The Master's and Doctoral Programs in Development Studies, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, successfully organized an International Public Lecture entitled “Understanding and Addressing Teen Pregnancy Among Malaysian Youth: A Mixed-Methods Study” online via Zoom Meeting. The event was officially opened by the Dean of FISIP USU, Dr. Hatta Ridho, S.Sos., M.SP., and featured Mohd. Haizzan Yahaya, MSW, Ph.D., a prominent academic from the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), as the main speaker. The session was moderated by Dr. Arief Marizki Purba, SE, S.Sos., M.Si. This academic forum explored teenage pregnancy as a complex issue affecting health, structural poverty, and social stigmatization. It also examined the Knowledge-Action Paradox and a four-pillar intervention model to strengthen social policy formulation in Southeast Asia.
The activity received an enthusiastic response from the academic community, with 98 participants, exceeding the initial target of 80. Participants included postgraduate students, lecturers, and development practitioners. In addition to serving as a platform for broadening knowledge and strengthening students' capacity in mixed-methods research methodology, the event made a tangible contribution to fulfilling USU's Key Performance Indicators (IKP 2, 3, and 5) related to international knowledge enrichment and global academic collaboration. As a follow-up, FISIP USU and USM plan to strengthen their collaboration through the preparation of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for joint research and international scientific publications to generate sustainable social impact.