ITB Clarifies Research Manipulation at International Conference Was Individual Act

Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) has stated that allegations of research manipulation (fraud) in an international conference involving one of its master’s alumni, Prihantini, are entirely a legal matter concerning the individual and unrelated to the institution’s academic activities. Prihantini, a 2020 graduate of ITB’s Master of Mathematics programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), completed her studies in 2022.

FMIPA Dean Aep Patah clarified in Bandung on Thursday, 28 May 2026, that the material presented by the individual at the International Scientific Conference on Pneumonia (ISPPD) in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 17-21 May was unrelated to her thesis or academic activities at ITB. Her master’s thesis at ITB was titled ‘Analytical Study of Water Waves Caused by Landslides on Sloping Coasts’.

‘ITB considers the actions of Ms Prihatini to be a legal matter of an individual. Therefore, should legal proceedings arise from this, ITB fully respects the legal process,’ Aep stated.

On this occasion, Aep said Indonesia’s oldest technical university is tightening scientific work oversight standards to safeguard the institution’s international reputation. The rectorate, he added, guarantees the entire campus education ecosystem remains within the bounds of academic integrity, while urging the public to objectively distinguish between alumni’s personal affairs and ITB’s institutional integrity.

ITB reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening an academic culture of integrity and responsibility in research. It does not tolerate plagiarism, data fabrication, result manipulation, or any other form of scientific ethical violations in academic and research activities.