UT Inaugurates Six Professors, Presenting Environmental Solutions to Governance

Universitas Terbuka (UT) has inaugurated six professors bringing various research-based ideas to address development challenges. One of the highlighted issues is sustainable environmental management through a new approach to managing rivers and residential areas.

UT Rector Ali Muktiyanto stated that the inauguration of professors is not merely an academic ceremony, but a momentum to present research results that can provide solutions to various societal problems. “These six professors demonstrate that future challenges cannot be answered by a single discipline alone,” Ali said at the Universitas Terbuka Convention Center (UTCC) in South Tangerang on Thursday (6/8/2026).

According to Ali, the six professors raised a variety of study fields, ranging from education, governance, environment, and literacy, to artificial intelligence (AI) and the protection of migrant workers.

One of the scientific orations highlighting environmental issues was delivered by Edi Rusdiyanto through the concept of the River-Settlement Symbiotic System (RS3). This approach views rivers as part of the community’s living space that must be managed in an integrated manner together with residential areas. Through this concept, river management is not only directed at maintaining environmental quality but also at strengthening urban area resilience while reducing disaster risk.

Ali said that all the research results presented by the professors show that research in higher education does not stop as academic findings, but must be able to become the basis for formulating solutions whose benefits can be felt by the community. “For UT, that is the meaning of a professor. The highest academic title is not the finish line of a scholarly journey, but rather the beginning of a greater responsibility to continue producing thoughts relevant to the needs of the times,” said Ali.