The meeting room on the 2nd floor of Building L7, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Library and Archives, was filled with a spirit of collaboration as a delegation from Udayana University Library arrived for a benchmarking visit. The delegation was led by Gede Arda, S.T.P., M.Sc., Ph.D., Head of Udayana University Library, accompanied by four staff members, including the library secretary, librarian, and electronic collection manager.
The visit was warmly welcomed by Arif Surachman, S.IP., MBA., Head of UGM Library and Archives, along with the management team. The main agenda of the meeting was to share best practices in managing the Final Project Service System, a vital component in supporting an ecosystem of open academic information.
During the discussion session, Dewi Nurhastuti, S.Sos., from the Data and Digital Resources Team of UGM Library and Archives, presented the implementation of the self-upload system for academic works that has been applied at UGM. Through this system, students can independently upload their theses and dissertations. “We are committed to creating an efficient and open submission process, so that students’ research can be accessed quickly and bring greater benefits to the academic community,” said Dewi Nurhastuti.
After the discussion, the activity continued with a direct visit to the Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) room. In this room, the Udayana delegation had the opportunity to observe firsthand how UGM Library and Archives manages and provides access to digital thesis collections integrated within the institutional repository system.
The meeting also served as a reflective space for both institutions to strengthen their interlibrary knowledge network. Such synergy forms an essential foundation for improving the quality of academic services and digital literacy in higher education.
This activity aligns closely with two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4 (Quality Education), by expanding access to research outcomes and learning opportunities for both the academic community and the public; and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), as demonstrated through the institutional collaboration between UGM and Udayana University.
The benchmarking visit marks a concrete step toward building an adaptive, competitive, and interconnected library ecosystem—reflecting the enduring spirit of education and sustainable partnership.
Contributor: Wasilatul Baroroh