On 20 June 2019, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) held a graduation ceremony for 1,602 graduates with Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Ir. Illah Sailah, M.S., who is the Head of Lembaga Layanan Pendidikan Tinggi (LLDIKTI) of Wilayah III DKI Jakarta. He set a time for the prestigious ceremony to share a message to graduates and to motivate them to become up-to-date professionals.

Dr. Sailah commented, “To face the 4.0 Industry era, memorization is no longer the most important. The soft skills of a student will be much more important. To transform your surroundings, what you need is not only knowledge but also a soft skill.”

The soft skills he mentioned include quick adaptation to recent changes. In his remarks, Dr. Sailah explained that the graduates are a volatile generation who changes quickly from the digital world to the world of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. The graduates must have the creativity to use these facilities to achieve their goals. Automatically, the system of higher educational institutes must change; Their focus must not be in theory but in the student’s flexibility.

As a university with contributions on a national scale, UPH has applied a new educational system in its curriculum. The emphasis on a holistic education equips UPH graduates to lead the new generation in the future. At UPH, students are encouraged to master high-level knowledge according to their majors; They are also required to take leadership programs to train their skills in making relations. In class, students are invited to focus on practicing their knowledge in the real world. This means that the students understand the real, working world of their majors before graduating.

Responding Dr. Sailah, UPH Chancellor Dr. (Hon) Jonathan L. Parapak, M.Eng.Sc. is grateful because UPH is always supported by the government and have been recognized in obeying the principles 100%. This was emphasized by Dr. Sailah in his remarks. The support given to UPH has been realized through several UPH events. One of these events was the Third National STEM Seminar (SNSRT) held from 26 to 27 June 2019, where Prof. H. Mohamad Nasir, Ph.D., Ak., Minister of Riset, Teknologi, dan Perguruan Tinggi Republik Indonesia, and Prof. Dr. Ismunandar, Director General of Belmawa at Ristek Dikti, attended as Keynote Speakers. The SNSRT seminar took the theme of ‘Challenges and Opportunities in Food Security, Health, and Disaster Mitigation in 4.0 Industry Era’.

UPH congratulates the graduates and hopes, through the knowledge imparted at the institution, that it will not produce people panting at changes, but that it will produce core players for the nation’s transformation.