The Graduate School of Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU) hosted an International Guest Lecture titled “Designing a Publishable Thesis/Dissertation and Social Media for Academic Usability” on Friday (August 21) at the UMSU Graduate School Auditorium on Jalan Denai, Medan.
The event featured two experts from Malaysia: Dr. Mutiara Dwi Sari from Universiti Muhammadiyah Malaysia (UMAM) and SAFE Malaysia Coordinator Dr. Nurul Huda.
The event was officially opened by UMSU Rector Prof. Dr. Akrim, M.Pd., represented by Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Community Service, and Internationalization (RIPI), Dr. Rudianto, M.Si. He expressed his appreciation for the event and outlined UMSU’s vision of becoming a world-class university.
“We hope this initiative will continue in the future, and if possible, Dr. Nurul Huda could become our mentor. In particular, since the UMSU Graduate School already offers Master’s and PhD programs, we hope our students will be able to produce dissertations suitable for publication in reputable international journals,” said Dr. Rudianto.
He emphasized that improving academic publications is not simply about increasing the number of scholarly works, but also about ensuring research quality, integrity, and impact. He encouraged lecturers and students to produce original work and avoid plagiarism.
“Integrity must never be compromised. Our work should not be copied from others, plagiarized, or written by someone else. It must be genuinely our own original work,” he stressed.
He expressed hope that the initiative would support the transformation targets set by the university leadership.
Earlier, Deputy Director of the Graduate School, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adi Mansar, S.H., M.Hum., explained that the event had two main objectives: to increase the academic outputs and publications produced by lecturers at the Graduate School and to provide opportunities and expand academic networks for students in the doctoral and master’s programs.
In the first presentation, Dr. Mutiara Dwi Sari highlighted the importance of using social media to build academic visibility. She explained that social media is not merely a platform for entertainment but can also serve as an effective tool for academics to introduce themselves, their work, and their research findings to the wider academic community.
“Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok should not be used only for glamour or entertainment. They can also be used to introduce ourselves to prospective students and to peers or principal investigators in our fields, while sharing information about our academic work and expertise,” Mutiara explained.
The second speaker, Dr. Nurul Huda, noted that every academic has unique strengths and experiences that can be shared with others. She also highlighted the importance of using ResearchGate to increase the visibility of research publications. According to her, published research can be manually uploaded to the platform, making it easier for other researchers to discover and access.
“We must maintain our integrity on these platforms. We also need to regularly review and keep our profiles and content up to date,” she said.
The event concluded with the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the speakers, followed by a group photo session. The event was attended by professors at the UMSU Graduate School, study program leaders, and students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs.
