SEMARANG – The Rector of Universitas Diponegoro (Undip), Prof Dr Yos Johan Utama, S.H., M.Hum., called all parties to reject the idea of pessimistic attitude that the generation which received the education online and got limited access to social, cultural and religious activities due to the Covid-19 Pandemic would become a lost generation. He mentioned it in his speech on the series of the 164th graduation ceremony of Universitas Diponegoro 2021 which was held for two days starting from Wednesday (10/11/2021) to Thursday (11/11/2021).

Prof Yos Johan Utama on the event which was held online via Zoom and Undip TV Youtube Channel asked the audience, “Is that really the case?” Lost Generation is a term that was introduced by an American author who stayed in Paris, Gertrude Stein, to describe those people who were not lucky enough to get an education due to World War I.

The term was then used by a famous novelist, Ernest Hemingway, in the epigraph, to his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises: “You are all the lost generation”. It was said the Lost Generation since they could not get a normal education due to the war. So that, they lost hope, faith and were filled with despair.

Today, such a way of thinking has been used by some people regarding the online learning system which is concerned to produce an intolerant and solitary generation due to the lack of interaction with the outside world. “That pessimistic way of thinking should be rejected. This is because of our faith in Allah SWT which always teaches us about optimism and positive thinking, Ana Inda zhanni Abdi bi wa ana ma’ahu iza zakarani. On the other side, our history has proven that Indonesia is a tough nation and resistant to all changing times,” he explained in his speech at Prof Soedarto, S.H. building, Undip Tembalang campus, Semarang on Thursday (11/11/2021).

Indeed, he continued, that way of thinking could not be denied, that a sudden change or the 4.0 industrial revolution with the disruption and the Covid-19 outbreak had changed the social order. However, he emphasized that the fear of a lost generation could be overcome by strengthening the faith and certainly with the family as the centre of social education which became the main pillar in the recent establishment and moral education.

“Don’t be sad, no need to worry about the current situation. Keep thinking positive, strengthen your faith. Insya Allah, we will be given the ease of smoothness in pursuing a career in the future according to His promise Inna ma’al ‘usriyusron or Indeed, after hardship, there must be ease,” he said.

The 164th Graduation, according to a report by the Head of the Undip Academic Senate, Prof Ir Edy Rianto, M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU, was followed by 2.563 students. They consisted of 29 graduates of the Doctoral program, 200 graduates of the Master program, 53 graduates of the Specialist program, 118 graduates of the Profession program, and 1.577 graduates of the Bachelor program. Meanwhile, graduates of the 3-year Diploma program were as many as 544 students and 42 graduates of the 4-year Diploma program.

To the graduates, not only did he congratulate them but he also asked them to be proud of themselves since they had graduated from a World-Class University. The Rector stated that having the opportunity to study at the Diponegoro campus should be an honour for them. It was because the entry selection had always been very strict. Either through SNMPTN or SBMTPN, Undip was the second most wanted University among the prospective students. “You should be proud becoming the alumni of Undip. It is because Undip has been one of the top campuses in Indonesia which has the best reputation at national or international level.”

Not to mention, Undip also had an A accreditation; even several study programs had international accreditation by the Indonesia Accreditation Board for Engineering Educational (IABEE) and FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation), international institutions which were registered at the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia. Those study programs were in the Faculty of Economic and Business, Faculty of Public Health, and Faculty of Engineering. Other study programs which were going to get international accreditation were in the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and in several other faculties.

“Recently at the international level, Undip gained the first national ranking of the QS Graduate Employability or in terms of speed and accuracy of graduates in getting a job. For me, this is an undeniable achievement that Undip’s education quality is the best at the national level and the job market admit it,” said Prof Yos Johan.

In terms of its governance, Undip ranked two nationally according to the achievement of the key performance indicator of the 2021 PTN-BH League. Besides, Undip’s lecturers also had national and international achievements as well as its alumni who occupied the highest positions in their fields such as becoming a Minister, an Attorney General, an Embassy, and many more.

The research products were also excellent and it was believed as an independent organizer in the research sphere. This was in accordance with Undip’s Vision namely Universitas Diponegoro as an Excellent Research University. “By the grace of Allah, Undip has been respected both nationally and internationally, said the Rector proudly. (PR team)

Source: undip.ac.id