Faculty of Law alumnus who now serves as the governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo, encouraged students to keep innovating at the Inspiring Person: Closer to Ganjar Pranowo session, Saturday (24/9) Graha Sabha Pramana. In the event that was part of UGM Expo 2016, Ganjar shared his experience and the anxiety he felt during his tenure as governor.
“For 3 years as a governor I faced so many problems. Many people come to report some issues, to protest. But I need to listen to them,” he said.
Experience as a governor made him more sensitive to the problems that exist both in society and in government institutions. Most of the problems he encountered was classic problems, such as food issues, energy sovereignty, or the performance of the government apparatus, yet there is no solution that can completely overcome those issues. Therefore, technological innovations or new systems are needed to solve the problems, one of which is through research in universities.
“We need research from universities to be applied. For those who can find a methodology that works, submit it to me. For those who invent a technology but had not been used, we will use it, “he explained.
He regretted that many researches have not got their result implemented since it is constrained by license administrative system. He also expressed his commitment to support the academics in developing the research findings.
“As Mrs. Rector, who invents the early warning system, it has been recognized everywhere except in Indonesia. Therefore, I immediately propose that it can be installed here, so it could be a solution for the disaster in Indonesia, “said Ganjar.
Therefore, he encouraged the students to be able to continue to develop research that may bring new solutions to the existing problems, ignoring doubts of other people about our ideas.
“For example, we want to make nuclear power plants but people say we should not because bla bla bla. Nothing is allowed so we ended up doing nothing. We are rarely limited by military, but we are often limited by “Jangan” (don’t) ideology that makes us end up with nothing, “he said.
He also emphasized the importance of the role of universities, including UGM, as a pioneer in developing innovation both in technology and in socio-cultural fields. With the linkages between academia, business, and government, is expected to create innovations that are beneficial to the progress of the nation.
“Today we have one job, which is economic independence. We need to do distribute our research findings and high-quality technology, and those are created by great university, one of which is UGM. The time is now, it could not be postponed anymore, “he concluded. (UGM / Gloria; Photo: Firsto)