Depok, November 9, 2022. “For almost three years of undergoing the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen higher education institutions able to provide antidotes or concrete solutions to various global problems. One of them is the Covid-19 vaccine, which was successfully produced through a research collaboration that also involved higher education academics,” said the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. KH. Ma’ruf Amin in his welcoming speech on the first day of the QS Summit 2022 (Tuesday, 09/11) which was held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Jakarta. Universitas Indonesia (UI) together with QS are the hosts for the QS Summit 2022, with the co-host Prince Songkla University (Thailand).
This conference was attended by 1060 participants from 40 countries around the world by implementing health protocols. More than 100 speakers from within the country and abroad participated in this Asia Pacific higher education conference. One of the speakers was Kay Poh Gek Vasey, founder of MeshMinds, which engages artists, technologists, and is accessible and sustainable for all generations. He explained about augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and technological developments that had not been imagined before. In 2022, The MeshMinds Foundation partnered with Meta, enabling artists (painters, musicians, for example) to use augmented reality and virtual reality to guide new audiences into the performing arts of the past.
The QS Summit 2022 was held for the first time in a hybrid manner (half face to face) at the Intercontinental Hotel Jakarta, after three years of being held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He further said that efforts should be made to expand access to open and equal education in the Asia Pacific region because it is not a simple matter. Thus, various efforts and breakthroughs must be continued, including jointly seeking to strengthen connectivity and collaboration between universities in Asia Pacific.
“I also hope that more universities in Indonesia will be recognized as a world class university. The key lies in continuous transformation, innovation and collaboration. through this forum, academics and education practitioners, especially universities, can share experiences and strategies. Continue to intensify cooperation so that there are more world-class universities, and higher education is affordable for all,” said KH. Ma’ruf Amin.
Meanwhile, UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro SE, MA, Ph.D., said that this education conference provides an opportunity for academics to discuss the role of post-pandemic universities. In addition, universities also play a very important role in developing globally competitive human resources in Asia Pacific region.
“Therefore, the theme, The Next Big Thing: Addressing new opportunities and existing challenges in APAC higher education is the right momentum. This is to ensure that universities continue to play a significant role in meeting Asia Pacific industry and the public sector’s human resource needs through academic activities, research, innovation and public services,” said Prof. Ari.
As the main host of the QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2022, this is an important milestone for UI to become one of the leading universities in Asia. In addition, this event will also be a platform for UI and other leading Asian universities to exchange ideas, increase global engagement, learn from each other, and seek solutions to society and global problems, in terms of research and academic activities.
The QS Summit 2022 is filled with various activities including presentations from experts, panel discussions, debates, and there are 60 higher education exhibition stands from various universities in the Asia Pacific region to encourage and create new partnerships. In the exhibition, UI displayed several research results, community service, and student mobility programs. These three are topics that are often discussed with several foreign universities, such as the UI’s Merah and Putih Electric Bus, SWAB Flock, Banten Batik Community Service, and exchange programs for students.
In addition, during the exhibition there were several other interesting topics that made foreign universities want to cooperate with UI, including a program for teachers to be given the opportunity to learn in the form of cultural exchange and educational pedagogy methods which can later be implemented in each country.
“For research, many universities abroad are interested in the electric bus and SWAB flock research program because this is UI’s active role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and a real commitment of UI to contribute to the advancement of green technology. Outside universities are very interested in collaborating in the joint-research field of the electric bus program, many are also interested in Indonesian culture because UI community workers make batik pot motifs,” said Rini Febriani, UI’s Booth and Social Media Person.
