IEEE Indonesia Section and Directorate General of Higher Education Discuss the Possibility of Program Synchronization
Gamantyo Hendrantoro, Vice Chair for IEEE Indonesia Section
The IEEE Indonesia Section held an online meeting with the Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia on Tuesday, 2nd February, 2021. The meeting discussed the potential for synchronizing IEEE Indonesia Section programs with those of the Directorate General of Higher Education. The meeting was attended by the IEEE Indonesia Section 2021 Chair, Dr. Ing. Wahyudi Hasbi, and Vice Chair, Prof. Gamantyo Hendrantoro, as well as the Director General of Higher Education, Prof. Nizam and the Secretary of the Directorate General, Dr. Paristiyanti Nurwardani. Members of the IEEE Indonesia Section Activity Committee and the Technical Society Chapters of IEEE Indonesia Section were also present.
In his presentation, the IEEE Indonesia Section 2021 Chair conveyed several programs that could improve the quality of learning, the lecturers and the students. One program aims to improve the quality of conferences held by universities, while another involves making the IEEE journals, conferences and the IEEEXplore as an outlet for high-quality research from Indonesian universities. In addition to that, the Distinguished Lecturer Program offered by many IEEE Societies can be used to trigger research collaborations with Indonesian researchers.
“There are also other programs such as the IEEE Indonesia Initiative on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and international competitions for IEEE Student Members, such as IEEEXtreme targeting at improving students’ coding skills, team work etc. The synergy between the IEEE Indonesia Section and the Higher Education Directorate will allow development of technology standards in Indonesia, assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of online lectures by experts from the IEEE Education Technology Chapter, establishment of an East Indonesia IEEE Conference Flagship, and execution of an IEEE Indonesian Student Conference together with the National Student Scientific Week held yearly by the Directorate General,” Wahyudi said.
On the same occasion, the IEEE Indonesia Section 2021 Vice Chair described the possibilities of collaboration in facilitating the implementation of the Ministry’s “Free to Learn – Free Campus”, locally known as the Merdeka Belajar-Kampus Merdeka or MBKM program. The possibilities include students’ participation in the humanitarian projects organized by the Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT) and Humanitarian Technology, as well as early experience for students with international professional organizations through involvement in IEEE Student Branches. In addition, IEEE Indonesia Section can serve as a bridge for research collaboration between universities and research institutions and for students’ free-to-learn activities in the industry, research organizations, etc.. “The activities can take the form of humanitarian projects, internships, research, start-ups and others,” said Gamantyo.
The potential for synchronization was welcomed by the Director General of Higher Education, Prof. Nizam. According to him, the IEEE Indonesia Section can be a means of implementing the MBKM program. He hopes that engineering students in Indonesia can join as members of the IEEE Indonesia Section. IEEE is also expected to help improve the quality of Indonesian journals so that they achieve an international reputation.
This meeting will be followed up with an agreement and working plan.