“You determine whether a country moves forward, in place, or even backward. The way you think, behave, and organize determines whether Indonesia will move in place, backward, or forward. If we are able to think critically, maintain our integrity, continue to improve our competence and professionalism, we will be able to mingle with the world while not losing our own identity and culture. That is the hope. Therefore, we always think positively, competently and professionally. You are the best students from the best university in Indonesia. You have a good future, but it’s not all about you. You have the duty and responsibility to bring Indonesia forward to become an advanced, civilized, equitable, just, and prosperous country. Never get tired of loving Indonesia,” said Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Ph.D., who was present online at the opening of the Introduction to Campus Life for New Students (Pengenalan Kehidupan Kampus Bagi Mahasiswa Baru, PKKMB) of Universitas Indonesia (UI) in 2022.
When delivering the material entitled “Globalization and the Role of Students in Supporting the Competitiveness of the Indonesian Nation”, Sri Mulyani hoped that UI, as the only university that bears the name of the country, would be at the forefront in playing an important role in improving the nation’s competitiveness. The goal is to make the Indonesian economy stable and able to adapt to global changes.
She also explained that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon that has a wide impact in several aspects, including the country’s economy. According to her, referring to the last three years, the COVID-19 pandemic is the most devastating phenomenon in the last 100 years in the world. In addition to its impact on health, the pandemic has caused the majority of countries in the world to experience a decline in social, economic and financial aspects.
From an economic perspective, for example, the Indonesian government announced that there has been a sharp decline in economic growth, inflation has increased, and prices of basic commodities have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, thanks to the efforts of all elements, including the community, health workers, and the government, Indonesia is one of the most successful countries in dealing with COVID-19 cases.
Sri Mulyani said that Indonesia’s success in handling COVID-19 cases is inseparable from various government programs, such as the implementation of vaccinations, the implementation of Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities, the application of 5 M Health Protocol, and many others.
Although Indonesia has successfully dealt with the pandemic, it now faces a new challenge: rising global energy prices due to the Ukraine-Russia geopolitical conflict. “The COVID-19 pandemic has provided valuable lessons, and momentum to build structural reforms to build foundations in Indonesia. From COVID-19, Indonesia has learned many things, such as the importance of innovating work patterns to remain productive in the midst of limited physical mobility, economic transformation for production capacity and competitiveness, the importance of improving programs to be more compatible with new habits, and making us all aware that only by working together can policies be strong, so as to accelerate the recovery of socio-economic, monetary, fiscal, financial and others,” said Sri Mulyani, a 1981 alumnus of the UI Faculty of Business Economics.
On Monday morning, 9,458 new students attended PKKMB UI 2022. Some of the students were present offline at Balairung UI Depok, and others listened to this activity online. The new students consist of 8,021 undergraduate students (Regular S1, Parallel S1, and International Class S1) and 1,437 vocational education program students (D3 and D4). They were accepted through SNMPTN, PPKB, Talent Scouting, SBMPTN, SIMAK UI, and Achievement Path.
The activity, which carries the theme “UI Student One Because Different”, is carried out in a hybrid manner and will end on August 25, 2022. “The selection of the theme aims to unite and internalize the new students as members of the UI community. This theme was chosen because UI is a miniature Indonesia that consists of various ethnic groups, races, and religions. Through this theme, we want and educate UI students to become humanist, inclusive, and tolerant individuals,” said UI Vice Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris.
PKKMB UI is a series of activities to welcome and brief new UI students to introduce the academic and extracurricular systems on campus along with the systems, methods, and approaches used. “This activity is at the same time an orientation period and a transition period from high school students to university students, from high school learning to college academics. We present great speakers, alumni who currently serve as ministers, leaders, and decision makers of this nation who inspire new students,” said Prof. Abdul Haris.
Meanwhile, in his speech, the Rector of UI congratulated the achievements of the freshmen who had successfully attending the best and most competitive campus entrance selection in Indonesia. The Rector advised the freshmen to maximize the golden opportunity for their future to learn, achieve, serve, develop talents, interests, and talents.
Prof. Ari Kuncoro said that UI is a historic campus, first established by the Dutch East Indies in 1849. Since its inception in the country, UI has contributed, nurtured, and raised Great Indonesia. The Rector of UI said that many great figures have been born from UI, ranging from heroes, entrepreneurs, officials, ministers, and many others. Therefore, the chancellor fully expects the new UI 2022 students to be able to continue the tradition of honoring the good name of UI and Indonesia.
In addition to Sri Mulyani, the public lecture on the first day of PKKMB was filled by the Head of BNPT Komjen Pol. Boy Rafli Amar, M.H., and Member of the Presidential Advisory Council Habib Luthfi bin Yahya with the topic “Building the Character and Identity of the Indonesian Nation”. The entire event can be viewed at https://youtu.be/K4Qyot1NJkE.
Director of UI Student Affairs, Dr. Badrul Munir, S.T., M.Eng., expressed his appreciation to all freshmen for the smooth implementation of the event by implementing health protocols. “I am proud that today’s PKKMB went smoothly. PKKMB materials can be viewed on web/youtube ovis.ui.ac.id. Please study and there will be a daily assessment/evaluation starting at 18.00-24.00 WIB. Both offline and online attendees are requested to study additional material. Attendance is done by scanning the QR code using 4apps, then selecting PKKMB, and activating the location. For every four days the PKKMB is held, Mondays and Tuesdays will be attended by freshmen with odd Student Identification Numbers (SIDN), then Wednesdays and Thursdays will be attended by freshmen who had even SIDN,” he said.
