Mataram, University of Mataram – The Communication Science Study Program of the Faculty of Law, University of Mataram, held a series of practitioner lectures and international guest lectures during October 2023. This activity, according to the Head of the Communication Science Study Program, Dr Ir Agus Purbathin Hadi, M.Si, is intended to foster a collaborative and participatory learning climate for Communication Science Study Program students. “By presenting practitioners to give classes, students will get applicative learning on how to apply the theories they receive in college when later they work in the community, while guest lectures from academics from abroad will provide students the knowledge of communication science at the international level,” said Agus.

The Practitioner Lecture took the theme “Sociopreneur of Coastal Area Tourism” delivered by Dr. Ahmad Aris, SP, M,Si from the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, on September 29, 2023, and followed by M. Taufiq Hizbul Haq, Director of the Juang Laut Lestari Foundation (JARI Foundation) Mataram, on October 19, 2023.

The practitioner lecture with the theme “Communication, Media, and Disaster Communication” was held on October 18, 2023. The morning session lecture was delivered by Ir. Ahmada, SP-1, Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of West Nusa Tenggara, followed by an afternoon session by Ahmad Muhari, ST, MT, Ph.D, Head of the Data and Information Center (Pusdatin) of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) of the Republic of Indonesia.

Muhlis, S.Sos.I, M.A, Secretary of the Communication Science Study Program, explained that these practitioner lectures are part of the Merdeka Campus Competition Program (PKKM). ” Besides practitioner lectures, other PKKM activities are independent projects, internships, entrepreneurship programs, and student exchanges to Brawijaya University. Furthermore, to support students’ independent projects that make four documentary films related to disaster and tourism, we also held a two-day workshop on October 2-3, 2023 with facilitators from Watch Doc, an institution that produces many critical and quality documentary films,” Muhlis continued.

For international guest lectures, the Communication Science Study Program presents three lecturers from Malaysia and the Philippines. The first lecture was held on October 24, 2023, presenting Dr. Pirdaus Mat Husain, from the Faculty of Design and Computing, University College of Yayasan Pahang (UCYP) Malaysia with the topic “Media and Communication in Digital Age”. The second lecture was delivered by Prof. Belen D. Calingacion from University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines, on October 27, 2023 with the topic “Media and Art in Communication”. The third international guest lecture will be held on October 30, 2023, presenting Dr. Sharipudin from University Putera Malaysia (UPM) Malaysia, on the topic of “Trends in Quantitative Communication Research Methods”.

The three guest lecturers who were presented looked excited to deliver the material and were greeted enthusiastically by the students. All three agreed that this academic exchange activity could be continued with joint research and publication cooperation, as well as student exchanges. According to the Head of Communication Science Study Program, many domestic and foreign academics are interested in collaborating because Unram Communication Science Study Program has a curriculum and studies that focus on tourism communication, disaster communication, and community development communication.