The Master’s Program in Food Science and Technology (MFST), Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FTP UGM), organized a guest lecture entitled “What Editors Really Want (and Why Your Data is Not Enough)” on Thursday, 22 January 2026. The lecture was conducted online via Zoom Meeting and was attended by 46 participants, consisting of postgraduate students from across FTP UGM.
The guest lecture featured Kiki Adi Kurnia, Ph.D., a lecturer in the Postgraduate Program in Science in Sustainability at the Faculty of Infrastructure and Planning, Universitas Pertamina, as the keynote speaker. The session was moderated by Dr. Widiastuti Setyaningsih, S.T.P., M.Sc. The activity aimed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of strategies for writing and publishing scientific articles in reputable international journals.
In his presentation, the speaker outlined key aspects considered by international journal editors, including alignment with journal scope, research novelty, and the clarity and accuracy of data presentation and discussion. He emphasized that strong datasets must be supported by coherent scientific narratives, relevance to current literature, and clearly articulated scholarly contributions.
The discussion session was highly interactive, with participants raising various questions related to inconsistencies between abstracts and methods, effective strategies for presenting research results involving multiple variables or compounds, and approaches to selecting appropriate journals for publication. The speaker also highlighted the importance of effective communication with editors and co-authors when errors are identified in a manuscript, as well as the need for thorough revision when an article is rejected by a journal.
In addition, participants gained insights into the strategic selection of relevant references and how to address issues of research novelty, which often become key reasons for manuscript rejection. The speaker encouraged students to continuously improve their academic writing skills and to remain open to refining titles and research focus to better align with the target journal’s characteristics.
Through this guest lecture, the MFST program hopes to enhance students’ understanding of the dynamics of the scientific publication process, thereby improving manuscript quality and strengthening competitiveness in both national and international journals.
