ITB Expresses Concern Over Alleged Research Fraud by Former Student

Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) has expressed concern over alleged research fraud committed by Prihantini, a former Master’s Mathematics Programme alumna from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), who graduated in 2022. Dean Aep Patah clarified that the material presented by her at an international conference was unrelated to her thesis or academic activities at ITB. Her master’s thesis was titled “Analytical Study of Water Waves Caused by Landslides on Sloping Coasts.”

The university stated that the alleged actions are a personal legal matter, and ITB respects any legal proceedings that may follow. ITB reaffirmed its commitment to fostering an academic culture of integrity and responsibility, with zero tolerance for plagiarism, data fabrication, result manipulation, or other ethical violations in research.

According to PDDikti data, Prihantini graduated from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) in 2019. During her studies, she actively participated in student research activities and received funding from her university and the ministry. She also won first place in the Pertamina National Science Olympiad for Mathematics and received an LPDP scholarship for her master’s degree at ITB.

Prihantini, also known as Titin, founded Orbit Paper in 2018, an academic writing mentoring platform to assist students and young researchers in publishing their work in international journals and conferences. She also established Youth Passion to Action (YPA), a community focused on youth development through seminars, webinars, and creative activities.

She has received international awards, including a Special Achievement Award from the Women’s Inventors Association NOVA in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017, a Gold Medal at the World Invention and Innovation Forum in China, and a Special Gold Prize from the Manila Young Inventors Association. Prior to these achievements, she served as a Research Assistant at the Central Health Laboratory focusing on infectious diseases, malaria vectors, and biomedical molecular methods. She also participated in hydrodynamics projects at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

In her personal life, Titin shared her international conference activities on Instagram (@pryhanykielh), which had 4,509 followers before the account was removed. Her bio listed flags from multiple countries she had visited.