UIN Jakarta Responds to Digitalization Challenges: FAH Holds Zotero Training

South Tangerang, UIN Online News – Amid ongoing literacy discussions, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta demonstrates its commitment to strengthening digital literacy in supporting students' academic skills. The Faculty of Adab and Humanities (FAH) at UIN Jakarta took the initiative by organizing a Reference Management Training: Zotero on Tuesday (15/04/2025). The event was held at the Abdul Ghani Theater and attended by participants from various study programs.

The training was spearheaded by Pustakawan Praktikum (PUSTIKUM) in collaboration with the Artefah Student Press Institute and other student organizations.

Representing the Dean of FAH, Vice Dean III for Student Affairs, Prof. Usep Abdul Matin, S.Ag., M.A., Ph.D., and Muhammad Azwar, S.Pd.I., M.Hum., a lecturer in Library Science at FAH, served as speakers. Muhammad Azwar is widely recognized as a practitioner and expert in scientific reference management.

In his opening remarks, the Vice Dean for Student Affairs expressed appreciation for the event and reminded students of the urgency of mastering reference management skills. He emphasized that technical proficiency (hard skills) and academic character (soft skills) are essential assets that students must develop.

"Activities like this strongly support the Key Performance Indicator (IKU) program. I hope all students can participate, as these skills will be highly valuable in the future," he said.

Prof. Usep also shared his experience working on the New National History Writing Project, where reference management tools like Zotero and Mendeley were instrumental in maintaining accuracy and organization in sourcing references. He also praised the collaboration between student organizations as a concrete and beneficial synergy.

The event was symbolically opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Prof. Usep, Muhammad Azwar, and the PUSTIKUM supervisor, followed by enthusiastic participation from students across various disciplines—primarily from History and Islamic Civilization, followed by Library Science, Arabic Language and Literature, Translation, and English Literature.

Rif’at, a student of History and Islamic Civilization, shared that the training greatly helped him understand Zotero, which he found difficult to learn independently.

"What motivated me to join this training was that this skill is quite challenging to learn on my own. Now, I can use Zotero regularly for my academic writing," he said.

In this era of academic digitalization, the training serves as a response to the attention economy, a concept briefly mentioned by Prof. Usep. Attention has become an asset in adapting to digital trends, ensuring productivity and relevance.

"As academic pioneers, we must not fall behind in facing this wave," he emphasized.

Through this initiative, UIN Jakarta and FAH UIN Jakarta reaffirm their commitment as an adaptive campus, addressing contemporary challenges by providing progressive learning spaces that enhance students' digital-era competencies.

(Photo: fah.uinjkt.ac.id)