In a rapidly evolving scholarly ecosystem, professional management of scientific journals is not just an administrative obligation, but a fundamental strength for the accountable dissemination of research outputs and accountable knowledge advancement. Well-managed journals ensure the validity, accessibility, and impact of scientific findings, enabling them to serve as reliable references that enrich corpus of knowledge, and stimulate further innovation. Recognizing this strategic role, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), through Directorate of Research, consistently encourages journal secretariats across the university to continuously improve the journals governance quality, academic integrity, and global visibility, enabling them to compete at both national and international levels.
One of the initiatives undertaken by the Directorate of Research is the conferment of the Nationally Accredited and Scopus-Indexed Scientific Journal Governance Award. In 2025, Period I of the awards was given to scientific journals secretariats by work units/faculties in UGM. Eligible journals were required to have been published for a minimum of two years (two columns), managed using the Open Journal Systems (OJS), possess an online ISSN and Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and have at least submitted an application for indexation to the Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ). Furthermore, the journals should have obtained a new accreditation, achieved an upgraded accreditation status from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (minimum SINTA 4), or been indexed in the Scopus database during period of 2024 – 2025, and must not have previously received a similar award from the Directorate of Research.
Through a selection and evaluation process conducted by the Directorate of Research, twelve journals were selected as award recipients for Period I, as follows:
- Journal of the Civil Engineering Forum (Faculty of Engineering) – Scopus indexed
- Buletin Peternakan (Faculty of Animal Science) – Scopus indexed
- Journal of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Institute of Halal Industry and System, UGM Center of Excellence) – Accreditation Upgrade
- Global South Review (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences) – New Accreditation, Rank 2
- Rubikon: Journal of Transnational American Studies (Faculty of Cultural Sciences) – Accreditation Upgrade, Rank 3
- Jurnal Media dan Komunikasi Indonesia (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences) – Accreditation Upgrade, Rank 3
- Agroindustrial Journal (Faculty of Agricultural Technology) – New Accreditation, Rank 3
- Lembaran Sejarah (Faculty of Cultural Sciences) – Accreditation Upgrade, Rank 3
- Lembaran Antropologi (Faculty of Cultural Sciences) – New Accreditation, Rank 4
- Jurnal Keperawatan Klinis dan Komunitas (Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing) – New Accreditation, Rank 4
- Middle Eastern Culture & Religion Issues (Faculty of Cultural Sciences) – New Accreditation, Rank 4
- Gadjah Mada Journal of Tourism Studies (Faculty of Cultural Sciences) – New Accreditation, Rank 4
The awards serve as a form of appreciation for the accomplishment, dedication, and achievements attained by journal management teams. Such accomplishments should be regarded as the finishing line, but rather as foundation for continued improvement, innovation, and progress. The Directorate of Research encourages all journal secretariats at UGM to further enhance the quality and competitiveness of UGM journals, so that the wider academic community and public may benefit from and access current scientific articles published as reliable sources of scholarly reference.
Through the awards, UGM reaffirms the commitment to strengthen credible, transparent, and sustainable academic culture. This initiative also contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 on Quality Education, particularly in ensuring inclusive, equitable, and globally competitive access to higher education.
