*MAKASSAR* – Education plays a strategic role in shaping a generation able to think critically, read change, and take part in determining the nation’s future direction. This perspective was delivered by the Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) RI, Dr. H. TB Ace Hasan Syadzily, M.Si., in a public lecture as part of the Campus Life Orientation for New Students (PKKMB) of the Hasanuddin University Graduate School.
Dr. Ace Hasan invited students to view education as the essence of nation-building. A country’s progress is determined by the quality of its education, an important instrument for producing human resources able to face change and play a role in national development.
“Only through education can we grow as a strong nation. Education builds intellectual ability, character, and national awareness. Education also equips us to understand change and face the various challenges that arise in the national and global environment,” explained Dr. Ace Hasan.
Dr. Ace Hasan further observed that Unhas has strong historical capital as a center for shaping national character. The values of Sultan Hasanuddin’s struggle, which are embedded in Unhas’s identity, are part of the process of educating students and building their character.
According to Dr. Ace Hasan, Unhas also holds a strategic position as a university located in the Eastern Indonesia region. This region holds a range of important strengths for Indonesia’s progress. That potential requires outstanding human resources able to manage and develop it.
“Eastern Indonesia has a great deal of potential to support the progress of the Indonesian nation. Students in this region need to see themselves as an important part of the future of national development. They must be able to take part in safeguarding national resilience, think transformatively, adaptively, and visionarily, and develop Eastern Indonesia’s potential to strengthen the nation’s development,” added Dr. Ace Hasan.
National resilience places the young generation in an important position in facing change. Dr. Ace Hasan said that students, as prospective national leaders, need the courage to take on a role, read global dynamics, and respond to change critically and adaptively. Developments in geopolitics, technology, and relations between countries demand a generation with broad perspective and a firm national footing.
Dr. Ace Hasan also expressed appreciation to Unhas for holding the Graduate School PKKMB as a space for building students’ awareness of the importance of education and national character. In Dr. Ace Hasan’s view, universities have a strategic responsibility to prepare outstanding human resources, especially amid an increasingly complex global environment.
Closing the public lecture, Dr. Ace Hasan urged students to use their time of study to broaden their horizons and sharpen their leadership. Academic experience at university is expected to equip students to face change, take on roles, and contribute to the nation.
“Be a generation that keeps bringing change, a lifelong learner, a critical thinker, a person of integrity, and one who loves the homeland. What is learned at university must serve as provision for contributing and bringing about change for society and the nation,” Dr. Ace Hasan urged.
The public lecture by the Governor of Lemhannas RI was part of the Unhas Graduate School PKKMB, attended by 2,462 new students. The event took place on Thursday (13 August) at Baruga A.P. Pettarani, Makassar, as part of the program to introduce academic life to Graduate School students. (*/mir)
Editor: Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.