South Tangerang, FAH Online News — The Faculty of Adab and Humanities (FAH) at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta has once again demonstrated its commitment to strengthening students’ digital literacy and academic competencies by organizing a Reference Management Training: Zotero, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The event, held from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Abdul Ghani Theater, 5th floor, was attended by more than 35 participants from various study programs.

This initiative was spearheaded by the Practical Librarian Unit (PUSTIKUM) in collaboration with the Student Press Organization Artefah and several other student bodies. The main speaker was Muhammad Azwar, S.Pd.I., M.Hum., a lecturer in Library Science at FAH, widely recognized as both a practitioner and scholar specializing in scientific reference management.

Representing the Dean of FAH, Vice Dean III for Student Affairs, Prof. Usep Abdul Matin, S.Ag., MA, MA, Ph.D., expressed his appreciation for the event. He emphasized that mastering reference management is a crucial skill for students, both from a technical (hard skill) and academic character-building (soft skill) perspective. “Activities like this strongly support the study program's Key Performance Indicators (IKU). I hope all students will participate, as these skills will be incredibly useful in the future,” he said.

Prof. Usep further shared his experience with the New National History writing project, in which reference management tools like Zotero and Mendeley played a pivotal role in maintaining accuracy and organization of sources. He also praised the collaboration between student units as a tangible and beneficial form of synergy.

Presinta, S.Hum., the supervisor of PUSTIKUM, also spoke on the importance of accuracy in compiling academic references. She highlighted the fact that many final-year students still struggle with proper citation formatting. “Although it seems technical, it is one of the key components in academic assessment,” she noted.

Echoing this, the Vice Chair of PUSTIKUM added that the training is not just about mastering digital tools, but also about fostering a multidisciplinary learning spirit. Zotero, he said, can serve as a gateway for students to explore the broader world of academic literacy.

The event was officially opened with a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony by Prof. Usep, keynote speaker Muhammad Azwar, and PUSTIKUM’s supervisor. Warm remarks also came from the event coordinator, Muhammad Yusuf Ghazi, and last year’s training committee representative, Nurul Khalifah. Both expressed their happiness at the enthusiastic turnout for this year's training.

The majority of participants were from the Islamic History and Civilization program, followed by Library Science, Arabic Language and Literature, Translation, and English Literature. Throughout the session, attendees were visibly engaged and enthusiastic, particularly during the hands-on practice using Zotero to compile citations and bibliographies systematically.

One participant, Rif'at, a sixth-semester student in the Islamic History and Civilization program, shared that the training was extremely helpful in gaining a practical understanding of Zotero. “What motivated me to join this training is the fact that this knowledge is quite difficult to acquire independently. Now, I’ve reached a level of regular usage for academic writing,” he said.

Amid the era of academic digitalization, this training serves as a concrete response to the challenges of the “attention economy”—a term brought up by Prof. Usep during his address. He stressed that attention is now a vital asset, and the academic world must adapt to the digital wave to remain productive and relevant. “As an academic domain, we must not fall behind in navigating this shift,” he asserted.

Through this training, FAH UIN Jakarta reaffirms its role as a progressive learning space—not only upholding traditional scholarly values but also actively responding to the demands of the times.

Author: Rahmat Mubaroq

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