UPNVJ Public Relations — Professor of the Faculty of Law at the Veteran National Development University Jakarta (FH UPNVJ), Prof. Dr. Wicipto Setiadi, SH, MH, received the 2026 Ibrahim S. Assegaf Readers' Favorite Columnist Award in the Inspirational Columnist category. The award from Hukumonline is a tribute to his contribution in conveying ideas and analysis on legal issues to the public through opinion pieces in the mass media. The award was assessed based, among other things, on the level of reader visits to the opinion articles.

For Prof. Wicipto, writing opinions is not just an academic activity, but also a means of conveying legal thought to the public in language that is easier to understand. He believes academics have the opportunity to bridge the complexity of legal issues with the public's need for concise, clear, and relevant information.

According to him, the main challenge in writing an opinion piece lies in the ability to simplify legal issues without losing substance. A writer must understand the issue being discussed and be able to determine the most important parts to convey to the reader within a limited writing space.

Prof. Wicipto also pays attention to title selection. He believes titles play a crucial role in building a reader's initial interest in a piece of writing.

"The title must grab the reader's attention. I usually try several alternative titles before deciding on the strongest one," said Prof. Wicipto.

He explained that the ability to write an opinion piece isn't solely determined by mastery of an issue. Writers also need to understand how to structure their arguments systematically so that readers can follow the issues, ideas, and conclusions presented.

This approach is especially important when writing about legal issues. Regulations, public policies, and constitutional issues often involve complex terminology and construction. Through popular writing, legal substance can be conveyed in a format that is more accessible to the public without compromising analytical accuracy.

Prof. Wicipto is a Professor at the Faculty of Law at UPNVJ, specializing in Constitutional Law, Statutory Law, Legal Studies, and Legal Review. He has been a permanent lecturer at the Faculty since September 1, 2017, and actively produces scientific papers and writes articles for various media outlets.

The Inspirational Columnist Award reinforces the role of UPNVJ academics in bringing knowledge from the university environment to the public sphere. This achievement also demonstrates that lecturers' contributions extend beyond education and research to disseminating ideas that can help the public critically understand legal developments.

This achievement further strengthens UPNVJ's efforts to enhance the institution's reputation and deliver impactful academic contributions to society. Under the leadership of UPNVJ Rector Prof. Dr. Anter Venus, MA, Comm., strengthening the quality of education and the university's reputation is part of UPNVJ's development direction. The presence of academics like Prof. Wicipto in the public sphere is one manifestation of UPNVJ's scientific contributions that can be felt more widely by the community.