The Director General (Dirjen) of Higher Education, Research, and Technology (Diktiristek) of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris, opened the Times Higher Education (THE) Digital Universities Asia 2024 conference, one of the most prestigious events in the world of higher education, held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from July 1 to 3, 2024. “As a country with the third biggest education system in Asia and fourth in the world, higher education in Indonesia faces challenges from the 4.0 industrial revolution, the 5.0 industrial revolution, and the Covid-19 pandemic. In facing these challenges, the government issued a higher education digitization policy, such as the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) Program and the Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCS). This policy has been applied to 80 percent of students in Indonesia,” he said.
He said this when delivering the opening remarks at the event initiated by the University of Indonesia (UI). As the third largest country in Asia and the fourth largest in the world, higher education in Indonesia has challenges starting from the Industrial Revolution 4.0, the Industrial Revolution 5.0, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Diktiristek Dirjen also conveyed that success in implementing higher education digitization requires human involvement. This is due to technology’s way of thinking which ignores humanity, so the thinking process becomes abandoned. In implementing higher education digitization, humans have to become innovators, not just users.
“Ethics and positive learning behavior in using technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), is crucial to increase interaction in education. This is in line with the principle mentioned by UNESCO, that technology can not clash with ethics,” said Prof. Haris.
Ethics in technology usage is also applied to research and AI development in Indonesia. Expert Staff of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo) of the Republic of Indonesia in the field of Social, Economic and Cultural Affairs, Wijaya Kusumawardhana, stated that nine million talents in the digital field are needed to support the sustainable digital transformation that Kemenkominfo is doing. “Several of Kemenkominfo’s programs are being promoted to achieve digital literacy from the most basic to advanced stages in Indonesia, namely the National Digital Literacy Movement, Digitalent, and the Digital Leadership Academy. As a whole, this program has produced more than 23 million talents over the last 5 years,” said Wijaya.
AI development in Indonesia is inseparable from the adaptation process and the collaboration of multiple parties. It was mentioned by the Rector of UI that the role of higher education underwent a major transformation in this fast-changing world. Digital technology has become a driving power behind this evolution. “Collaboration, networking, and diplomacy have become the key to facing the economic challenges of digitizing education,” said Ari Kuncoro.
This international conference was attended by more than 400 participants from various education institutions and digital industries from more than 25 countries. In addition, there is also an information booth filled with universities in Asia and startups, such as Coursera, Turnitin, Inspera, Asia Technology University Network (ATU), Singapore Education Network, Sala, and Speechsquare, which displayed the latest technological innovation products in the field of education.
Matthew Ferguson, one of the participants from Thailand, stated, “I am interested and happy to see humanizing technology ideas, not just on the issue of technology integration for economic purposes, but also increasing human capacity. I am delighted to hear that policymakers are also thinking about this.”
A prestigious international-level conference such as this is the second time for UI. In 2022, UI was also the host of the QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2022 on November 8 to 10, 2022, at the Intercontinental Hotel, Jakarta. With the theme, “Inclusive Education for The Digital Age,” THE Digital Universities 2023 will last until July 3, 2024.
