Lecturer Careers: Publication or Contribution?

For over two decades, universities in Indonesia have been driven to increase research productivity through scientific publications. The more articles published, particularly in reputable indexed journals, the more productive a lecturer is considered to be.

This policy was initially understandable. Indonesia indeed needs to build a research culture and increase the presence of Indonesian scientists in global academic discourse. Publication in reputable scientific journals remains important as it allows research findings to be peer-reviewed, recognised by the scientific community, further developed, and utilised by society.

However, problems arise when publication is no longer treated as a means to disseminate scientific contributions, but instead transforms into a currency for academic careers. Lecturers are required to meet a specific number of articles. Articles are directed towards specific journals. Journals are selected based on their index and quartile, and citations are calculated.

All of this is then converted into numerical values for promotions. Consequently, the questions that should be at the heart of scientific activity—what has been discovered, what is new, what has changed, and who benefits?—are being displaced by administrative requirements: how many articles have been published and in which journals?

Has research become a commodity?