Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA–In order to get to know the study program (prodi), the MBKM program and public relations governance, the Indonesian Institute of Cultural Arts (ISBI), Aceh visited the State University of Surabaya (UNESA) on Monday, September 26, 2022. The campus representatives were welcomed by the Planning and Cooperation Division, the deans and the Public Relations UPT staff on the 8th Floor of the Lidah Wetan Campus Rectorate Building, Surabaya.
ISBI ​​Deputy Chancellor for Non-academic Affairs, Ir. Syahrizal, MT said that their visit this time was to explore the best practice of ‘Campus of Champions‘ related to MBKM. According to him, there needs to be a lot of sharing and synergy with other universities as an effort to maximize the implementation of MBKM on campus.
In addition, it also explores the experience of UPT Humas in strengthening institutional relations, especially in issue and crisis management. "Crises or problems can certainly occur in any institution, therefore we want to know how the PR strategy is to overcome the crisis and improve the image or reputation of the institution," he said.
Dr. Sujarwanto, M.Pd., as the Deputy Chancellor for Planning and Cooperation at UNESA welcomed the visit of ISBI Aceh. UNESA, he continued, has advantages including education, sports, arts and disabilities. ISBI ​​is deemed appropriate to collaborate with the Faculty of Languages ​​and Arts (FBS) UNESA in scientific development in the field of Art.
Dr. Trisakti, M.Sc., Dean of FBS UNESA said that each study program, especially FBS, collaborated with each other to improve the quality of the tridharma of higher education. "Therefore, we see that there are opportunities for cooperation that can be strengthened and developed with ISBI in the future," he said.
Regarding public relations, the Head of UPT Humas, Vinda Maya Setianingrum explained that UNESA‘s public relations duties are almost the same as other public relations units. It‘s just that the difference is in the priority programs and characteristics of each campus.
"If we are at UNESA, the task is indeed more about branding UNESA which incidentally is an ex-IKIP campus that not only excels in education but also other fields through non-educational and vocational study programs," he said.
The Communication Studies lecturer continued, reputation plays an important role so that the institution can be trusted by the public or parents as the right place for generations to continue their studies. “We optimize this branding through all institutional media platforms. What we are branding is the Campus of Champions, One Step Ahead. When people hear those words, they remember UNESA or vice versa,” he said.
He added that the next task and readiness of public relations apart from being a technical team, must also have the ability to resolve institutional crises. Public Relations must have a strategy in this regard. "The ability to communicate, coordinate and ride a crisis for reputation will really be tested during a crisis," he explained.
Gilang Gusti Aji, SIP, M.Sc., Head of Publication and Institutional Image Division, Public Relations Unesa said that there are several stages of strategy that can be used, including communication management, image and reputation management through branding, issue management through press releases and crisis management. "Truly understanding crisis management is the key to maintaining the image of the institution," he said.
The visit ended with the signing of the MoU for Planning and Cooperation of UNESA with the Vice Chancellor for Non-academic Affairs of ISBI, Aceh witnessed by ISBI and UNESA Public Relations staff. This cooperation involves strengthening the tridharma of higher education and MBKM on both sides. [HUMAS UNESA]
Author: Hasna
Editor: @zam Alasiah*