Diponegoro University. The webinar, which is held online through the Zoom application, invited three speakers from Diponegoro University Communication alumni, namely Dr. Y. Bambang Wiratmojo as a lecturer at Atma Jaya Jogja, Dr. Desi Dwi Prianti as a Lecturer at Universitas Brawijaya, and Sandy Alfiansyah, MA who also graduated from NIDA Thailand. This event was hosted by one of the Diponegoro University Communication lecturers, S. Rouli Manalu.

This webinar raised topics about careers of academics and researchers in the field of communication to provide students with information about these career paths and what they need to do to support their goals. The speakers shared their experiences from the beginning of college to finally choosing a career as an Academician and Researcher.

The first speaker, Bambang Wiratmojo, shared his story that he did not want to become a lecturer in advance but finally liked the experience of helping lecturers when doing research. It was this involvement with lecturers and research that led to an understanding of how to teach and research. He also revealed the ups and downs when looking for scholarships abroad and reminded students not to give up quickly on achieving their goals.

“My message is not to be afraid to dream, whatever the dream. I also advised my children to be whoever they want, but they have to be diligent and prepare themselves,” he said.

Unlike the first speaker, Desi Dwi Prianti as the second speaker expressed her interest in becoming a teacher. After that, she just found her love for Communication Science after previously receiving appreciation from lecturers when doing assignments and realizing that Communication Science is a practical science and can be reflected in everyday life. Then, she received directions from Communication lecturers at Diponegoro University about how to teach and provide material so she felt more motivated.

“So maybe since then there have been seeds, but initially it was because they wanted to become a teacher, then when I was in college, I shifted to becoming a lecturer and researcher,” she said.

That was different from the third speaker. Sandy Alfiansyah initially liked writing and decided to enter Communication Science even though his parents did not approve. In the end, he felt happy with his choice because he met lecturers who were open-minded, which gave him the courage to dissect certain issues.

“So I used to chat with lecturers every afternoon, about academics, about football, then we talked about opportunities to become academics,” he said. From that conversation, he finally set goals and knew what to do to become an academic. He advised students to focus and often read scientific journals.

Rouli Manalu as moderator added that the demand for academics was quite large, but not many people signed up to become lecturers.

“I think that a career as a lecturer is quite needed now and I feel that after returning to Undip during recruitment, few have registered. We don’t know the reason, but we feel there is a big demand for academics,” she said.

Writer: Amelia Nuraini Purnomo