Prof. Ir. Nizam, M.Sc., Ph.D., IPM., ASEAN Eng., as the Director-General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Culture, said that the realm of higher education is currently confronting quite complex challenges with the condition where there are rapid changes in the world which are non-linear and full of uncertainty. Hence, he encouraged universities to modernize the current education system from a 3.0 industrial education pattern with very conventional competencies to a new rapid-development industry.
"We no longer need the old competence because we have lost many jobs," he said in the online Talkshow of the Merdeka Campus Towards Society 5.0 in the 75th HPTT commemoration organized by the UGM Faculty of Engineering on Thursday (11/2).
Nizam revealed that McKinsey's prediction stated that by 2030, robots/automation would take over around 23 million jobs. This number is much greater than the number of graduates in 10 years from Indonesia's whole universities.
"Each year, there are only 1.7-1.8 million students graduate, and this becomes a great challenge for universities in Indonesia to plan competencies for a job that does not currently occur," he explained.
He highlighted that universities must develop the competence of their students to become true learners for their entire life. The reason is that the world is so dynamic, so there is no choice except to learn, adapt, and innovate.
According to him, in the era of the 4.0 industrial revolution, universities must make several breakthroughs and leaps. The campus party should strengthen these efforts to provide millennials ready to build Indonesia towards society 5.0, resulting in a progressive, glorious and prosperous Indonesia.
"Higher education has a role in coming out from the rigid learning frames into more dynamic and flexible learning. Enables students to learn from various sources. Various sources mean not only in the classroom, laboratory, and library but give opportunities for students to learn in real-life campus," he explained.
Author: Ika
Translator: Natasa A