VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin. (ANTARA/HO-Setwapres) - 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has urged all higher education institutions and universities to strengthen collaboration and cooperation with industries to face the changing reality.

"To face challenges of change, higher education institutions must continue to transform and strengthen collaboration with the business and industry world," he said at the 5th International Seminar and Conference on Global Issues (ISCoGI) 2021, which he virtually from here on Saturday.

Aside from collaborating with industries, higher education institutions must also expand cooperation with governments, organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the media, he added.

"Transformation and collaboration are necessary to help (higher education institutions) become world-class higher education institutions," Amin said.

To harmonize the application of science with the industry's needs, the Vice President asked universities to develop research with related parties, such as with other universities and the business world.

Higher education institutions must also rejuvenate the governance and management of the education system by developing good governance and the values of transparency, accountability, responsibility, independence, and quality assurance, he said.

"Higher education institutions, as activators of innovation, can initiate collaboration in the form of joint research. This is essential so that financing is more efficient, and the development of science and technology is in line with the needs of industry and society," he remarked.

In addition, the Vice President also said that the research conducted by universities must be adaptive to current advancements in technology.

"For example, many research institutions have utilized artificial intelligence and big data in mass surveys. The results of the analysis and policy recommendations are close to real-time, so it is difficult to be matched by manual survey methods," he expounded.

The Vice President expressed the hope that higher education institutions in Indonesia would become cultural centers and movers of social change to help build a democratic society that thinks ahead and has a noble character//ANT