The Faculty of Law, Social, and Political Sciences of Universitas Terbuka (UT) held the annual international conference Open Society Conference (OSC) on Wednesday, 13 September 2023 at Universitas Terbuka Convention Center (UTCC). In collaboration with Universitas Jember (UNEJ) and Universitas Padjajaran (UNPAD), the 5th OSC returned with the theme “Empowering Technology: Humanities, Business & Political Perspectives in VUCA Era.” The world today is changing rapidly and this has created the sense of urgency to embrace this change for the sustainability of both individual and corporate existence. The 5th OSC has an important role in presenting multidimensional insights that will discuss issues in the fields of Technology, Humanities, Business, and Political Perspectives. The conference was held in hybrid mode and was broadcasted on UTTV YouTube Channel.
OSC 2023 began with the report from the Chair of the Committee, Mrs. Adisthy Shabrina Nurqamarani, B.A.(Hons)., M.Sc., mentioning that this conference prioritises quality as the building bricks of the foundation. The selection process was guided by 33 outstanding reviewers from diverse institutions in Indonesia and abroad, distilling 132 abstracts into 80 full papers.
The conference continued with opening remarks by Prof. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D. as the Rector of Universitas Terbuka, followed by the signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between UT and Open University Malaysia (OUM). This MoA includes cooperation in the field of learning, research, publications, staff and student exchanges, media production, learning management systems, and community service. An example is the collaborative research project between UT and OUM on online pedagogy.
In order to have an engaging discussion, the 5th OSC invited speakers who are experts in their field. Dr. H. Emil Elestianto Dardak, B.Bus., M.Sc.,the Vice Governor of East Java was invited to deliver a keynote speech and four panel speakers: Mr. Steve Nouri as the founder of AI4Diversity, Prof. Carin Holroyd, Ph.D from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, Mr. Rahmat Budiman, Ph.D. as the Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Cooperation, and Business UT, and Mr. Ismail Fahmi, Ph.D., as the Founder of Media Kernel Indonesia.
The 5th OSC is collaborating with Atlantis Press for publishing in proceedings further indexed to Web of Science and six Sinta 2 journals to ensure all authors get high-quality publication opportunities and contribute to the dissemination of the conference output to the academic and industrial world. It is highly hoped that this conference will provide a wider view of how cross-disciplinary can form innovative solutions in facing the dynamics of an ever-evolving era.
