After being discontinued for years, the Indonesian Association of Distance Education Professions or Asosiasi Profesi Pendidikan Jarak Jauh Indonesia (APPJJI) once again held its 3rd National Convention, which was convened hybrid, offline at the Universitas Terbuka Convention Center (UTCC) and online on the Zoom Meeting platform on Wednesday (01/02/2023). The objectives of APPJJI are to create a strong alliance in fulfilling the demand for education and training development from the study communities through new concepts that integrate communication and learning technology in a wide range of multidisciplinary applications.
The offline event was attended by the presenters from the National Accreditation Board for Colleges and Universities (BAN-PT), Prof. Drs. T. Basaruddin, M.Sc., Ph.D.; UT’s Rector, Prof. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D.; Rector of Pradita University, Prof. R. Eko Indrajit; the General Chairman of APTPI, Mohamad Adning, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ph.D.; UT’s Rector 2001-2009, Prof. Dr. M. Atwi Suparman, M.Sc.; UT’s Rector 2009-2017, Prof. Ir. Tian Belawati, M.Ed., Ph.D.; all Vice Rectors, Deans of Faculties, Directors of Institutes, Director of UT – Jakarta, Director of UT – Bogor, Director of UT – Serang, and senior officials at UT. Furthermore, there was also present online, the Interim Director General of Higher Education, Prof. Ir. Nizam, M.Sc., DIC, Ph.D., IPU, Asean Eng., who was represented by Dr. Lukman, S.T., M.Hum.; Rector of University of Insan Cendekia Mandiri, Sodikin, M.Pd.; General Chairman of APTIKOM, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Achmad Benny Mutiara Q.N., S.Si., S.Kom.
The report from the Chairman of APPJJI for 2013-2016 was presented by Dr. Agus Joko Purwanto, M.Si., who simultaneously introduced APPJJI. In his report, he stated that “With its 3rd National Convention, it is expected that APPJJI will once again be rejuvenated as the organization where the sharing of knowledge, theories, and practices on distance education can be implemented so that the vision, missions, and objectives of APPJJI can be accomplished,” he said. He hopes that in the future, APPJJI will be able to play a more significant role in helping the government to promote education through distance learning.
On the same occasion, the opening remarks for the 3rd national convention or MUNAS III APPJJI were made by UT’s Rector, Prof. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D., who simultaneously opened the APPJJI’s 3rd national convention. In his address, he stated, “The quality of distance education is currently very good, and its graduates can equally compete with the graduates from other leading universities in the country. It is proven by the fact that in 2019, there were 9,436 UT graduates recruited to fill job vacancies as civil servant candidates (CPNS) out of the 20,000 civil servant vacant positions for that year. Almost 50% of the positions were filled by UT alumni.”
The presentation session was carried out in a talk show format, which discussed distance education issues in Indonesia. The resourceful individuals or presenters who were presenting their materials in the hybrid mode included the Interim Director General of Higher Education, who was represented by the Director of Education Institution, Ministry of Education Culture Research and Technology, Dr. Lukman, S.T., M.Hum., who conducted the presentation online, and the official from the National Accreditation Board for Colleges and Universities (BAN-PT), Prof. Drs. T. Basaruddin, M.Sc., who made his address offline. Both discussed the roles of the Distance Education Association in the Development of Distance Education (PJJ) in Indonesia.
The program then proceeded with the selection of the nominated candidates for the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary of APPJJI for the Service Term of 2023-2026, led by APPJJI’s Chairman. The nominees were Prof. R. Eko Indrajit, Rahmat Budiman, M.Hum., Ph.D., Mohamad Adning, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ph.D., Dr. Agus Joko Purwanto, M.Si., and Prof. Dr. Paulina Pannen, M.Ls.
Finally, the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary of APPJJI were selected, namely Muhammad Husni Arifin, S.Ag., M.Si., Ph.D., (UT) as the Chairman of APPJJI; Mohamad Adning, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ph.D., (Pusdatin) as the Vice Chairman of APPJJI; and Dr. Etty Puji Lestari, S.E., M.Si., (UT) as the Secretary of APPJJI, for the service term of 2023-2026.
