Reviewing the education mission: ITB's intellectual and cultural role
Reviewing the education mission: ITB's intellectual and cultural role
Kusmayanto Kadiman, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung,
West Java
Since the early phase of its development, the Bandung
Institute of Technology, or ITB-BHMN (henceforth termed ITB), has
created many ties -- in various ways and forms -- with other
social agents in this country, and thereby has implemented social
changes. As an academic institution that has participated in
scientific discovery, technological innovation, and artwork
creation, ITB's function and performance within society need to
be addressed and assessed within a framework in which science,
technology and art constitute the core intellectual elements.
With this in mind, a meaningful interpretation of ITB's
function should be developed within the cultural domain, namely,
to cultivate a rich and articulative intellectual culture within
society, in a way that enables society to enhance its capacity to
address and solve present problems and to project its fate.
From the ITB's point of view, we understand the present
societal crisis as that of lacking a strong and rich intellectual
basis for developing society's capacities, leading to society's
inability to sustain itself or to attain an influential position
and role in the global arena.
This unfortunate situation has sidelined Indonesia in
discourses about future issues and our own future fate. Therefore
ITB must make effective efforts to revitalize the role of
science, art and technology in social economic development and
cultural enrichment.
We have learned from our past that such endeavors will incur
social risks, which, if not understood and anticipated
thoroughly, may lead to undesirable or even harmful consequences
for society.
Our past has told us that the belief that science and
technology are value-free or neutral is illusive. This illusion
has led to a widening gap between ITB and the rest of society in
the ways of looking at ourselves (as a society), of setting
goals, projecting our future fate and addressing current societal
problems.
ITB has become ignorant about our own society, and has made
itself inaccessible to it. In short, ITB has become alien to the
rest of society, and vice-versa. In such a situation, the power
of scientific knowledge, if not managed under the guidance of
wisdom, may lead us to deviate from the very mission of science,
technology and art itself, that is, the perfection of human
beings and the attainment of a prosperous society. Under the
darkness of ignorance, this power will become an effective weapon
for destruction.
To meet its academic and social mission, several key steps
will be undertaken by ITB: Revitalization of its internal
network, strengthening and enrichment of its external network,
and the translation of paradigms.
The first step includes undertaking necessary measures to
eliminate structural or formal obstacles in the path of
collective intellectual growth and achievement within ITB.
Network enrichment includes the creation of new and enriched
ties with the rest of society, and within global domains.
Translation of paradigms includes learning the various frames of
thought of relevant parties, and translating it back-and-forth
into the context of ITB.
The bottom line is, ITB has to learn a lot more about the rest
of society and respond accordingly, and make itself accessible to
people. In addition, ITB will also need to uphold a stronger
commitment and to undertake a more active role in the improvement
of human rights, promotion of social justice and the preservation
of natural resources for future generations.
To be more precise, within the near future ITB will establish
and invest in a number of new research or cultural activity
centers. Each center will be led by experienced and noble leaders
or managers.
The centers must identify, enroll and mobilize potentialities
within faculties (academic and non-academic staff and students),
and all elements in the wider society. The agendas made by the
centers will be targeted at meeting the present demand for high
quality and culturally enriched education, knowledge-intensive
socio-economic practices and influential participation in
international discourses on the future of humanity and
civilization.
Our teaching methods and curricula will be improved via
continuous research on education, with the aim of enhancing the
skills of logical/philosophical thinking and promoting critical
thinking. Cultural activities will focus on nurturing
entrepreneurship on campus, promoting dialog and awareness of
social political issues.
In undertaking such efforts we are not unaware of the risks
involved and the obstacles standing in our way. Therefore the
importance of having a sense of relatedness must be emphasized,
that is, that each of us affects and is affected, needs and is
needed, one-by-another.
We have to see the diversity among us as a rich potentiality,
and articulate ourselves to unleash this collective intellectual
heritage. We have to go through all the necessary complexities,
and in due course become a well-organized community endowed with
high intellectuality and morality, that is, the trustworthy ITB
of our beloved society.
The above are highlights of the writer's scheduled
presentation on Saturday, when he will be installed as ITB's new
rector, the first rector elected following advertisements for the
position. The new recruitment process followed last year's
government policy of autonomy in education, making ITB a state
legal body (BHMN) together with three other higher learning
institutes.