USU PR—The Board of Professors of Universitas Sumatera Utara (DGB USU) held a Meeting of the Assembly of the Board of Professors of State Universities with Legal Entities (MDGB PTNBH) with the theme "Building A Strong Community Through Campus and Industry Relationships." Twenty-one state universities in Indonesia attended the meeting, which took place from Thursday to Saturday, Jun. 27-29, 2024, with the opening ceremony held at the USU Digital Learning Center Building.

Three speakers filled the series of meetings, including a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture who delivered material on "Acceleration of Agricultural Development Facing Climate Change and the Global Food Crisis," followed by the Director General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris, M.Sc., with the material "The Role of Professors in National Development," and the Rector of the Universitas Sumatera Utara, Prof. Dr. Muryanto Amin, S.Sos., M.Si., with the material "Building Community Strength Through Campus and Industry Relations."

Prof. Dr. Muryanto Amin, S.Sos., M.Si., considers the urgency of building community strength crucial because establishing relationships between universities and industry can strengthen research that produces the best innovations to solve strategic issues in Indonesia, supported by industrial policies. The USU Rector also hopes that the MDGB meeting this time will run smoothly, as expected.

"I hope this activity continues to run smoothly, and we can together solve the nation's problems through the realization of strategic thinking from the Board of Professors," said the USU Rector.

According to the Chairman of the Assembly of the Board of Professors of PTN-BH, Prof. Dr. Andi Pangerang Moenta, S.H., M.H., DFM., the position of the Board of Professors is currently being fought for to be maintained considering the draft Government Regulation on Higher Education will not include the existence of professors. Therefore, in line with the first meeting held at Hasanuddin University in December last year, the struggle for the existence of professors is continued by discussing strategic issues that occur, ranging from food security to the urgency of building a community.

The role of professors is vital because they are the nation's thinkers who birth strategic thinking. Comprehensive thinking in various fields will continue to be improved through meetings that are held continuously so that they are sustainable and consistent.

"This meeting has become a routine activity of MDGB PTN-BH to discuss strategic issues, which are discussed through the delivery of material from 3 speakers. I hope that with this meeting, we can show the existence of professors throughout Indonesia by giving birth to strategic thinking and being able to solve the nation's problems," explained the Chairman of MDGB PTN-BH.

The background of the theme chosen for this meeting is due to how the relationship between campus and industry, according to Prof. Dr. Ir. Rosmayati, M.S., as Chair of the USU DGB, is very close in facing the challenges faced by the Indonesian nation, ranging from poverty, corruption, weakening of the law, and the quality of democracy. Strategic thinking from Professors is needed to reduce these challenges in building the nation. Prof. Rosmayati also said that the three speakers will complement each other to contribute to building the strength of the nation's community to build the nation.

Also covering the USU mission, Prof. Dr. Ir. Rosmayati, MS., explained that MDGB PTN-BH has four commissions, and USU DGB has five commissions. The difference is that the 5th commission in USU DGB includes Internationalization, which is in accordance with USU's current priority. The Chair of the USU DGB hopes that the struggle for the existence of the Board of Professors can be continued so that it can produce many arguments that can help the Indonesian nation better answer all existing challenges.

"The 5th USU DGB Commission was created to encourage USU's international ranking as prioritized by USU," added Prof. Rosmayati.