Workshop on Design, Technique and Planning 2012

Pelita Harapan University?s Faculty of Design, Technique and Planning held a call-paper workshop that covered five knowledge disciplines comprising the faculty itself, i.e. Visual Communication Design. Product Design, Interior Design, Architecture, and Civil Engineering. This year?s theme was ?Design, Planning, and Construction?. The scientific gathering took place on Thursday, November 29, 2012. The participants numbered up to 150, consisting of university students and lecturers.

Dr. Wiryanto Dewobroto

?This nation-wide workshop, on the field of P2M or Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat ?Research and Community Service, was the first time held by Faculty of Design, Technique and Planning in its 18th year since its founding. The idea behind it was the notion that a professional lecturer should not only excel in teaching, but also in researching and doing their community service as Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi dictates. In aiming to improve the quality of education and community service, this workshop functions as a medium for gathering lecturers and organizing discussions on related topics. The result of this meeting can be useful for benchmarking, broadening the participants? horizons, and expanding their networks,? explains Wiryanto Dewobroto, Chairman of the Committee.

In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Manlian A. Ronald Simanjuntak, Dean of Faculty of Design, Technique and Planning, expressed his hope that such a worthy event would give benefits to both university lecturers and students alike. According to him, most people only focus on fields they are interested in. In fact, more importantly is the integration of various knowledge disciplines which is essential because the world around us is constantly changing and global issues necessitate us to work in synergies with others. Additionally, the work demands a lecturer to keep on increasing their competency to have a better a career. Lecturing has become a profession; hence, a professional attitude is needed. Through this event which covers five disciplines of knowledge, the faculty will be able, in the future, to engineer a grand research road map so that university students can better recognize how academic world is positioned in the upcoming time. Gradually, the scope of this workshop will be increased to reach the international audience. Also, he invited the participants to think not only ?out of the box? but also ?in the new box?.

In the meanwhile, the university?s rector, Mr. Jonathan L. Parapak warmly welcomed the journal writers coming from various regions. He emphasized on the importance of research for people in the academic field.

According to Mr Parapak, ?When we look around us, a notion for an innovation for the future is truly needed. God has gifted us all with the ability to think in creative ways yet, it is a national issue that creative education is getting restricted. Therefore, I hope this event can encourage us to be more creative and innovative.?

?A brief observation tells us that the challenge in our society is in terms of our ability to make a good planning. For example, how streets have been improperly designed that they cause traffic jams everywhere in Jakarta. As a result of the imbalance of urban development and design, social issues then emerge such as the lack of recreational spaces for the town folks and the negative impacts of natural disasters to the city?s building design. I second this event which brings together experts from the fields of civil engineering and architectural design in hope of creating an integrated approach to solving this nation?s problems. I am confident that the result of this gathering can be a huge contribution to the education world as well as become alternatives as to how we can fix the many issues found in Indonesia,? Mr Parapak added.

The rector then proceeded to express the importance of Nano technology to be integrated in various aspects of our daily lives, including those in regard to techniques of designing and engineering new things. Going hand in hand to the availability of Nano technology research center near the campus, statistics prove that there is an insufficiency in the publication of scientific research in Indonesia. This event is expected to trigger as much research and as many innovative end products as possible. This societal research and service are under the spotlight because they have become integral parts of a holistic education more than ever, similar to the one being implemented in Pelita Harapan University.

Several universities from different regions across Indonesia gave positive responds to this event which boosts the spirit of research and social service of our lecturers. Soon, there have been thirty nine research paper submitted from eleven universities in the island of Java itself. In order to assure the quality of the research content, the committee has formed a team of reviewers from both the internal of the university as well as the public, external ones.

Following up with the submitted research paper, the committee will not only bring them up during the workshop, but also publish them in the form of a scientific proceeding that will be distributed to anyone who might find the research paper useful. Thus, the ?the three oaths on running a university? can be truly put into realization and serve to improve the quality of our education, the competency of participating lecturers, glorify the name of contributing institution, and, finally, have a correlation with the well-being of the lecturers themselves. (rh)