Malang, July 16, 2026 — Sekolah Pascasarjana Universitas Negeri Malang, under the direct supervision of the Director, Prof. Syamsul Bachri, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., and coordinated by Dr. Siti Faizah, S.Pd., M.Pd., held the 10th session of Program 4 Excellence. The online session, held via Google Meet from 19.00 to 21.00 WIB, is a regular program that gives doctoral students hands-on experience in critically reviewing Scopus-indexed journal articles. This regular event has helped both students and lecturers stay familiar with current topics in Pendidikan Dasar and Pendidikan Kejuruan, as well as the characteristics that set top-tier journal articles apart.
This 10th session featured two doctoral students from the Pendidikan Kejuruan program, Annisau Nafiah and Novia Nailatun Nufus, who each presented a review of a top-tier journal article. Annisau reviewed a paper on critical thinking and AI-assisted creativity in engineering education, while Novia reviewed a paper on green merchandising of textiles and apparel in a circular economy. Both students walked participants through the strengths and limitations of their respective articles.
The session drew active participation from lecturers across study programs under Sekolah Pascasarjana. Cita Nuary Ishak, a lecturer in S2 Pendidikan Dasar, raised a question during the discussion of Annisau’s reviewed article, asking about the need for a consent letter, ethical clearance, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval in the published study. Responding to this, Prof. Syamsul Bachri explained that a number of top-tier journals require all of these, namely a consent letter, ethical clearance, and IRB approval, to be in place before a paper can even move forward to the review stage.
Program 4 Excellence supports the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), by strengthening doctoral students’ research literacy and critical thinking through direct engagement with high-quality, Scopus-indexed scholarship, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), through the ongoing collaboration between students and lecturers across study programs that the session continues to build.