Eighty deans and staff from engineering faculties across Indonesian universities participated in the Indonesian Engineering Deans Forum (FDTI) “Dean Course,” which was held at the Faculty of Engineering (FT UGM) from June 10 to 13, 2024.
This annual forum aims to provide guidance and training to deans and staff from other universities on the development of engineering policy. While engineering science is the main focus, FT UGM, as the host, also provided materials on faculty policies related to academic management, finance, and reputation development.
Professor Indra Wijaya Kusuma, Head of UGM Quality Assurance and Reputation Unit (SPMRU), who spoke at the training, highlighted the educational issues universities face globally.
According to him, higher education plays a role in disseminating knowledge and ensuring equitable development through its graduates.
“I see many graduates nowadays come from rural areas, but after graduating from university, they seek jobs in big cities. This is also a problem for us,” he said on Monday (Jun. 10).
Professor Kusuma believes that achieving universities’ primary goal of improving the quality of human resources will be challenging with this phenomenon. Therefore, universities must find ways to encourage young generations to be more productive while also wanting to contribute to their home regions’ development.
Professor Kusuma also mentioned strategies for improving the quality and reputation of universities globally by increasing lecturers’ publications and research outputs, attracting prospective students, and enhancing personal branding.
However, many institutions often focus too much on these goals rather than fulfilling their primary purpose as educational institutions: producing excellent human resources.
“Institutional demands should not overshadow the essence of education itself,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Professional Engineer Program at FT UGM, Professor Suryo Purwono, mentioned that the engineering profession is now more open due to digital developments and globalization.
In addition to opening opportunities for engineers to work abroad, globalization allows domestic engineers to be dominated by foreign workers. This phenomenon undoubtedly creates broader and more challenging competition.
“For an engineer to work across ASEAN countries, they not only need to have knowledge and competence but also meet several other formal requirements,” said Professor Purwono.
The Engineer Registration Certificate is one of the formal requirements for engineers to work anywhere. This certification is given to graduates or professional engineers who have passed competency tests.
This policy is already covered by national law. Professor Purwono said that engineering plays a strategic role in developing public infrastructure, like other professional fields.
“Certification is necessary to ensure that the engineer is competent to guarantee safety and security in every project. This demand certainly presents its challenges for universities,” he explained.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson