Mengenal UNIKA SOEGIJAPRANATA
Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA berdiri tanggal 5 Agustus 1982. Sebelumnya universitas ini bernama Universitas Katolik Atma Jaya Semarang dan Institut Teknologi Katolik Semarang (ITKS).
Sebagai lembaga pendidikan tinggi, Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA mengabdikan nama Mgr. Alb. Soegijapranata, SJ sebagai pelindung. Mgr. Soegijapranata adalah seorang imam, Uskup Agung pribumi pertama, tokoh dan pahlawan nasional. Soegijapranata lahir di Surakarta, 25 November 1896. Masuk sebagai novis Serikat Yesus di Mariendaal, Grave, Belanda pada tanggal 27 September 1920, beliau ditahbiskan sebagai Imam pada tanggal 15 Agustus 1931 dan pada tanggal 20 September 1940 sebagai Uskup Agung Semarang. Perjuangan dan perhatian beliau dalam dunia pendidikan merupakan kelanjutan dari sikap gurunya, Rm. Frans Van Lith, SJ. Salah satu perjuangannya adalah mengangkat dua perguruan tinggi Katolik tertua di Bandung dan Yogyakarta hingga memperoleh status disamakan dengan perguruan tinggi negeri.
Pemihakan terhadap kaum miskin papa (option for the poor) juga dilakukan Mgr. Soegijapranata. Melalui gerakan dan pemikirannya, beliau ikut serta mendorong terbentuknya organisasi sosial ekonomi yang memberi perhatian penuh terhadap pemberdayaan korban perang dan masyarakat miskin. Pada masa kini, Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA terus berkehendak untuk meneruskan semangat perjuangan Mgr. Soegijapranata.
Di awal berdirinya, Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA berlokasi di Jl. Pandanaran 100 Semarang dan hanya terdiri dari tiga Fakultas yakni Fakultas Teknik, Fakultas Hukum dan Fakultas Ekonomi. Seiring dengan perkembangan Universitas, selain perkuliahan Bahasa Inggris yang masih dilaksanakan di kampus Menteri Supeno yang memiliki perlengkapan yang modern, sejak pertengahan dekade 1990 seluruh aktifitas perkuliahan dipusatkan di kampus Bendan Duwur. Dilengkapi dengan sarana perpustakaan yang lengkap dan nyaman di kampus Bendan, mahasiswa akan merasakan gairah serta academic atmosphere dalam mengembangkan ilmu pengetahuan, ketrampilan dan teknologi.
Saat ini UNIKA Soegijapranata mengelola satu Program Diploma Perpajakan, 18 Program Sarjana S-1, dan sembilan Program Magister. Program Sarjana meliputi Arsitektur, Desain Komunikasi Visual, Teknik Sipil, Teknik Elektro, Robotik Mekatronik, Ilmu Hukum, Ilmu Komunikasi, Manajemen, Akuntansi, Psikologi, Teknologi Pangan, Nutrisi dan Teknologi Kuliner, Sastra Inggris, Englishpreneurship, Teknik Informatika, Mobile Computing, Sistem Informasi dan Game Technology.
Sedangkan Program Magister meliputi Program Magister Sains Manajemen, Magister Manajemen, Program Magister Lingkungan dan Perkotaan (PMLP), Program Magister Ilmu Hukum dengan konsentrasi Hukum Kesehatan, Program Magister Sains Psikologi dengan konsentrasi Psikologi Perkembangan Sosial dan Pendidikan, Magister Profesi Psikologi, Magister Teknik Arsitektur konsentrasi Arsitektur dan Permukiman serta Magister Teknologi Pangan.
Sejalan dengan perkembangannya, Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA telah memiliki kerja sama dengan institusi perguruan tinggi lain di luar negeri, seperti Trinity Western University di Kanada dalam hal pendampingan mahasiswa Magister Profesi Psikologi untuk menjadi konselor korban bencana serta Radboud University Nijmegen untuk berbagai penelitian yang terkait dengan perubahan iklim, pembangunan dan migrasi. Unika Soegijapranata juga aktif dalam kolaborasi internasional penelitian lingkungan, khususnya pencemaran logam pantai dan ekspor nutrien, bersama tiga universitas Belanda: Free University, Wageningen University dan Open University.
Kerjasama dengan Providence University, Fu-Jen University dan Soochow University di Taiwan secara rutin dijalankan dalam rangka student exchange atau pertukaran mahasiswa, pertukaran staf edukatif, penelitian dan publikasi bersama. Sedangkan kerjasama dengan Assumption University-Thailand telah memungkinkan mahasiswa Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA terlibat dalam penelitian yang dapat digunakan sebagai tugas akhirnya ketika kembali ke Indonesia dan berkesempatan untuk ditempatkan sebagai peserta magang di beberapa perusahaan di Thailand. Jaringan kerjasama lain yang telah dibangun oleh Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA adalah melalui keikutsertaan dalam berbagai asosiasi perguruan tinggi baik dalam dan luar negeri seperti APTIK (Asosiasi Perguruan Tinggi Katolik Indonesia), ASEACU (Association of South East Asia Catholic University), ACUCA (Association of Christian Universities and Colleges of Asia), IFCU (International Federation of Catholic Universities), NUNI (Nationwide University Network in Indonesia), I-IEN (Indonesia Integrity Education Network) dan UBCHEA (United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia). Jaringan dan kerjasama ini memberikan kesempatan bagi mahasiswa untuk mendapatkan kesempatan berinteraksi dalam komunitas internasional dan sangat membantu mahasiswa dalam mengembangkan wawasan dan kepribadian mahasiswa.
Beberapa kesepakatan untuk melakukan credit transfer juga sudah ada antara UNIKA Soegijapranata dan Chang Jung Christian University, Providence University dan Fu Jen Catholic University di Taiwan. Mahasiswa, dosen dan tenaga kependidikan Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA juga telah banyak mengukir keberhasilan dalam berbagai bidang di tingkat regional, nasional maupun internasional. Hal ini terjadi karena suasana akademik di Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA yang selalu mendorong segenap civitas akademika untuk terus mengembangkan hard skill dan soft skill guna mendapatkan hasil yang lebih baik bagi lingkungan sekitarnya. Mahasiswa Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA berasal dari berbagai daerah di Indonesia diantaranya Jawa Tengah, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, DKI Jakarta, Jawa Barat, Bali, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Sumatera Utara, Sumatera Selatan, Bangka Belitung, Kalimantan Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Papua dan berbagai daerah lainnya di Indonesia.
Hal ini menunjukkan Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA telah dikenal oleh berbagai kalangan di Indonesia. Dengan latar belakang mahasiswa yang beragam, seluruh civitas akademika Unika SOEGIJAPRANATA mempunyai kesempatan yang luas dalam mengembangkan nilai kebersamaan dan toleransi dengan terus menjaga nilai cinta kasih, semangat untuk tidak membeda-bedakan sesama serta nilai keadilan dan kejujuran.
Soegijapranata Catholic University was founded on August 5, 1982, as the continuation of the Atma Jaya Catholic University Semarang and the Semarang Catholic Institute of Technology.
Soegijapranata Catholic University is an institute of higher education subservient to the name Soegijapranata as the patron of the university. Mgr. Alb. Soegijapranata, SJ, was a priest and the first native archbishop, who is a national figure and hero. Born in Surakarta on November 25, 1896, he entered the Society of Jesus Mariendaal, Grave, the Netherlands, on September 27, 1920. Ordained as a priest on August 15, 1931, he was later appointed as the archbishop of Semarang Archdiocese on September 20, 1940. His concern for education is the legacy of his lecturer, Father Frans Van Lith, SJ. One of his efforts to improve education was to help increase the quality of two oldest Catholic universities, Parahyangan University, Bandung, and Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, so they were of equal status with the state universities.
Mgr. Alb. Soegijapranata was also concerned with the poor. This is evident through his thinking and movements. He encouraged the foundation of socio-economic organizations that dedicated their activities into the empowerment of war victims and poor people.
Today, Soegijapranata Catholic University continues the spirit, the struggles, and the ideals of Mgr. Alb. Soegijapranata’s, SJ, as the protector of the university.
In its early days, Soegijapranata Catholic University was located at 100 Pandanaran St. Semarang and consisted of three faculties: the Faculties of Technology, Law, and Economics. In mid 1990s, the university built a new campus in Bendan Duwur because of the increase of the student body. Since the mid 1990s, educational activities have been entirely centered on this campus. In 1992, the university also built a campus located on Jl. Menteri Supeno Semarang. This downtown campus building is used for the Center for Language Training to provide English language classes to university students and public.
SCU’s library holds extensive collections of books, journals, and digital collections that serve the needs of students, lecturers, and anyone who wishes to conduct research and develop their knowledge, skills, and technology. Currently Soegijapranata Catholic University offers 1 diploma program in Taxation, 18 undergraduate programs, and 9 masters programs. The 18 undergraduate programs include Architecture, Visual Communication Design, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics Mechatronics, Law, Communication, Management, Accountancy, Psychlogy, Food Technology, Culinary Nutrition and Technology, English Language and Literature, Englishpreneurship, Informatics Engineering, Mobile Computing, Information System, and Game Technology.
The masters programs include Master of Science in Management, Master of Management, Master of Science in Environment and Urban Studies, Master of Law with either a concentration in Health, Master of Psychology with a concentration in Psychology of Social Development and Education, Professional Practice in Psychology, Master of Science in Architectural Engineering with concentrations in Architecture and Settlements and Food Technology.
Soegijapranata Catholic University has actively been in cooperation with many universities abroad such as with Trinity Western University in Canada in mentoring graduate students in Professional Practice in Psychology program to become counselors for disaster victims as well as with Radboud University Nijmegen in conducting research related to climate changes, development, and migration. Soegijapranata Catholic University is also in active international collaboration on environmental research, especially on coastal metal pollution and nutrient export with three universities in the Netherlands: Free University, Wageningen University, and Open University.
The cooperation with Providence University, Fu-Jen University and Soochow University in Taiwan includes student exchanges, education staff exchanges, research, and joint publications. Meanwhile, the cooperation with Assumption University in Thailand has enabled Sogijapranata Catholic University’s students to enrich their professional experiences as interns in some companies and carry out research that they can use as their final papers when they return to Indonesia. Soegijapranata Catholic University has also established cooperations through its participation in numerous higher education asscociations in Indonesia and abroad such as
(Asosiasi Perguruan Tinggi Katolik Indonesia or Association of Indonesian Catholic Higher Education), ASEACU (Association of South East Asia Catholic University), ACUCA (Association of Christian Universities and Colleges of Asia), IFCU (International Federation of Catholic Universities), NUNI (Nationwide University Network in Indonesia), I-IEN (Indonesia Integrity Education Network) and UBCHEA (United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia). These networks provide lecturers and students the opportunities to interact in international communities and develop their worldviews and personalities.
Soegijapranata Catholic University is also in agreement to do credit transfer with Chang Jung Christian University, Providence University and Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan.
Many of the students, lecturers, and teaching staff of the university have been successful on regional, national, and international levels. This is due to the excellent academic atmosphere in Soegijapranata Catholic University which encourages them to develop their hard skills and soft skills simultaneously.
Students, lecturers, and the teaching staff of Soegijapranata Catholic University come from various places in Indonesia including Central Java, Yogyakarta Special Region, Jakarta, West Java, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Papua among other places. This indicates that Soegijapranata Catholic University is widely known throughout Indonesia. Having various ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, the entire academic community of the university has ample opportunities in developing the values of unity and tolerance by instilling compassion, justice, and honesty.
The Soegijapranata Catholic University campus is situated in a higher area of Semarang with a cooler climate and a greener area than the lower area creating a comfortable campus for study activities and discussions outside the classroom.
The campus is located to the west of Jatingaleh, at a distance of only ±10 km from the city center which can be reached by various types of public transportation. The facilities available for students in the area surrounding the campus enhance the study environment and support academic activities.
