Source: https://imaworldwide.com/everyone-wants-a-say-build-faster-change-readiness-with-involvement-strategies/ | Licensed by CC BY-NC 4.0

There is a provision in PO PAK 2019 — the Pedoman Operasional Penilaian Angka Kredit that governs Jabatan Fungsional advancement for Indonesian lecturers — that most BINUS lecturers have never thought to apply to themselves. It establishes that karya ilmiah populer, meaning popular science articles published in national mass media, are formally recognized as angka kredit-earning outputs under the research dissemination component of the Tridharma assessment. An op-ed in Kompas, an article in The Jakarta Post, or a column in Tempo is not simply a communication exercise. It is a documented, credit-bearing activity on the path from Lektor to Lektor Kepala to Profesor — and a visible demonstration of the societal impact that the framework requires at the highest levels.

Jabatan Fungsional advancement in Indonesia’s higher education system is governed by accumulated angka kredit (academic credit points). The framework under Permenpan RB No. 17 Tahun 2013 and Permendikbud No. 92 Tahun 2014 specifies total credit requirements for each rank: Asisten Ahli requires a cumulative 150 points; Lektor requires 200; Lektor Kepala requires 400; and Profesor requires 850, alongside mandatory evidence of significant national or international scholarly contribution and societal impact. At each stage, research dissemination outputs — including mass media publications, public lectures, and documented community engagement — contribute to the non-journal dimensions of the credit portfolio. For a lecturer who has plateaued on journal publications alone, science communication represents an underused and systematically overlooked source of documented, countable academic credit.

The societal impact requirement for Profesor is where science communication becomes most strategically consequential. One of the criteria for Guru Besar advancement is demonstrable evidence that research has influenced public discourse, policy, or practice — not only academic literature. A BINUS lecturer whose research appears in Tempo, The Jakarta Post, or a policy document; whose findings have been covered in national media; or who has a sustained, documented presence on platforms like #binusresearchpoint enters that review with traceable evidence of public influence. A lecturer whose research has never left the academic database does not. The promotion committee is not looking for follower counts. It is looking for documented proof that the research reached and mattered to audiences beyond peer reviewers.

The confusion most lecturers have is that they treat the angka kredit system as purely journal-centric. This is understandable — journal publications carry the highest individual credit values, and the path to Lektor Kepala formally requires publications in nationally accredited or international journals as a mandatory threshold condition. But the framework is broader than this minimum requirement. Under PO PAK 2019, the pengabdian kepada masyarakat and penunjang components — covering public engagement, media publication, and professional dissemination — contribute meaningfully to total credit accumulation. An active science communicator who also publishes in peer-reviewed journals builds a more diversified and defensible credit portfolio than one who relies on journal publications alone.

BINUS researchers have already established this pathway in practice. BINUS authors have published in The Jakarta Post, The Diplomat, 360Info, The Conversation, War on the Rocks, Kompas.id, and Tempo — outlets consistently recognized by national assessment bodies as credible venues for dissemination credit. These are not hypothetical cases from peer institutions. They are verifiable, documented examples from across BINUS’s own academic faculties, in disciplines ranging from defense policy and business strategy to food technology and environmental science. The pathway from BINUS research to nationally recognized public discourse is not aspirational. It is operational.

If you are currently within range of a Jabatan Fungsional advancement and have not yet documented your public-facing outputs in the credit portfolio, the first step is straightforward: compile published URLs, outlet names, and publication dates, then work with your Research Coordinator to submit them formally. RTT’s Downstreaming team can advise on how to frame SciCom outputs in a promotion application, which outlets carry weight with assessment bodies, and how the BINUS RC system handles the formal submission of these activities into the annual reporting cycle.

For a practical guide to the outlets, formats, and reporting pathway that makes science communication count toward your academic advancement at BINUS, visit binus.ac.id/techtransfer/science-communication.

#JabatanFungsional #AngkaKredit #LektorKepala #ScienceComm #BINUSLecturer #KaryaIlmiahPopuler #PromosiAkademik