UNAIR NEWS – Some time ago Professor of Microbiology Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga Prof. Dr. Ni Made Mertaniasih, dr., MS., Sp.MK (K) left for Japan for two weeks. Her agenda was to discuss a collaborative research in the field of TB disease diagnostics with a number of microbiologists there.
This collaborative research is related to Master Education Program towards Doctorate for Excellent Graduate (PMDSU) initiated by the Directorate General of Higher Education Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesian Republic.
As it is known, PMDSU is a scholarship acceleration program of education given to qualified graduates to become a doctor. This program was pioneered in 2012. With a four-year education period, these Doctorate candidate students will be mentored by reliable professors with international research tracks and publications.
Prof Made was selected as one of the promoter professors of FK UNAIR for batch III PMDSU program. In addition to Prof Made, there were two other professors namely Prof. Soetjipto, dr., MS, Ph, and Prof Agus from the Faculty of Science and Technology UNAIR.
In Japan, Prof Made with Dr. Djohar Nuswantoro MPH and three students participating PMDSU met a number of TB microbiology experts related to research fellow program to explore the molecular topic of tuberculosis.
They met Prof. Sokiji Matsumoto, a tuberculosis immunologist and Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology expert for TB at Niigata University School of Medicine and Dental. Then they met Manabu Ato Ph.D to discuss vaccine preparation and tuberculosis diagnosis at Tokyo’s Nipong Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). Finally they met the bio informatics expert Fumito Maruyama Ph.D at Kyoto University School of Postgraduate in Medical Sciences.
Through this program, each promoter professor is obliged to guide and supervise the research of three participant students of PMDSU. Students are also targeted to produce international standard research, at least two publications of research in international journals.
“The government in this case supports the professors to supervise the research of PMDSU participants,” she said.
Prof. Made said that PMDSU program can improve the synergy between education and research. This way, the addition of doctors who have the experience of a superior research atmosphere can be achieved.
“This program does not only benefit PMDSU participants, but also for promoters. Because this could be an opportunity for the professors to expand partnership abroad, ” she said.
In addition, Vice Dean III FK UNAIR also considered that the program can improve research progress in Indonesia, strengthen collaboration with developed countries, strengthen innovative research products, and strengthen scientific publications.
“I hope that the results can be harvested in 2018. But the process is still long, there is still a lot of heavy homework for students to obtain valid data and analysis results, then there is supervision, reviewed by professors from abroad, so later on the results of their research meet the international standards,” she said.
From the experience of PMDSU in 2013 and 2015 and monitoring and evaluation results from DIKTI team (Directorate General of Science and Technology and Higher Education), various improvements are made to the grant procedure to run the third batch in 2017.
“We professors end up like learning again. Understand deeper international standard research processes that will bring sustainable benefits. For that research PMDSU participants should continue to produce tangible drug and diagnostic, not only limited to journal target, “she said. (*)
Author: Sefya Hayu Istighfaricha
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
