World University Association for Community Development (WUACD) pioneered by Universitas Airlangga recently held a meeting titled “Higher Education’s Community Development Strategy in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic 2020″ under the theme Innovation of Higher Education in Developing Medical Technology in Pandemic Era.
The activity held online via zoom and streamed on Youtube was carried out on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. UNAIR Rector Prof. Dr. Moh. Nasih, in his remarks, explained that WUACD, which was initiated by UNAIR, is one of the main platforms for universities in the world to exchange experiences regarding community services.
“This forum also encourages government policies to produce appropriate policies for social life, and for WUACD members, the strength of this synergy will open up many opportunities,” he said.
Furthermore, in his remarks, Prof. Nasih emphasized that universities in Indonesia stand on three main pillars: education, research, and service. Apart from creating a good foundation for education, UNAIR also optimizes its research process and prepares its graduates to have the ability to adapt to the local and global world.
“From all of those, one of the main goals is for human development through community services,” he said.
In his presentation, Prof. Nasih also explained that UNAIR’s strategy for the next five years is to achieve its goal to be a Smart University.
“Things that need to be prepared to become a Smart University, of course, is by maximizing technological progress. Also, it needs a lot of effort in making a significant impact at local, national, and global levels,” he said.
All the pillars that have been carried out by UNAIR, continued Prof. Nasih, are very relevant to the current pandemic conditions. In his opinion, the pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the whole world as it demands universities to be able to become a platform to produce many innovations and solutions.
“At UNAIR, we have provided many facilities and resources for collaboration with many parties to produce many innovations and solutions to face pandemics, starting from handling in hospitals, drugs provision, and vaccine research process,” he concluded.