Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology urges universities to become engines of civilisation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) is encouraging universities in Indonesia to transform into engines of civilisation through improvements in research quality, innovation, and academic relevance.

Director of Institutions at Kemdiktisaintek, Mukhamad Najib, during the Denpasar 12 Discussion Forum, stressed that all fields of knowledge in higher education must be capable of addressing the dynamics and challenges of the times, so that the university’s contributions go beyond merely producing graduates.

“When we say we want universities to become engines of civilisation, of course the products graduated by the university can contribute to all sectors of life to advance civilisation,” he said.

Najib also clarified the narrow perspective in society that often assesses the relevance of a discipline solely based on its absorption in the formal industrial sector.

That view, he said, often sidelines the role of social sciences and humanities, such as history or literature, which are seen as not aligned with industrialisation developments.

Further, he explained that the main challenge for universities ahead is to produce graduates with competitiveness who can directly impact social progress.

“Of course, we do not want to produce graduates who then become useless in society. In crude terms, unemployed, of course we do not want that to happen. We want university graduates to be useful in society,” Najib stated.

To achieve that ideal ecosystem, Kemdiktisaintek is currently driving a transformation agenda so that universities in Indonesia can level up from teaching universities to research universities.

In the research university phase, Najib explained, higher education institutions are required to become centres for creating new knowledge through research by lecturers, given that their role is not only as educators but also as scientists.

By optimising that research role, Najib is optimistic that universities can consistently offer innovations and new solutions to bring the Indonesian nation to glory amid the whirl of digital civilisation.