A total of 1219 new students from the 2024 class and 207 students from the 2023 class of the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FT UI), have started their first Basic Physics lab sessions at the FT UI Physics Laboratory, located in the i-CELL building, on August 26, 2024. This lab will run for seven weeks and cover 14 interactive modules using an exploratory and inquiry-based learning approach.
This lab model is inspired by Nobel Physics Laureate Carl Wieman, utilizing the PhET Interactive Simulations system from the University of Colorado Boulder. Scientifically, this method has been proven to enhance learning abilities, creativity, and soft skills such as teamwork, empathy, character development, and student engagement.
Dr. Ir. Jaka Fajar Fatriansyah, M.Sc., the Lab Coordinator, stated, “The lab sessions are conducted in two languages: English for international students and Indonesian, supplemented with English, for regular program students. Additionally, this model improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the lab by reducing the use of conventional equipment. However, some modules still retain a conventional lab approach to provide hands-on experience and develop students’ psychomotor skills.”
The Basic Physics lab covers modules such as Basic Measurement, Gravity, Kepler’s Laws, Collisions, Thermodynamics, Diffusion, Mechanical Waves, Atwood’s Machine, and Reversible Pendulum for Mechanics and Heat Physics. Meanwhile, for Electricity, Waves, and Optics Physics, the modules include Blackbody Radiation, Light, Coulomb’s Law, Electric Fields, Wave Interference, Faraday’s Law, Capacitors, Ohm’s Law, and Optical Geometry.
The lab is coordinated by Dr. Ir. Jaka Fajar Fatriansyah, M.Sc., under the guidance of FT UI Vice Dean I, Prof. Dr. Ir. Yanuar, M.Eng., M.Sc. The activities are also supported by two lab technicians, Bagas Wahyu Wibowo, S.Si. and Rizkhi Pramesthi Wahyuning, S.Si., along with 55 lab assistants led by Abraham Stefanus, a 2022 FT UI student.
The Basic Physics Lab has an active social media presence, encouraging participants to share their experiences via the Instagram account [@labfisikaft](https://www.instagram.com/labfisikaft/) with the hashtags #livingphysics and #unggulberdampak.
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Public Communication Office
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia
