Reading Era: Speakers at the “Semangat Awal Tahun 2025” event included the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mendiktisaintek), Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro (center), Chairperson of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives Hetifah Sjaifudian (second from left), Salman Subakat, Co-founder of Paragoncorp and CEO of NSEI (right), and moderator Satria Permana from IDN Times / AJ.
The Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, urged students and university graduates to make reading and learning a habit if they want to succeed in the workforce. “Make reading a habit, and learning must also be a habit. We must be able to learn throughout life,” said Satryo at the “Semangat Awal Tahun 2025” event organized by IDN Times at IDN’s headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday (16/1/2025). This invitation was shared by Satryo, an alumnus of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the University of California, Berkeley, after discussing with hundreds of CEOs of large companies. During the discussion, these CEOs revealed the low reading comprehension skills of university graduates in Indonesia. Previously, Satryo’s speech at the Rector Forum went viral on social media. In the video, the former Director General of Higher Education from 1999–2007 revealed four weaknesses of bachelor’s degree graduates: reading, writing, work ethic, and communication skills. “Reading is not just about spelling, but understanding the content of a paragraph. Because they cannot read well, they also cannot write. Work ethic (work habit) is often poor, and communication skills are also low. As a result, they struggle with teamwork,” Satryo emphasized.
At the same event, the Chairperson of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Hetifah Sjaifudian, stated that Commission X, which oversees education, research, and technology, supports the efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology to make various changes to address weaknesses in higher education. “Changes must be made, but what is already good should be maintained and improved,” said Hetifah, also an alumnus of ITB.
Meanwhile, Salman Subakat, co-founder of Paragoncorp and CEO of NSEI, suggested that universities collaborate with companies to establish research and development (R&D) institutions to prepare graduates for the workforce. “Students can use R&D institutions as places to learn. The business world really needs R&D,” said Salman. The talk show marking the beginning of the year was also attended by representatives from several universities, including Universitas Tarumanagara.
(AJ/YS/VC)