Sofwan Noerwidi’s perseverance and consistency in Prehistoric Archaeology have led him to become a specialist researcher in Paleoanthropology as well as the Head of the BRIN Archaeometry Research Center. This alumnus of the 1998 Archaeology class at Gadjah Mada University also completed his doctoral program at Sorbonne University-National Museum of Natural History in Paris in the field of prehistory in 2020. As part of his work in Archaeometry, Sofwan dedicates himself to archaeological research using quantitative approaches from other fields such as science, aviation, and geophysics. Some of the locations he focuses on include Bumiayu, Trinil, Maros, and Flores.
“So, the research in Bumiayu has three main objectives. The first is to develop excellent human resources. We aim to produce excellent human resources for the future. Second, we seek to produce researchers whose work has significant implications for science and related fields, particularly archaeology. Third, we aim to build a strong research ecosystem. This includes research institutions such as BRIN, universities, other stakeholders, the community, and our international research partners,” explained Sofwan.
Additionally, Sofwan mentioned support programs such as MBKM for undergraduate students through research assistance for final projects, as well as a degree-by-research program for postgraduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral levels for those pursuing archaeology studies. On the other hand, there are visiting researchers from overseas partner institutions who will serve as collaborators and supervisors for researchers, thereby fostering a new generation of talented and high-quality young researchers.
Driven by his concern over the limited number of qualified researchers, Sofwan continues to encourage young researchers to enhance their research competencies through ongoing projects in Trinil and Bumiayu. In light of this, Sofwan expressed his hope for the Department of Archaeology at FIB UGM to strengthen research collaborations, such as student internship programs through BRIN, MBKM, and thesis supervision, to produce graduates of the quality expected.
Author: Febriska Noor Fitriana
Editor: Sektiadi
Photo: Sofwan NW
