Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

The first edition of the Management Forum webinar was held online by the Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Universitas Gadjah Mada on Friday (19/02). The inaugural edition has a theme entitled "Accelerating Higher Education Innovation: An Overview of Institutions to Build Legacy". The webinar theme was discussed and reviewed quite comprehensively by the speakers on the occasion, Dr. Hargo Utomo, M.B.A., M.Com., As Director of Business Development and Incubation (DITPIU) UGM and UGM Science Technopark.

The webinar event was guided smoothly by Boyke Rudi Purnomo, S.E., M.B.A., Ph.D., CFA., Lecturer at the Department of Management, FEB UGM, who acted as moderator of the event. He started the event by asking a fundamental question, "What has Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) done in addressing problems in society through innovation? Has UGM been able to meet people's expectations of the perception that higher education is the solution? " which was then answered further by the speaker in discussing the material.

Hargo Utomo explained the material that tells how UGM can become a center of creativity, agents of development, agents of change, and other labels that usually describe higher education in shaping the code of conduct in the life of the nation. Hargo tried to convey on this occasion that an invention carried out by universities in practical reality did not use linear logic and what he conveyed was a form of self-criticism for all of us to re-balance our mission together.

Next, Hargo discussed the innovations that UGM has created. In 2019, UGM was ranked first in national patent applications with 149 patents, 437 copyrights, 10 industrial designs, and 9 brands. In the social scope of society, through the Kuliah Kerja Nyata program, UGM has implemented more than 1000 innovations in 390 villages. Meanwhile, in the international scope, UGM has created Wolbachia health technology as an effort to mitigate the risk of the spread of dengue fever which Bill Gates has recognized in the World Mosquito Program. Even during this pandemic, UGM was not absent in presenting innovations, GeNose C19 was successfully created to facilitate the detection of Covid-19 which has received public support.

In the context of accelerating the innovation that UGM is doing to build legacy, it is an important first step for UGM to be able to build public trust. Hargo also conveyed the need for a university transformation from a value orientation perspective to become an entrepreneurial university with value creation as its bottom line. This shift in orientation is the key to opening the innovation cycle. To realize this acceleration, UGM responds to the need for innovation strategically by synergizing innovation policies, committing to facilitating innovation institutions, and generating innovations that have an impact on socio-economic recovery. After that, UGM needs to take concrete steps by realizing the institutional strategy of innovation at UGM through the stages of research and invention, incubation and acceleration, and commercialization. "Research and inventions are the core, but if it is not controlled from the side of technology readiness and market readiness, that greatness will only be a dream," added Hargo.

In conclusion, in guarding higher education innovation, especially at UGM, it is necessary to have a sense of urgency to encourage innovation and risk mitigation systematically or unsystematically. In addition, control over emotions and self-confidence as well as taking sides in adopting innovations are also aspects that we need to pay attention to. The webinar event ended with a question and answer session addressed to the speaker. To watch the entire seminar program, you can visit the FEB UGM Youtube page via the following link: https://youtu.be/DLig0DcTPws 

Reportage: Kirana Lalita Pristy/Sony Budiarso.