UGM hosted the 3rd AUN Student Affairs Network Meeting (AUN-SAN) conducted in conjunction with the 7th ASEAN Student Leaders Forum (ASLF) from 11-15 February 2019.
Themed ASEAN Way in the Era of Disruption: The Role of University and Student Leaders in Preparing to Excel the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the event was the forum for students and lecturers to share ideas related to efforts to facing the potential and challenges in the digital era.
“The event is a platform for ASEAN students to discuss views and real actions related to regional issues,” said Dr. Choltis Dharathiti, Executive Director of AUN Secretariat during the opening of ASLF on Tuesday (12/2) in the Senate Hall UGM.
ASLF is an annual event run by ASEAN countries engaging students, student affairs organisation leaders, and vice-rectors of student affairs of AUN to discuss relevant issues and joint work plan. AUN-SAN running in parallel with ASLF is the platform for vice-rectors, directors, and deans to formulate agenda in student management, collaborative events, and share knowledge and experience.
In the event as many as 66 students, 25 lecturers and two AUN representatives attended, Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng., explained.
Panut said the event theme was very relevant with the challenges facing ASEAN countries and the world in Industry 4.0. ASEAN countries were expected to play their roles in the world through making useful innovations. “We can be integrated because of the technology development. In this moment we have to think how ASEAN can face the industrial revolution instead of becoming victims of such progress,” said Panut.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of AUN-SAN Secretariat, Prof. Dr. Abdul Malek Abdul Karim, hoped the ASEAN students would have leadership characters with critical and innovative thinking rather than just being technology literate, also able to see the influence to people’s lives. “It’s not enough just by using the technology, but you should be able to resolve existing problems and think forward,” he said.