ITB Journal: A Contribution to Publish National Journal to International Scale
By Gilang Ariawan Wicaksono
Editor Gilang Ariawan Wicaksono
History of ITB Journal
ITB Journal's name started with Proceedings ITB, which was founded in 1961. At that time, journals were still being published as magazine or supplement. Then, in 2007 Proceedings ITB changed its name to ITB Journal and publish four series of journals:
1. ITB Journal of Science
2. ITB Journal of Engineering Science
3. ITB Journal of Information and Communication Technology
4. ITB Journal of Visual Art and Design
Having a difference from its previous version, ITB Journal publish their journals in digital format which can be accessed through http://journal.itb.ac.id. A change in name in 2013 brought new name to these four series:
1. Journal of Mathematical and Fundamental Sciences
2. Journal of Engineering and Technological Science
3. Journal of ICT Research and Application
4. Journal of Visual Art and Design
The first three journal has been internationally accredited, and the first two has been indexed in citation index with good reputation, Scopus and Elsevier Bibliographic Database. Other than that, these journals also indexed in another citation index such as Copernicus Index, DOAJ, etc. The fields covered in in these four series can also be seen in the official website.
ITB Journal Strives to Bring Indonesian Journals to International Level
So far, only 12 Indonesian journals which has been indexed in Scopus. From these 12 journals, four was written by ITB's academic community. From these four, three was published by ITB Journal, and the other one was published by School of Electrical Enginnering and Informatics (SEEI) ITB. This amount was still low compared with other country.
"Our writing culture is still behind compared with other countries, in quantity also in quality. There are a lot to improve. So far there's only low demand for the increase, but now there is an appeal to increase writing capacity," said Edy, Executive Editor for Journal of Mathematical and Fundamental Sciences. Beside quality improvement, another important aspect is originality. This is important to build an honest character of Indonesian people.
Another thing ITB Journal want to achieve is feasibility, easy way for society to access these works. "A work only has value if it was published," said Edy. Works published by ITB Journal was valued with high quality with in-depth research. These works must also written in English. The writing can be submitted to ITB Journal for evaluation by several editors which has expertise in the field. These editors must at least consist of two people, one from Indonesia, and one from other country. When these editors decide that the work is fit for publishing, the editing process will be started as soon as possible. Besides having editors from other country, ITB Journal also has language expert who will give consultation about how to present a good writing.
With ITB Journal's existence, more Indonesian journals are expected to be recognized as an international journal. An increase in quantity will also be accompanied by an increase in quality. "We will upgrade our local works to international scale so that it will be referenced by international community. With these facts, writers will see its works in different light, make it more recognizeable and more fitted as a reference and reading materials," said Edy.