The Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga once again organized an international-scale academic activity through a guest lecture featuring an international speaker. The event, held on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, raised the topic of “Chromatography” and featured Dr. Nurul Auni Zainal Abidin from the School of Chemistry and Environment, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Negeri Sembilan Branch, Malaysia as the main speaker.
The guest lecture was conducted online through Zoom Meeting from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM WIB and was part of the Separation Methods course in the Chemistry Study Program at Universitas Airlangga. The activity was moderated by the course lecturer, Yanuardi Raharjo, Ph.D., with a student attendance rate reaching 100 percent, demonstrating the students’ enthusiasm and active participation. In the opening remarks, the Department of Chemistry at Universitas Airlangga stated that international guest lectures are one form of strengthening educational quality and broadening students’ perspectives on the development of chemistry at the global level. The presence of international academics is expected to provide broader learning experiences and introduce new perspectives to students, particularly in analytical chemistry and separation techniques.
During the presentation session, Dr. Nurul Auni explained the basic concept of chromatography as a method for separating compound mixtures based on the distribution of components between the stationary phase and the mobile phase. She explained that chromatography is one of the important techniques in analytical chemistry because of its excellent separation capabilities and its extensive use in both research and industry. The materials discussed included various types of chromatography, such as Gas Chromatography (GC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC). Students were also introduced to the general principles of chromatographic separation, analyte migration mechanisms, and chromatogram interpretation in compound analysis.
In addition, the speaker explained important chromatographic parameters such as retention time (tR), capacity factor (k’), selectivity factor (α), and resolution (Rs), which determine the quality of analyte separation. These explanations helped students understand how optimization processes are carried out in chromatographic analysis to achieve efficient and accurate separation. Beyond discussing basic theories, Dr. Nurul Auni also presented the concept of column efficiency and the Van Deemter theory related to band broadening during the separation process. Students were introduced to the influence of mobile phase flow rate on column efficiency and how optimizing analytical conditions can improve chromatographic separation quality.
Throughout the event, the discussion atmosphere was highly interactive. Students actively asked questions regarding the application of chromatographic techniques in chemical research, organic compound analysis, pharmaceutical testing, and environmental analysis. The enthusiasm of the participants demonstrated the students’ strong interest in the development of modern analytical instrumentation widely used in industry and academic research today.
This guest lecture provided significant benefits for students because it not only expanded their theoretical knowledge but also enhanced their understanding of the real-world applications of chromatography in various scientific fields. In addition, students had the opportunity to interact directly with international academics and understand developments in chemistry from a global perspective.
The Department of Chemistry at Universitas Airlangga hopes to continue strengthening international collaborations with various overseas institutions. Academic cooperation is expected to support the improvement of educational quality, expand international networks, and prepare students to compete at the global level.
