One of the purposes of higher education is to prepare students for the world of work. It does not, however, ready undergraduates to become professionals.
If the majority of university graduates are not work-ready, this has several impacts. Still, it is clear that certain higher education issues need to be addressed in order to prepare students to kick-start their careers, whether they choose to work independently or for other people.
The Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry’s move to hold a practical teaching program (Kompas, 4/6/2022) is one way to close the gap between university graduates’ competencies and the needs of the world of work. Bringing professionals with actual working experience to university campuses is expected to increase the relevance of the courses taught to meet real-world demands.
Work requires not only academic and technical skills (hard skills), but also nontechnical skills, or soft skills. In fact, in Industry 4.0, nontechnical skills are in more demand because it is an individual’s ability to master these soft skills, and not just academic knowledge, that determines their future success, especially for those still studying.
We have to compete with the rapid developments in science and technology. The challenge of education is to prepare a future generation of skilled individuals that cannot be replaced by automated machines. Nontechnical skills such as emotional intelligence, communication, collaboration, management and social skills cannot be replaced by automated machines. These are the skills that need to be developed in higher education.
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Considering these demands, opening up a collaborative and adaptive learning space by inviting professionals from the world of work to campuses is a good move. Universities will have to adapt and change from its conventional learning system to a collaborative and adaptive learning system. Moreover, the rate of adaptation at each university will vary.
The country’s 3,115 universities (Statistics Indonesia, 2021) also vary in quality, so the challenge that lies ahead is in making sure that the practical teaching program is implemented equally across all universities. Acceleration programs may be needed for universities with limited resources to make sure that universities with limited resources are not left behind.
This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.
