The beginning of 2024 will be a good start for UI, especially in research and international publications. In the first week of 2024, the Directorate of Research and Development UI announced that the percentage distribution of UI publications in international journals in 2023 is dominated by the Quartile (Q)1 category, namely Scopus-indexed international journals which have the greatest influence among the other categories ( Q2, Q3, and Q4).
Based on data from SciVal in December 2023, it can be seen that there has been a significant increase regarding UI publications in Q1 journals, from 29.3% in 2022 to 34.9% in 2023. This indicates that the number of Q1 UI publications is the largest in Indonesia. In fact, for the last five years, UI publications have been dominated by the Q3 journal. The research area since 2018 is in Natural Sciences (33.1%), Life Sciences and Medicine (39.1%), Engineering & Technology (38.3%), Social Sciences & Management (18.2%), and Arts & Humanities (2.6%).
UI Research and Development Director, Munawar Khalil, S.Si., M.Eng.Sc., Ph.D., said that UI’s publication plays an important influence on international rankings because one of the criteria is the number of scientific journal citations. Articles included in Q1 journals tend to receive more citations because people believe that good journals must contain quality articles.
“We hope that in 2024, UI publications in Q1 journals can be above 50%. As stated in the Long-Term Development Plan, UI’s target in 2025 is to be in the Top 5 of ASEAN. Meanwhile, Q1 research publications at ASEAN’s Top 5 universities are currently above 70%,” said Khalil.
According to him, this target is feasible because UI implements various strategies in research transformation. UI research, which initially focused on quantity, has now shifted to quality. UI used to encourage researchers to publish their research in any journal so the number of articles increased and the culture of writing grew. However, since 2020, UI’s focus has changed. UI publications no longer pursue quantity, but quality, so the research conducted can be published in the world’s best journals.
Khalil said there were at least three things that needed to be considered in international publications, such as international collaboration, research topics, and funding. Current research is certainly not limited to one field of science. There needs to be collaboration with various parties so the research has a big impact not only on Indonesian society but also on the world community. Therefore, the research topic chosen must answer current societal problems. Moreover, the source and the research funding also need to be considered so it does not burden or have negative effects in the long term.
