conference also marked the end of the period as the Secretariat ACUCA Unpar stewardship over the last two years. The event closed with agenda of handing over ACUCA secretariat in the presidium, of Unpar to Payap University, Thailand, as the new secretariat of ACUCA for the period 2016-2018.
Unpar realizes the importance of internationalization that is projected onto an educational collaboration in various fields, one of which is related to issues of culture. The International Office and Cooperation (CIC) of Unpar organizes Community Immersion programs for foreign students to improve academic skills as well as introducing to them the language, culture and local wisdom of the people of West Java. Since the beginning of this year, CIC has also been providing a variety of international opportunities for all students of Unpar. This is realized through the Be Unpar’s Delegation (BUD), which is one of the programs to support internationalization in Unpar’s environment.
This month’s edition of MidUp will take us back to the Unpar steps during 2016 recorded through the news. These include just a few of the many steps that have been taken by Unpar in 2016.
Happy reading,
MidUp Bulletin Editors
