Head of the ITS PKM 2025 Task Force, Ir I Putu Eka Widya Pratama SSi MSc RWTH, reviewing proposals that have been approved for the 2025 PKM funding scheme

ITS Campus, ITS News — Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) once again proved its excellence in the scientific field through the 2025 Student Creativity Program (PKM). This year, ITS succeeded in becoming the university with the most proposals funded in East Java, as well as ranking third nationally with a total of 44 proposals passing the funding stage.

The Directorate of Learning and Student Affairs, Directorate General of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Ditjen Diktisaintek) officially announced the list of PKM funding scheme recipients for 2025, along with the funds received. The Head of the ITS PKM 2025 Task Force, Ir I Putu Eka Widya Pratama SSi MSc RWTH, revealed that this year, ITS received a total funding of Rp 320.06 million. “ITS also achieved good results by securing funding in eight PKM fields,” he said.

The man often referred to as Eka revealed that the majority of the funding came from the PKM Exact Research (PKM-RE) category, with 13 proposals. This was followed by 10 proposals from the PKM Creative Innovation (PKM-KC) category, five proposals from the PKM Community Service (PKM-PM) category, four proposals from the PKM Entrepreneurship (PKM-K) category, four proposals for PKM-VGK (Constructive Idea Video), three proposals for PKM-KI (Innovative Work), three proposals for PKM-RSH (Social Sciences and Humanities Research), and two proposals for PKM-PI (Application of Science and Technology).

Top 5 universities with the highest PKM funding in East Java in 2025

Despite achieving positive results, ITS, which is in the first cluster of universities, could only submit 240 proposals to the Learning and Student Affairs Information System (Simbelmawa) for the 2025 PKM League. This number has decreased significantly from the previous year, which was 400 proposals. “This situation is coinciding across all universities, including those that have frequently won at the National Student Scientific Week (Pimnas),” he explained.

The ITS Instrumentation Engineering Department lecturer also added that the maximum funding received for each proposal has also decreased due to efficiency measures. The limit is IDR 8 million per proposal, a decrease from the previous year’s IDR 10 million per proposal. “This reduction is a challenge for the teams and supervisors to maximize the available funds,” said Eka.

Despite this, Eka acknowledged that the reduction has become a driving force to improve proposal quality from the early stages. According to him, teams can further develop their competitive spirit due to the stricter standards and reduced number of proposals accepted. “This year, we will focus heavily on the quality of each team’s proposal,” emphasized the Head of the Instrumentation and Control Systems Laboratory, Department of Instrumentation Engineering at ITS.

Top 10 universities receiving the most funding in the 2025 PKM, with ITS ranking third

In line with its commitment, the ITS 2025 PKM Task Force Team has prepared several strategies to ensure the sustainability of funded proposals so they can advance to the 2025 National Science Competition (Pimnas). Eka emphasized the importance of collaboration among the team, supervising lecturers, and other lecturers to align the vision and ensure the proposal’s successful execution. In addition, the teams will continue to receive supervision, evaluation, and various training as needed.

The man from Bali also emphasized that support from all parties is needed to achieve ITS’s target in this prestigious event. This includes the roles of leadership and their staff, the Directorate of Student Affairs (Ditmawa) at ITS, the Ksatria Sepuluh Nopember (KSN), and the Monitoring Teams from each Department Student Association (HMD). “The active participation of all elements is crucial in achieving the best possible results for ITS in this competition,” he stressed.

This achievement is part of ITS’s efforts to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 4, which is quality education. Eka expressed his hope to all teams that received funding to remain enthusiastic and consistent. Like a marathon race, Eka stressed that this competition requires perseverance and solid teamwork to perform at their best until the end. “We hope to bring home the Adikarta Kertawidya Cup (Overall Champion of Pimnas) with pride to ITS,” he concluded optimistically. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Putu Calista Arthanti Dewi
Translator: Lael Soebakir