Strategic Collaboration Between AFM Laboratory FTI ITB and Universitas Negeri Medan: Strengthening Research and Academic Development Across Regions

Strategic Collaboration Between AFM Laboratory FTI ITB and Universitas Negeri Medan: Strengthening Research and Academic Development Across Regions

Bandung, 16 October 2025 — The Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung (FTI ITB), welcomed an official delegation from Universitas Negeri Medan (UNIMED) to strengthen ongoing academic and research collaborations with the Advanced Functional Materials Laboratory (AFM). During the visit, UNIMED presented a commemorative plaque to the Dean of FTI ITB, symbolizing the formalization and deepening of a partnership that has been developing over the past year.

This collaboration stems from the initiative of Prof. Brian Yuliarto, then Head of the AFM Laboratory, who envisioned expanding academic mentorship and research cooperation to universities beyond Java. His commitment reflects ITB’s broader mission to support capacity-building and research advancement in developing higher-education institutions across Indonesia. UNIMED emerged as a strategic partner, partly due to the presence of several high-performing graduate students in AFM who previously completed their undergraduate studies at UNIMED.

The partnership was initially sparked by discussions between Prof. Brian Yuliarto and Dr. Winsyahputra Ritonga, S.Pd., M.Si., Vice Rector II for Facilities and Infrastructure at UNIMED. These early conversations evolved into a joint supervision scheme for master’s students, in which ITB faculty serve as primary supervisors and UNIMED faculty as co-supervisors. The program has since grown to produce shared research outputs and collaborative publications.

As the collaboration progressed, UNIMED began sending physics students to conduct research directly at the AFM Laboratory ITB, taking advantage of its advanced facilities and research ecosystem. This student integration helped strengthen a dynamic and inclusive research culture across both institutions.

After more than a year of informal collaboration, both universities advanced toward formalizing their partnership through the preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This process led to the UNIMED delegation’s visit to ITB on 16 October 2025. During the meeting, UNIMED representatives engaged with ITB leadership—including the Vice Rector for Partnerships and the FTI ITB Dean—to finalize the MoU draft and explore long-term collaborative opportunities in research and academic development.

A particularly notable agenda item was the development of a Fast-Track Program linking UNIMED’s undergraduate program (S1) to ITB’s master’s program (S2). This special-track initiative is designed to provide outstanding UNIMED students with the opportunity to pursue graduate studies at ITB through a targeted and competitive selection route, supporting ITB’s broader mission to elevate human-resource capacity nationwide.

In terms of research focus, both institutions agreed to prioritize collaboration in fields aligned with AFM’s existing strengths and facilities, including:

• Biosensors,

• Supercapacitors and energy-storage materials,

• Solar harvesting and advanced photovoltaic technologies.

However, the scope remains flexible and open to additional topics that may emerge from evolving scientific needs and institutional priorities.

The visit not only reinforced the mutual commitment between ITB and UNIMED but also reflected a shared aspiration to expand similar collaborations to other universities outside Java. ITB hopes that this partnership model—built on shared supervision, student mobility, and joint research—can serve as a catalyst for broader national academic strengthening initiatives.

UNIMED expressed deep appreciation for ITB’s openness and support.

“ITB has been very welcoming and open, offering numerous recommendations on potential programs that could be developed together,” remarked the UNIMED representative.

With the MoU now approaching completion and communication between leadership teams growing more structured, the ITB–UNIMED partnership enters a more strategic phase—one that promises to generate meaningful impact for research, education, and academic collaboration across Indonesia.