The Graduate School of UNY (GS UNY) welcomed a benchmarking visit from the Graduate Program of UMHAMKA (GP UMHamka), received directly by Prof. Dr. Siswantoyo, M.Kes., AIFO., Director of GS UNY. In his opening remarks, he expressed appreciation for UMHamka’s initiative in fostering collaboration and introduced the GS UNY leadership team, including Dr. Risky Setiawan, M.Pd., Coordinator of the Master Program in Educational Research and Evaluation (ERE), and Prof. Dr. Edy Supriyadi, M.Pd., Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in ERE.

During the visit, Prof. Siswantoyo presented the profile and achievements of GS UNY, including average student completion times and strategies for accelerating study progress for both master and doctoral students. He emphasized that the success of graduate programs relies not only on academic quality but also on effective supervision management and strengthened student research capacity.

From UMHamka, remarks were delivered by Dr. Amelia Vinayastri, S.Psi., M.Pd., Head of the Master Program in ERE, who expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and GS UNY’s openness in sharing best practices. “We gained many valuable insights from GS UNY, especially regarding strategies to improve research productivity and accelerate student study completion. Our ERE Master Program at UMHamka still needs to strengthen its presence, and this visit is an important step for us to learn and improve our program management,” she stated.

The meeting continued with productive discussions on curriculum development, thesis and dissertation supervision systems, and potential collaborative research opportunities among lecturers and students. Prof. Siswantoyo emphasized that GS UNY is always open to academic partnerships, including joint research, faculty exchanges, and co-authored publications.

The benchmarking activity concluded with the signing of a Cooperation Agreement and its Implementation Documents between the two graduate schools, formalizing their commitment to strengthening networks and collaboration in advancing higher education in Indonesia