Najwa Shihab, an alumnus of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia Universitas Indonesia Indonesia, wearing a yellow Universitas Indonesia (UI) jacket said, “In addition to learning, thirsting and continuing to thirst for knowledge, students must also be the moral guardians of this nation. Students must be able to make an impact. Students must be willing to listen to the needs and issues for many people.” As a fellow alumni, her presence at Universitas Indonesia’s Balairung among thousands of new students (freshmen) of 2022 was welcomed enthusiastically. Najwa Shihab was one of the speakers on the third day of the Introduction to Campus Life for New Students (PKKMB) of Universitas Indonesia (UI), on Wednesday (10/08).
According to Najwa, UI students must be able to initiate change, especially in the social and political fields. The main thing that must be present in a student is concern and critical awareness. “Discuss, find out what’s important, then raise your voice if you see something that’s not right,” he says.
In her presentation, Najwa quoted a saying from an Indonesian statesman and economist, the first Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Drs. H. Mohammad Hatta or familiarly called Bung Hatta, namely “Fading unity and care, Indonesia is just a name and a picture of a string of islands on a map”. From this message, Najwa hopes that the caring and unity is one of the keys that exist in university students.
“Keep looking for your restlessness . Don’t ignore the it, instead you must continue to be concerned. Caring and uniting is the key. Because, freshmen stands for humans who wonder. Let’s fret in congregation and let’s use that restlessness to take action. Students must continue to move, work, and makes impact,” said Najwa.
On the same occasion, author, journalist, and presenter, Andy F. Noya, also gave a briefing to new Universitas Indonesia (UI) students by raising the topic that a student must be able to become a driving force in society. He said that young people must have big dreams not only for themselves, but also for the nation.
“Don’t be solely material or money oriented, because this will not lead to happiness. My friends and I have created various programs that encourage young people to start entering the world of sociopreneurship. So, this sociopreneurship is social entrepreneurship, what is built is a social enterprise. So, young people when creating a business, from the beginning, have to think about what the social and economic impact is for the surrounding community. This economic and social impact can be in the form of empowerment,” said Andy.
Andy further said that there is one more stage above success, which is significant. Significant is not just living for yourself, but being able to share with others. More than that, when this life is able to provide benefits and prosperity for others.
The third day of PKKMB activities, themed “Working and Caring for the Community”, was carried out in a hybrid manner. The event featured several other speakers giving interactive public lectures, such as Ruangguru Co-Founder Iman Usman and Member of the Governing Board of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Tri Mumpuni.
In his opening speech, the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Assets, Prof. Dr. Ir. Dedi Priadi, DEA, congratulated and gave advice to new UI students. “First, take advantage of the time to develop yourself, there are so many platforms at Universitas Indonesia to improve skills and hone critical reasoning. Second, utilize the best facilities that we have provided. There are academic support facilities, such as the Central Library which is the largest library in Southeast Asia, there are talent interest facilities such as sports buildings, gymnasiums, stadiums, swimming pools, golf and others. In addition, there are transportation facilities that we provide to ensure you arrive on time, such as the Yellow Bus (Bikun) and Yellow Bike, as well as many other facilities that are useful for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the UI academic community,” he said.
Furthermore, Prof. Dedi said, students should participate in various career coaching. Through the Center for Career Development Universitas Indonesia has provided various forms of upskilling programs and post-campus life provision. The final message is to network with alumni. Universitas Indonesia has thousands of alumni who have succeeded in various fields of contribution, such as state leaders, ministers, professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, activists and others.
PKKMB activities are expected to motivate and equip new students, so that UI can produce graduates who are able to make a real contribution to the nation and state, and are respected by Indonesian academics and internationally.
More information about this activity can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e1ELyXDeKc.
