On Tuesday (15/2) the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI) held a webinar introducing the Professional Engineer Program (PPI) for the Recognition of Past Learning (RPL) pathway. The webinar was attended by the Dean of the FTUI, the Head of the FTUI Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, the Head of the PPI Study Program, and 107 FTUI alumni.
“Currently, we have submitted an academic study of the RPL class to the university. Hopefully, for the next SIMAK admission, the RPL program can be opened and complement the regular classes that are already running. This RPL class can shorten and make it easier to get an Engineer degree for graduates who have more than five years of experience. So there is no need to follow the regular program for one year, but one semester is enough on the basis of a portfolio of experience.” said Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU. in his speech.
Dean Heri also said that there was an opportunity for ILUNI FTUI to coordinate special classes for ILUNI for RPL. ILUNI FTUI can also cooperate with various companies so that company personnel, whether alumni of FTUI or not, can join this RPL program. “In the future, FTUI lecturers also need to get the engineer certificate so that both lecturers and alumni can obtain the engineering profession, whether beginner, intermediate or primary. Hopefully in the future it can run smoothly,” said Dean Heri.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Widodo Wahyu Purwanto, DEA., Head of the FTUI Interdisciplinary Research and Education Unit, said, “This unit accommodates an interdisciplinary master’s program. There are Energy Systems Engineering, Urban Regional Planning, and Professional Engineer Programs. There are four interdisciplinary research centers, then in the future we will build an Interdisciplinary Engineering Building and an Advanced Lab. We also invite fellow alumni who want to continue their education in an interdisciplinary master’s program.”
Prof. Dr. Ir. Fitri Yuli Zulkifli, S.T., M.Sc., IPU. explained that the PPI for the Recognition of Past Learning (RPL) pathway is a formal education program that uses work experience as the basis for continuing education for equality with certain qualifications. “The program that FTUI opens is RPL type A, which is the equivalent of obtaining a professional engineer diploma. The RPL class makes it easier for prospective engineers who have more than five years of experience based on their engineering experience portfolio”.
In the regular program, prospective students are engineering graduates with a minimum of two years of experience. However, prospective students of the RPL program must have a minimum of five years of work experience, have been involved in at least four projects, have experience attending seminars, and be a member of national or international professional organizations. These requirements are evidenced in the portfolio of prospective students submitted at the interview session. If prospective students meet these requirements, they can take part in RPL professional education. If not, prospective students can follow the regular path.
“Besides that, another difference between the regular route and the RPL is during the education period. Regular track students attend lectures for two semesters, the first semester of lectures with a load of 24 credits in class and the second semester doing engineering field practice. Meanwhile, RPL students only attend one semester of lectures with a load of 24 credits,” explained Prof. Fitri Yuli related to the difference between the two routes.
In the question and answer session, Prof. Yuli explained that every work and research process in engineering, natural resource mining, and minerals, manufacturing, and the like is part of engineering. Prospective PPI students can calculate their years of service in the fields that have been mentioned as professional work experience.
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Public Communication Bureau
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia