Jokowi and Universities
For the past 30 years the academic nomenclature developed in universities has remained linear, nothing has changed.
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In a number of his speeches, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has questioned to what extent our universities have changed, because amid the current global competition, those who are the fastest in digital technology innovation will win.
It is said that for the past 30 years the academic nomenclature developed in universities has remained linear, nothing has changed. In reality, the disruptive era has not only hit giant businesses, but also universities, if they are not open to change (AIPI, 2017). Why is it our universities find it so difficult to open up to multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary education, a trend in today\'s academia?
Threats of disruption are indicated when higher education is considered not to respond to the continuously changing needs of the community and industry. Meanwhile, knowledge and information are abundant in the internet, including lectures from world-renowned professors. Today, the gigantic digital industry in its recruitment is no longer dependent on formal diplomas, but on the innovative power and creativity of young people.
Learning from other countries
Universities are the foundation of the progress of the nation, this is not a cliché. In many other countries, scientific and technological discoveries are the result of research in university laboratories and the lifetimes of hard work by scientists. Post-graduate students are paid as researchers in their professorship research projects for industry.
As they end their studies, they produce various qualified journal articles or patent rights. Their universities earn big incentives from industry or the state; which further expand support for the institutions. Before entering universities, prospective post-graduate students have the intention to produce certain results.
Therefore, what is sought are professors who with their expertise can guide them, not the universities. No wonder they are frequently asked to be associated with specific professors, not departments.
In the social field and humanities, explanations of problems faced by the community in any field can be found in the expertise, articles and recommendations of academics. At present, the world is being hit by the impact of populist conservatism, which has had a widespread impact on dividing human beings based on origins: indigenous-immigrants, white skin-colored skin, and religions; facilitated by politicians to gain power.
Social-humanities academics carry out a lot of research, produce dissertations, scientific studies, journal articles, providing explanations, dismantling misleading constructions of human identities based on origins. The community gets explanations, answers and peace.
Universities work very closely not only with industry, but also with government institutions, legislatures, the judiciary and civil society. This network has forced universities to synergize with the challenges of the times and needs of the community, which are continuously changing. The nomenclature of academic education has long been nearly limitless. Academia is developing beyond its primordial disciplines, meeting with other disciplines, and giving birth to new interdisciplinary schools. The new generic academia is growing, the focus of alternative research institutions is to replace those which are considered to be out of date.
The advancement of academic research is supported by good university governance. Institutions in universities are academic units, not administrative units. Lecturers and students can quietly work without any administrative obstacles. Academic administration and financial affairs are carried out by professionals who are interconnected with digital networks, thereby making them accessible, transparent and accountable. Structural positions in universities are offered to anyone who is willing, even to other universities. The position of a dean, for example, is offered through the spirit of collegiality. There is hardly any politics there.
Our universities
The ability to respond to the community\'s needs requires changes in academia, which are increasingly interdisciplinary. In other countries, for example, there is a department of "Law, Science and Technology" or "Law and Health". If this happens here, it can be imagined there will be a shake-up. Is "Law, Science and Technology" a parent discipline belonging to the School of Law, School of Mathematics or the School of Engineering? Does "Law of Health" belong to the School of Law or School of Medicine?
The second question, will the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry allow the creation of new departments whose nomenclature does not currently exist? If accredited, can the accessors accept it? The third question, where will those who graduate from the interdisciplinary fields have their careers because their disciplines are not linear, can they be promoted?
Apparently because their way of thinking is monodisciplinary, linear, already like fossils, academics are hard to remove from their comfort zones. They express worries about losing their paradigmatic academic identity and tightly keep their discipline from being "polluted" by other disciplines. They are not willing to learn from the world’s Nobel laureates, namely academics from various disciplines who collaborate to solve a problem. Constitutional judges actually also need to have extensive knowledge, as their disciplin deals with, among other things, energy and mining, digital technology, health science and complex humanitarian issues in order to produce decisions that actualize the constitution in substantial justice for citizens.
Even though there are so many smart and dedicated people with integrity on campuses, there are difficulties in moving forward maximally. The structural obstacles lie in the overlap of various regulations and administrative procedures. There is also a lack of a culture of cooperation between universities and industry and government institutions, including legal institutions. Industry actors even set up their own universities, while government institutions conduct their own research; instead of making use of existing universities as the backbone of research, which gives birth to the most qualified findings and beyond its time. Finally, there is the lack of a culture of being open to change and cooperation.
Li Lanqing, former Chinese prime minister, in his book Education for 1.3 Billion (2003), describes how education reform in China has a vision of producing human beings with character, namely being able to cooperate. The Magna Charta Universitatum 1988, which was signed by 805 universities from 85 countries, also declares universities to be institutions that have to be far from power and money because their function is very special, namely producing knowledge, guarding the truth. The culture that has to be developed is collegiality.
Addressing the obstacles
However, the monodisciplinary way of thinking has led to a dichotomy between "us and them", which is very strong, influencing the organizational behavior and daily life on campus. Lecturers who have served for dozens of years in a school and university, can still be considered "others" simply because the undergraduate degree (S-1) is from the university. Moreover, if the teaching is not linear with the school, despite the serious dedication and contribution in developing interdisciplinary studies for the progress of education in the school, the label "outsiders" remains inherent with all its implications.
Strangely, this happens when neighboring universities, for example in Singapore, which are in the top ranks in the world, have opened various lines of positions and university institutions to the best people all over the world. It is surprising that the impartiality of education is not reflected in the way of thinking (culture) of our academics.
In such a situation, it is not surprising that universities are not sensitive to populist conservatism freely entering their campuses. It is already common that identity politics has become the basis of recruitment for various positions on campuses, let alone the process of selecting leaders of the schools and universities. Political identity on the basis of who "we" and "they" are, friendships and practical political alliances are more prominent than competence, leadership capability or integrity in choosing leaders.
The expectation of President Jokowi to make universities the movers of the nation\'s progress and to be responsive to global developments and the needs of the community will be difficult to realize if the above-mentioned obstacles are not accepted by all stakeholders in the higher education field and the academic community.
Sulistyowati Irianto
Anthropology law professor of the School of Law Faculty at the University of Indonesia
