This year, Universitas Terbuka (UT) celebrates its 40th anniversary on September 4, 2024. To commemorate its 40th Dies Natalis, UT has organized a series of events and activities involving all leaders, academic community, administrative staff, students, and stakeholders. These include competitions and webinars. One notable event in this series is the 2024 Public Figure Meeting (Temu Public Figure/TPF 2024), involving public figures who are either active students, alumni, or UT advocates.
The objectives of this event include celebrating and enlivening UT’s 40th Dies Natalis, introducing UT as an open and distance learning university to a broader audience through online media, optimizing the empowerment of UT students who are public figures in promoting UT and its programs, and raising public awareness about the importance of education as a means of personal and professional development through the stories and experiences of public figures studying at UT.
TPF 2024 carries the main theme in line with UT’s 40th Dies Natalis, “UT Presents Quality Education Without Limits,” with a specific theme for TPF 2024, “Inclusive and Innovative with UT.” This theme reflects UT’s transformation since 2022 into a Legal Entity State University (PTNBH), continuously improving its service quality for students and the public in accessing higher education without boundaries. This means UT students can learn anywhere, anytime, and in their own style. Fortunately, UT offers inclusive education for all groups without compromising service quality. One proof is that on July 2, 2024, UT achieved an A Accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT). In terms of cost, UT has proven to be very affordable, offering low tuition without sacrificing quality. UT’s extensive reach allows it to penetrate geographical barriers, providing education nationwide and even internationally in over 50 countries.
On this occasion, UT proudly presents two active UT students from the public figure community (Friday, 26/07/24). The first is Nova Eliza, known in Indonesia as a talented actress with numerous achievements in the film industry as well as an advocate for women’s rights. Nova is currently an active first-semester student in the Law bachelor program at the Faculty of Law, Social, and Political Sciences (FHISIP) at UT Jakarta.
Alongside Nova Eliza, another public figure student contributing to TPF 2024 is Annisa Nurfauzi, a fifth-semester student in the Communication bachelor program at FHISIP UT Bandung. Annisa Nurfauzi is known in Indonesia as a talented singer and model. She is a finalist from a talent search show for dangdut singers, Kontes Dangdut Indonesia (KDI), and was the 2nd runner-up in 2021.
The event was conducted online and broadcast live through the UTTV channel from the UT Library Building at UT’s Main Office in South Tangerang. The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), who also serves as the General Chairperson of UT’s 40th Dies Natalis, was present and delivered the TPF 2024 activity report. The event was officially opened by the Rector of UT, Prof. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D. In his speech, the Rector expressed gratitude to both public figures for taking the time to attend and share their experiences about studying at UT. He also emphasized that public figures are UT’s ambassadors and role models for introducing UT to their families, friends, and the wider community.
The approximately one-and-a-half-hour event ran smoothly, hosted by Ayubi Cakradiwati and Muhammad Bijaksabara Hikmawan, staff from the Directorate of Marketing and Partnership (DPKS) UT. Both speakers were enthusiastic about sharing their experiences of studying at UT amidst their daily activities. They both appreciated the flexibility of studying at UT, especially during exams that sometimes coincide with other important engagements. According to them, UT always offers the best solutions. “UT is flexible, you can study without limits amidst your busy schedules. Even exams are possible,” said Nova Eliza, who is entering her second semester at UT. Similarly, Annisa Nurfauzi chose to study at UT due to its flexible learning system. “You can achieve education and career simultaneously,” asserted Nisa, who previously studied at a conventional state university. Regarding the challenges of studying at UT, Nova stated, “Even though the studies are online, you still need to allocate time to study well in preparation for the strictly supervised final exams.” This proves that despite the online learning system, UT maintains high academic quality and integrity. Annisa Nurfauzi also shared the benefits of studying at UT, “Since studying in the Communication bachelor program at UT, my public speaking skills have improved significantly, which is very beneficial for my development in the entertainment world. Both speakers trust UT for their future higher education success.”
We hope UT will continue to be a leading and superior distance learning university, continuously innovating and creating to improve UT’s quality in line with the theme of the 40th Dies Natalis UT in 2024, “UT Presents Quality Education Without Limits.”
