HumasUPNVJ – UPN “Veteran” Jakarta (UPNVJ) held a scientific oration entitled "Innovation and Digital Transformation of Higher Education for Social Justice" . This event was the peak of the celebration of UPNVJ's 47th Anniversary and presented Prof. Dr. Pujiyono Suwadi, SH, MH, Professor of the Faculty of Law, Sebelas Maret University and Chairman of the Indonesian Prosecutor's Commission, as the main speaker.

In his speech, Prof. Pujiyono, who is familiarly called Prof. Puji, emphasized the strategic role of higher education as the vanguard in educating the nation's life according to the mandate of Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System. He emphasized the importance of innovation and digital transformation to face global challenges, strengthen the character of educational institutions, and realize social justice for all Indonesian people.

The Importance of Innovation and Digital Transformation

Prof. Puji explained that innovation is a new discovery, while digital transformation is the use of technology to improve the effectiveness of various aspects of an organization, including education. He highlighted online learning ( e-learning ) as a real example of digital transformation that makes education more flexible and accessible.

However, challenges remain. Indonesia is still ranked 6th in the Global Digitalization Index in Southeast Asia, far below neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. "Digital transformation is not just a necessity. Digital transformation requires the world of education to constantly adapt to technological developments to improve the quality of education, especially the adjustment of the use of technology in the world of education, especially in the learning process," he said.

Digital transformation is both an opportunity and a challenge in the world of education. Rapidly developing technological advances have made digital transformation enter the realm of everyday human life. Like it or not, humans must continue to follow the flow of technological progress and continue to adapt.

Talking about digitalization, Indonesia is currently still in 6th place (33.1 percent) for the Global Digitalization Index in Southeast Asia alongside Singapore in first place (76.1 percent), Malaysia in second place (49.9 percent), Thailand in third place (47.2 percent), Vietnam in fourth place (36.7 percent), and the Philippines in fifth place (34.9 percent).

Inspiration from China: Reforming Traditional Majors

In his presentation, Prof. Puji invited the audience to listen to a case that occurred in China related to the importance of digital transformation of higher education. As a global example, Prof. Puji revealed the radical changes in China, where 19 universities replaced traditional majors with technology-based programs such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, cybersecurity, blockchain, and big data.

The move underscores the importance of adapting higher education to the needs of the modern market and technological developments. The changes are part of a broader initiative led by China’s Ministry of Education, which has urged universities to realign their programs to better serve China’s modernization goals.

Social Justice Through Higher Education

Prof. Puji also underlined the inequality of access to higher education in Indonesia. Data quoted from UNESCO on the percentage of college graduates in ASEAN countries shows that Indonesia is ranked 6th (10 percent) with the condition that Indonesia is the country with the largest population in ASEAN.

On the other hand, out of 48 countries in the world, Indonesia is in the second last position after South Africa, the average number of college graduates in OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) partner countries is at 47.42 percent. While Indonesia is only 17.93 percent and South Africa is at 13.11 percent.

From the two data, it can be concluded that access to higher education is not evenly distributed in Indonesia. This is supported by data from the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Ditjen Dukcapil) which shows that the number of Indonesians who have education up to college is only 6.68% of the national population.

The above data is evidence that access to higher education has not fulfilled the mandate of the 1945 Constitution. As written in the opening of the 1945 Constitution, one of the goals of the State is education for all Indonesian people, which is packaged in the language of "Enlightening the Life of the Nation". This is reaffirmed in Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution which states that "education is a right for every citizen".

The consequence of unequal access to higher education is the unequal distribution of human resources in Indonesia. Of course, this requires serious attention and handling by the government.

Higher education is so important because achieving higher education will open up better job prospects. According to the OEDC, achieving higher education also affects wage levels.

Workers aged 25-64 with tertiary education earn about twice as much as those with secondary education.

So it can be said that the perspective of social justice is associated with access to higher education, where higher education can be used as an instrument to achieve social justice.

Efforts to Guarantee Access to Higher Education in Indonesia

Efforts that can be made to ensure access to higher education for citizens are first by equalizing quality higher education in Indonesia. This effort can be realized through digital transformation with 4 main focuses, namely empowered employees, engaged customers, transformed products, and optimized operations.

Strengthening the character of higher education can improve the quality and relevance of education. This can be done by adopting the Technology-Industrial Revolution 4.0 and 5.0. The presence of Industry 5.0 is to create a balance between the advancement of digital technology, parallel economic progress with the resolution of social problems. Industry 5.0 is identical to the synergy of human civilization and digital technology without eliminating the true identity of humans

The next effort is the transformation of higher education through digital space to accelerate access to education.

During the Covid 19 pandemic, it has been shown that higher education can be reached through digital transformation. This transformation must be carried out without degrading the quality of education.

Digital transformation in Higher Education is expected to reach learners in the regions without having to think about the high cost compared to conventional methods. The measuring instrument for assessing higher education must also be changed. The measuring instrument for IKU/SPMI and SPME tends to strengthen institutional structures, in the future it must be measured in terms of its role in providing solutions. Higher education must also be measured in its ability to balance academic, business and social perspectives.

In its role as a social agent, Higher Education must be able to become an anchor for the unequal distribution of education in Indonesia, this is what the ministry must measure in the future, because in reality the government (ministry) cannot possibly equalize higher education without a social agent, namely Higher Education, of course by utilizing innovation and digital transformation.

This event is a reminder of the importance of innovation and digital transformation in higher education to realize social justice in Indonesia. UPNVJ, with its vision and mission, is expected to continue to be a pioneer in supporting the advancement of higher education in the country.