President Joko Widodo said that universities should be able to facilitate students to learn from practitioners and industry players. According to him, this is necessary to produce graduates with abilities relevant to the needs of every era and face various disruptions that occur.
“Higher education needs collaboration with practitioners and industry players. On the other hand, industry players need talent and innovation from universities,” he said at the online Indonesian Chancellor Forum (FRI) Conference on Tuesday (27/7).
The President explained that the Covid-19 pandemic added to the disruption that had previously been triggered by the Industrial Revolution 4.0. This revolution changed the socio-cultural, economic, and political landscape and brought about a shift in various aspects of life, including education.
In the era of educational technology, higher education institutions must strengthen their position as educational institutions by using digital technology.
“Not only to facilitate the teaching of internal lecturers, but what is also more important is to facilitate students to learn from anyone, anywhere, and about anything,” he explained.
He continued, the curriculum should give credits greater weight for students to learn from industry practitioners and increase the exposure of students and lecturers to future industry and technology.
Learning on campus should also give students opportunities to explore and develop their talents.
“Students in the same major do not necessarily have to learn about the same thing, and it does not mean that they will have to work in the same job later,” said the President.
This year, FRI conference brought the topic “MBKM and Strategic Collaboration to Realize Innovative, Productive, Adaptive, and Competitive Higher Education in a Global World.”
UGM Chancellor, Prof. Panut Mulyono revealed that the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) program launched by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology is the focus of discussion at this event and is expected to be one of the accelerators and a catalyst in the collaborative process.
“The MBKM program demands a multihelix partnership. We hope that students will have adequate socio-entrepreneurship mentality, leadership, and investment literacy,” explained the Chancellor.
The Covid-19 pandemic, he continued, reminded university administrators to act responsively and anticipatively. This situation can be seen as a motivation to develop new approaches, and opens up opportunities to apply non-classical ways of delivering education.
“Universities must read the crisis as the widest possible field of opportunity,” he added.
At this event, the Head of FRI 2020-2021, Prof. Arif Satria, conveyed the main recommendations, especially efforts to handle the Covid-19 pandemic. He invited all components in the country to combine visions and collaborate in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, which he called a multidimensional crisis.
FRI thinks that public policymaking in handling the pandemic should be based on science, and the government needs to strengthen the involvement of universities in this effort.
