USU PR— Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) organized the External Bootcamp for the 38th National Student Scientific Week (PIMNAS) 2025. The event was held at Grandhika Hotel on Saturday–Sunday, 15–16 November 2025, as a preparation program for the USU delegation ahead of PIMNAS, which will take place on 22–28 November 2025 at Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar.

In his remarks, USU Vice-Rector I, Prof. Dr. Edy Ikhsan, SH., MA., emphasized that PIMNAS is among USU’s priority programs, being a distinguished and highly significant competition where USU students compete with delegations from major universities across Indonesia to foster the emergence of future young scientists.

“PIMNAS is an exceptionally important event—indeed, it is highly exclusive as it brings together prospective young scientists who are expected to have opportunities to continue their research in the future,” he stated.

Prof. Edy further noted that systematic preparation and long-term mentoring are essential, as this prestigious competition involves rigorous stages and will place participants in direct competition with top universities in Indonesia.

“We are learning from the traditions developed by universities that have consistently excelled at PIMNAS—where guidance and mentoring are carried out long in advance. Preparation cannot be done only when the departure date nears,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Head of the USU PKM Center, Ir. Erni Misran, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., reported that six USU teams successfully passed the selection for PIMNAS: two teams from PKM-K, one from PKM-KC, one from PKM-RSH, one from PKM-RE, and one from PKM-VGK.

“Based on the selection results, six teams have qualified: one from PKM-RE, one from PKM-RSH, two from PKM-K, one from PKM-KC, and one from PKM-VGK,” she explained.

She also highlighted the challenges faced by the teams due to the extremely short document submission deadline imposed by the national committee this year—only seven days—significantly shorter than in previous years.

“This year, the committee only set seven days for submission, which created significant challenges for us,” she remarked.

The Head of the PKM Center additionally stated that continuous evaluation and system improvements are being implemented to enhance the overall quality and performance of PKM at USU. One of the improvement strategies includes inviting national reviewers from th

e early stages of socialization to ensure students can obtain direct guidance from primary sources.

“This year, we invited national reviewers during the socialization stage, allowing students to receive firsthand information from the main source,” she noted.

She further expressed hope that USU’s national ranking in PKM achievements will continue to rise, aiming to secure a position in the Top 10 nationwide and bring home additional gold medals, as achieved in the previous year.