Nadiem Makarim: Universities Keep Innovating during Covid-19 Pandemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim said universities continue to come up with innovation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lecturers and students, he added, are also actively involved in researching and developing innovations to deal with the transmission of the new coronavirus.

“Since distance learning has been implemented in universities to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection, there have been innovations on college activities,” said the minister in a webinar in Jakarta on Wednesday, October 28.

According to Nadiem, the results of innovations developed by lecturers and students of higher education institutions have been mass-produced, including rapid diagnostic test kits dubbed RIGHA, robots to help treat Covid-19 patients in teaching hospitals, and ventilators.

“Our students also serve the community. Since April, there are no less than 15,000 students participating as volunteers of the pandemic mitigation program through the National Covid-19 Volunteers or Recon,” the minister added.

Additionally, he went on, thousands of students joined in the Kampus Mengajar Perintis or a teaching pioneer campus program, in which helping lecturing elementary school students and establishing thematic community work, or locally known KKN, since June 2020.

College students, Nadiem Makarim said, also play a role as the agent of change, raising public awareness of the health protocol against Covid-19, such as wearing face masks, maintaining distance, washing hands with soap, and avoiding crowds.

Read: Nadiem Makarim Says Trials of New School Curriculum Will Start in 2021

ANTARA