Facing the rapid development of Governmental Science, which is highly demanded by today's stakeholders, departments of Governmental Science across universities are striving to strengthen their existence. They achieve this through curriculum design innovation, professional governance, and attaining an "A" accreditation rating. To this end, several Governmental Science departments from Muhammadiyah universities throughout Indonesia held a consortium at UMM Hotel in Malang on December 14-15, 2012.
Dr. Tri Sulistyaningsih, M.Si., stated, "We are fully aware that amidst the development of Governmental Science, a consortium forum is necessary to discuss the direction of curriculum design, governance, and quality management to ensure that Governmental Science aligns with stakeholder needs," said the Head of the Governmental Science Study Program at UMM-Malang and the organizer of the consortium.
The innovation of Governmental Science needs to be conducted collectively so that information and experiences about governance in each institution can be unified into a cohesive strength. This unity provides a collective spirit to progress together. Dr. Nurmandi, M.Sc., Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), remarked, "This consortium is intentionally held to unite strengths so that comprehensive and accountable governance of Governmental Science can be established. Therefore, this consortium aims to reach a mutual agreement on strengthening the study program with concepts expected to emerge from this forum," he explained during the consortium's opening.
Dr. Tri Sulistyaningsih, M.Si., and Dr. Nurmandi, M.Sc., attended the opening of the Muhammadiyah University Governmental Science Consortium at UMM Hotel on December 14, 2012.
The consortium, themed "Strengthening the Existence of Governmental Science to Foster National Civilization," was attended by 20 participants from 10 Muhammadiyah universities. Each participant was given the opportunity to present general views on the current and future existence of Governmental Science and the governance of their respective study programs. After the presentations, the forum continued with discussions in several commissions: governance, collaboration, research and community service, and publication.
Hevi Kurnia Hardini, the chief organizer, stated, "The concepts presented by the participants will serve as a reference to formulate a model for collaboration among Governmental Science departments in Muhammadiyah universities, which will be strengthened through commission discussions," she explained.
The two-day consortium resulted in the establishment of the Association of Governmental Science Muhammadiyah Universities (AIPPTM). "Alhamdulillah, we agreed to form the Association of Governmental Science Muhammadiyah Universities. This association will serve as an essential platform for PTM Governmental Science departments to support each other in developing curriculum design, governance, and research and community service programs. This will ultimately create competitive and progressive Governmental Science departments," said Tri Sulistyaningsih, who was appointed as the Secretary-General of AIPPTM.
