The community service team from UNNES Chemistry has organized training to assist in the preparation of competitive research proposals for the Madrasah Aliyah level at MAN 1 Semarang City, involving research supervising teachers and students who are part of research groups at MAN 1 Semarang City. This activity took place in three phases from June to October 2023. The purpose of this activity is not only to train teachers to assist students in preparing competitive research proposals for high school/Madrasah Aliyah level but also to increase students’ motivation to contribute their ideas for research in both science and technology as well as social humanities. Additionally, this activity aims to help students explore their own potential and the environment to continue learning and growing in the rapidly advancing field of science and technology.
Designing competitive research and documenting it in a scholarly paper poses a unique challenge for students and teachers. Previously, students and teachers encountered many difficulties in designing competitive research. Generating ideas, formulating research problems, and developing research methods to solve problems were perceived as difficult and dull processes, not only for students but also for teachers. Through this activity, it is hoped that teachers can become active facilitators in supporting and guiding the preparation of research proposals based on every idea found by students. The school’s (by students and teachers) contribution and participation in research competitions, both nationally and internationally, can prove the school’s existence and establish its own prestige. Furthermore, research groups in schools or Madrasah Aliyah provide a platform to develop students’ potential, interests, and skills, in addition to increasing students’ intrinsic motivation in the learning process, fostering collaborative skills, and problem-solving abilities to face future challenges, and enhancing students’ self-directed learning.
This activity could run smoothly thanks to the cooperation of all parties. Dr. Sri Kadarwati, M.Si., who focuses on research and publications in the field of renewable energy sources, catalysis, and functional materials, acted as the project’s leader. To strengthen the field of science education and scholarly writing, education experts such as Prof. Dr. Woro Sumarni, M.Si., were involved. Meanwhile, content enhancement was entrusted to M. Alauhdin, Ph.D., Dr. Atika Wijaya, and Cepi Kurniawan, Ph.D. This activity also involved laboratory technicians, namely Nuril Huda, S.Si., and three students, Teguh Budiyanto, Rena Aliya Pramestia, and Elvara Siti Azzahra. The involvement of students was intended to train and introduce them to the world in which they would apply the knowledge gained during their studies.
During the implementation of the activity, in addition to reminding students and teachers about scientific writing techniques and scientific methods, the UNNES implementation team also conducted a sharing session on research topics that are currently trending and have the potential to succeed in research competitions. The introduced research areas to students and supervising teachers were very diverse, ranging from STEM research topics such as polymers, sensors, development of analytical methods, energy storage, advanced materials, and social humanities topics such as rural and urban sociology, consumption and lifestyles, and tourism sociology. Participants, consisting of student groups and teachers, received intensive support from the UNNES implementation team during the design and writing of research ideas according to their preferred research field in a research proposal. This activity aimed to produce research proposals ready to compete in national and international research competitions. Both students and teachers showed high enthusiasm in participating in the activity from start to finish. MAN 1 Semarang City, through its Head, Drs. H. Tasimin, M.Si., greatly appreciated this activity and hoped that it would greatly assist both students and research supervising teachers at MAN 1 Semarang City in producing brilliant research ideas with novelty and high utility for the advancement of science and technology.
