The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), hosted a Working Paper Series at the Royal Heritage Hotel Solo, Monday, October 28, 2024. The activity, which was attended by FEB lecturers and students, invited a discussant, Prof. Amine Tarazi, Professor of Economics and Finance, University of Limoges.

On this occasion, three FEB UNS lecturers presented the results of their research. Putra Pamungkas, Ph.D., delivered a research entitled ‘Small Business Loans and Repayment Sustainability’; Tastaftiyan Risfandy, Ph.D., with the title ‘The Performance of Micro-Financial Institutions: Islamic VS Conventional Cooperatives’; and Arum Setyowati, Ph.D., with the title ‘The Role of Directors’ experiences on the Relationship between Corporate Responsibility toward Employees Practices and Firm Efficiency.’

Regarding the Working Paper Series , the Vice-Rector for Planning, Partnership, Internationalization, and Information Affairs UNS, Prof. Irwan Trinugroho, S.E., M.Sc., Ph.D., said that this activity has become a tradition in FEB.

Lecturers, especially young lecturers as well as graduate and postgraduate students, should be encouraged to actively participate. “This activity is a good initiative, this is a tradition that needs to be built in FEB, both for lecturers, S-2, S-3 students who have research that needs to be stimulated or presented, and to get input from many people. This will make the research results better,” he said.

Prof. Irwan emphasized that the faculty always encourages graduate and postgraduate students as well as lecturers, especially young lecturers, both those who have not yet earned a doctoral degree and those who already hold a doctoral degree, to actively participate in activities like this. For those who are not yet holding a doctoral degree, they can learn to prepare proposals, and for those who already hold a doctoral degree, they must update their knowledge.

Prof. Tarazi considered that the three articles presented are strong and have shown good contributions. He further stated that research is a long-term process, and even senior researchers need to present their articles. This is important because when we present our research results in the form of articles both in workshops and scientific conferences, we will get new input/feedback that will improve the quality of the articles we write.

“This step can certainly feel fun and at the same time burdensome, but keep in mind that we should not think of criticism as something that is burdensome. This criticism can actually be a lesson for new graduates because after graduation, there are no more supervisors who will guide us in the research process. Once again, today’s agenda is very interesting, and thank you for inviting me on today’s occasion,” he said at the end of the event.