Case Study #2: Universitas Sriwijaya, Sumatra: Quality Assurance System Development to Create Research Centers of Excellence

• In Event: How Indonesian Higher Education Institutions Use Action Research to Lead Change

Abstract

While there is a high level of research activity at UNSRI, little research results in publication or commercialized products and patents. Furthermore, the research is not collaborative or interdisciplinary and does not adequately engage a function. This project aimed to develop a research quality assurance system formalized in manuals and policies that would inspire collaborative and ethical research, increase publications and patents, and ensure that students are engaged in the research process.

UNSRI’s ARP team posited that extant university policies and procedures regarding research contributed to the weaknesses noted. Their process consisted of three phases: 1) focus-group discussions with researchers from faculties representing every major at UNSRI and analyzing research policies and outputs to establish a baseline of research projects, publications, patents and commercialized products; 2) analysis of the data collected; and 3) use of the data to develop a quality assurance system in collaboration with experts and respondents across all programs of study.

The Research Master Plan and the Research Quality Manual were piloted during 2013, and the Research Ethics Code was formally decreed and implemented in September 2013. The University Quality Assurance Unit is monitoring changes in research funding, practice and productivity to track changes in research practices and outcomes. Policies will be reviewed following a full pilot year of monitoring and evaluation in late 2014.

Author

• Siti Herlinda, Universitas Sriwijaya, Sumatra