Indonesia
One of the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB) lecturers made a remarkable achievement. Dr. Sony Sukmawan, M.Pd., a lecturer in the Study Programme of Indonesian Language and Literature Education (SPILLE), was announced as the first winner of the Academic Leader in the field of Arts and Culture at the university level on Saturday (17/8/2024).
With this victory, Dr. Sony Sukmawan will represent UB in the Academic Leader 2024 event at the national level organized by the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and Technology (Ditjen Diktiristek). The award was given directly by UB Rector, Prof. Widodo, Ph.D.Med.Sc, after the 79th Independence Day ceremony at the UB Rectorate Square.
Academic Leader is an award given to lecturers who can become visionary leaders in the scientific field, inspire peers and students, and produce innovative works that have a real impact, both in the academic realm and in contributing to the development of society and the nation as part of Merdeka Belajar – Kampus Merdeka.
Dr. Sony Sukmawan is known for his extensive and diverse contributions to the field of arts and culture. He has succeeded several times in art, leading students to qualify for the National Student Science Week (Pimnas). He also collaborates with lecturers and students of Pure Fine Arts to produce works such as folklore-based comics, art videos, batik motifs, and merchandise made from folklore. The artworks produced under his guidance have also been registered for copyright.
In culture, Dr. Sony has conducted in-depth research on the Tengger people for almost a decade. His research has resulted in dozens of national and international publications that enrich the understanding of Tengger culture.
He has also developed culture-based innovations, such as creating a policy brief to assist the government in managing arts in Tengger, which aims to improve the community’s welfare. Dr. Sony also linked literary studies with tourism to make Tengger traditions economically viable, showing that innovations in culture are often ‘social engineering’ that promotes community integration and cultural preservation.
“Some of my publications on the phenomenon of the Tengger people are the basis for my innovations. For example, a while ago, I used my research on Tengger culture as a reference to create a policy brief to help the government create art and tradition management policies that benefit the community,” Dr. Sony explained.
However, Dr. Sony’s journey in this field has challenges. One of the main challenges is the lack of support from the research environment, which still pays little attention to local traditions.
“Research support in the academic world is currently still lacking in favor of the social humanities, let alone cultural studies,” he said.
Dr. Sony hopes that policies will be more supportive of research in the social sciences and humanities, especially for local cultures, so that researchers like himself can more easily carry out these important projects.
Dr. Sony hopes academic policies will pay more attention to local issues and strengthen cultural identity through more in-depth research.
“Academic policies need to pay more attention to local issues. We often forget that we need to take care of our identity. We need to strengthen our identity with more research on local culture,” he concluded. [trans.acl/ed.dts/Humas FIB]