������

UNAIR NEWS – Is the university still relevant to be able to survive when the world is changing? This is the question that underlies the research focus of Badri Munir Sukoco and leads him to become the youngest professor from the Faculty of Economics and Business, ������.

The man born in Lumajang, September 11, 1978, was inaugurated as a professor of Management by delivering a scientific oration entitled “Orchestrating Dynamic Capabilities to Improve Competitiveness of the Nation”.

In 2013, Google announced that it is not necessary to use a diploma to work as a Google employee. Ernst & Young and several other companies also do the same thing.

This situation is reinforced by the facts in the field as there are many students who are graduated long. Not to mention, after graduation they are still hard to find employment. So, is the university relevant to participate in improving the nation’s competitiveness?

“University is an institution that can produce creative class. Creative class determines a country has a competitive edge, “said Prof. Badri.

Based on his research, currently there are only 7.93 percent of creative class in Indonesia. While according to predictions of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Indonesia will be the top five economies with the best economy in the world if the creative class reaches 20 percent.

“Creative class is produced by the university. And the university should be able to predict what work to exist in the years ahead to produce creative class, “said Prof. Badri.

If we recall five to ten years ago, jobs like online transportation service, online food delivery, android app developers, have never existed before. On the other hand, machine replaces people even more.

“Soon more automation will emerge. Professions such as accountants, lawyers, doctors, will be reduced, “added Prof. Badri.

Then, what should the university do to improve the creative class to reach 20 percent?

“The university should reformulate the strategy. So far, what the market needs, the universities provide. The university should also project what jobs in the next 10 years will be needed, “said the Outstanding Lecturer I UNAIR in 2015.

The next step according to Prof. Badri, there are three processes that must be done by the university to adapt its capabilities through sensing, seizing , and reconfiguring.

“Through sensing , universities must constantly scan, locate, and explore technological developments and changes in markets, both local and distant (the industry and at global level),” he said.

Secondly, in terms of expanding or seizing opportunities, the university can coordinate with scholarship institutions such as Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education to send students abroad to study at the world’s best universities.

“Placing prospective new lecturers at various centers of technological development that pioneered the development of the industrial revolution is a necessity,” he said.

The third process that must be done is reconfiguring the business enterprise’s intangible and tangible assets.

“Conducting reconfiguration of faculty or courses offered to fit the times as President Jokowi directed recently,” he added.

“Obviously, university needs to adapt related to Industrial Revolution 4.0 cannot be done alone. Relevant government policies with the Industrial Revolution 4.0 with high agility are a must so we would not left behind, “he added. (*)

Author: Binti Q. Masruroh

Editor: Defrina Sukma S