ICON STAFF 2020 : Chance to Develop for Non Academic Staff

The International Conference for Non-Academic Staff 2020 (IconStaff 2020) by Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Global Engagement is a platform for Non-Academic staff across the globe to bring a new outlook in career building. There were 43 participants consisting of 18 participants from ITS and 25 participants from other universities in Indonesia and overseas. Participating in this event were representatives from Universitas Islam Sultan Agung Semarang, Universitas Kristen Indonesia, and Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta from Indonesia. We also have participants from Providence University, Chiang Mai University, Suranaree University of Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Istanbul Aydin University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, Cavite State University – Trece Martires City Campus, Mae Fah Luang University, Kasetsart University.

The opening of Iconstaff 2020 on day 1 started with an Opening Speech by Vice Rector III of ITS, Assoc. Prof. Ahmad Rusdiansyah, and followed by a conference with 3 keynote speakers. The conference started with a presentation by the first Keynote Speaker, Dr. Adithya Sudiarno, S.T., M.T., IPM., ASEAN Eng. (Head of Organization Development & Evaluation Sub Directorate of ITS Provement), about ITSProvement as the Strategy Program of Developing the Skill of ITS Non-Academic Staff. The next presentation was delivered by Assoc. Prof. Maria Anityasari, Ph.D. (Director of ITS Global Engagement) about The Journey of ITS Staff Mobility Program, followed by the first Question and Answer session. All participants were excited to ask a question to the speaker regarding the topics. Moved on to the next presentation about Building Career Path for Non-Academic Staff, which was delivered by Mrs. Rina Angel from Chitkara University India who is also a participant of the Inbound Staff Mobility event from ITS. The day 1 of Iconstaff 2020 was closed with reflection and participants were expected to be able to take a lot of information and get new insights from the material given by the keynote speakers and can be applied in their university.

On the second day, there were material presentations by speakers from ITS and ITS partner universities. The material presentation consisted of 4 sessions, each of which consisted of 4 presentation materials. To gain a better understanding, Iconstaff 2020 has a QnA session after the fourth presenter was done. The total speakers for the second day were 16 presenters. The 16 presenters included Mr. Steven from Providence Taiwan, Mr. Hilman from UTM, Mr. Thampapoon from KMNTUB, Mr. Chatchai from SUT, Mrs. Winda from ITS, and others.

The materials presented by various presenters are very useful for all participants who attended Iconstaff 2020 and are expected to upgrade the skills of staff and non-staff in their field of work. The presentation about managing international partnership and mobility, managing international relations during covid-19, international newsletters, the demands of industrial era 4.0 made participants enthusiastic to speak up their questions at the end of each presentation of all sessions on the 2nd day.

Iconstaff day 3 is different from the Iconstaff the day before. On the 3rd day, after the opening remarks by Mr. Wahyu, the session was divided into two small breakout rooms with different material exposures. Room 1 discusses Mobility Management During Pandemic and Database Mobility delivered by Mrs. Yani from ITS GE as well as International Students at Home (Stamp4it, SKEM & GCW) by Ms. Faiqoh from ITS GE. The enthusiasm was as high as the second day, the QnA session at the end of each presentation on the 3rd day was also filled with great questions from the participants. Participants from overseas (ITS partners) ask questions related to international programs at ITS. Whereas in room 2 discussing material about E-Office and myITS by Mrs. Nucifera, ITS Service Desk by Mrs. Sri Lestari, and SIM MoU by Mr. Wahyu. This session is an opportunity for ITS GE to introduce ITS to overseas partner universities. Many questions were asked as a form of enthusiasm from the participants. This interesting session was closed by Mr. Wahyu because of the limited time available.

Day 4 of Iconstaff 2020 was divided into 4 Zoom rooms. Participants are allowed to choose which room they attend. In room 1 there was an Iconstaff – Let’s Study Abroad Online activity where non-academic staffs from overseas universities were allowed to promote their university to ITS Students and was attended by more than 100 ITS students who were interested to go abroad. ITS students were very excited, shown by many students who were asking questions during the QnA session. In room 2 a IconStaff Special Sharing: ITS GE Students Volunteer as the Supporting System was held where there was a presentation from a representative of ITS Global Engagement student volunteers who shared some topics with participants from other universities. In room 3 and 4 were Workshop for Non-Academic Staff where room 3 has a Ms. Rachel Anne Valera and room 4 has Mr. Norwin Duay as the speaker.

Overall, Iconstaff 2020 was held successfully and has served its purpose well. Not only were all the participants exchanging new insights, but they also managed to build and/or maintain good relationships between participating universities. In the future, it would be ideal if the event can be held offline so that all the participants can experience the event in its full potential.